I am a Lesbian, or as I used to say when I was a homophobic youth, a "les-be-friend."
Why am I at a disadvantage in America as opposed to other countries?
BECAUSE I CAN'T GET MARRIED
Now I have already been in a heterosexual marriage, and been divorced so I have gone through some of the hoops that one has to clear to become a married person in these here united states. Basically it went like this:
Some sort of ceremony with an officiant.
Sign paper
Send paper in
Done (Change name if you like, might have had to have a blood test)

After that, depending on which state you live in, you have hundreds of rights automatically, some of which are:
you are entitled to 50% of everything your spouse has, including debt mind you. You are considered next of kin with out question. Families have to accept you, to some degree. The federal government, state government and all foreign countries have to acknowledge your union as valid. You can adopt children and can have a fair chance of getting custody.

As a homo:
Full marriage is presently available to same-sex couples in seven jurisdictions. The Netherlands was the first country to allow same-sex marriage in 2001. Same-sex marriages are also recognized in Belgium, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and the U.S. state of Massachusetts
Rhode Island and New Mexico residents are also permitted to marry in Massachusetts, for same-sex marriages performed within Massachusetts
Canada and Spain are the only countries where the legal status of same-sex marriage is exactly the same as that of opposite-sex marriage, though South Africa is due to fully harmonize its marriage laws. Other nations all have residency requirements that apply to same-sex marriage that do not apply to opposite-sex marriage.

Civil partnership, domestic partnerships, Unregistered partnership or registered partnerships offer varying amounts of the benefits of marriage and are available in: Andorra, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary (unregisterd co-habitation since 1996; registered partnership from 1/1/09), Iceland, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. They are also available in some parts of Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Mexico, the U.S. states of California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon (delays), Vermont, Washington state, and the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) and Uruguay.
In the United Kingdom, civil partnerships have identical legal status to a marriage, and partners gain all the same benefits and associated legal rights; ranging from tax exemptions and joint property rights, to next-of-kin status and shared parenting responsibilities. Partnership ceremonies are performed by a marriage registrar in exactly the same manner as a secular civil marriage. Civil unions in New Zealand are identical to British civil partnerships in their association with equivalent spousal rights and responsibilities to fully-fledged heterosexual marriage. (Taken from Wikipedia)

If domestic partnership or civil unions are not available in your country or state, you can go through legal processes in order to get some of the rights that heterosexual married couples can get. But it's very expensive and still does not convey all the rights. Also there is a risk that your children might be taken from you in some states.

Hmm. I live in California (very liberal state), am a citizen of 2 countries (Uk, US) and I can still NOT GET MARRIED if I wanted to ( although not right now, thanks)

Kind of sucks