Abstract The goal of this paper is to examine one key theory: co-cultural theory, and apply it to my observations attending the Los Angeles PRIDE parade celebrating the LGBT culture. Furthermore, aim to explore the concepts of cultural identity and the issues of fundamentalism vs. realism. The LGBT community is one that exists within the dominant culture. While these members posses many of the same qualities and characteristics of the dominant culture, they also have their own sets of beliefs and values that set them apart in a unique way. Unfortunately, the LGBT culture has been quite taboo. Fundamentalism has played a big part in the backlash against the community.
LA Pride: The Study of LGBT and Anti-LGBT Culture
Last Saturday,
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Furthermore, there was an overall sense of cohesion and solidarity. No matter where you were from or whom you were affiliated with, none of it mattered. People lined the streets of Santa Monica Boulevard to show their support and celebrate this culture. All you could see were bright colors and happy faces for miles. However, with any big celebration of an underappreciated culture, backlash is destined to be present. I found the parade route sprinkled with patches of aggressive anti-LGBT protestors and activists. Using megaphones, posters, banners, and chants, they broadcasted their own beliefs that this parade, this celebration, and all the supporters were in the wrong and “sinning.” There seemed to be this whole other subculture within the culture within the dominant …show more content…
These members have their own way of communicating and go through an identity process that may be different from that of the dominant culture. The social communities are large and influential when it comes to message perception and understanding of the exterior world. This also brings to light the idea of “dual membership” and how people can belong to groups other than the dominant culture. Co-cultural theory seeks to do much more than that. According to Orbe (1996), co-cultural theory seeks to uncover the commonalities among co-cultural group members.” What this means, is that these groups have so many experiences and ideas that span throughout many countries and time periods. The similarities to the dominant culture allow them to feel comfortable in society and create their own identities. The overall feel of the event was comfort. People were happy and comfortable being themselves and supporting others who maybe once questioned their identity and their place within the dominant culture, but are not
In any given culture, people are proud of their heritage. However, when an individual of one group meets with people of another, and the element of ignorance is added, the individual will be socially ostracized. Of mixed descent, Rayon...
In Vicki L. Eaklor’s Queer America, the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in the years since the 1970s gay liberation movement are described as a time of transformation and growth. The antigay movement, threatened, now more than ever, created numerous challenges and obstacles that are still prevalent today. Many of the important changes made associated with the movement were introduced through queer and queer allied individuals and groups involved in politics. Small victories such as the revision of the anti discrimination statement to include “sexual orientation”, new propositions regarding the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortion, were met in turn with growing animosity and resistance from individuals and groups opposed to liberal and
276). Curtin’s Coculturation (2010) combats this hegemonic discourse by stating, “everyone is continually engaged in social and political processes of identification” (p. 283). Thus, one’s identity can consist of multiple cultures and they can in fact coincide. The idea that one group “belongs” in a particular imagined community is a myth, there is no single response or adaption. The theory of Coculturation ultimately accommodates to a more realistic approach to cultural adjustment where a newcomer can adopt some behavior of the host culture while still maintaining the conciliatory and subconscious aspects of their native
“Do you know what the Gays did to me now? They took away my right to vote!”
Horror themed stories frighten, scare, or startle the reader by inducing feelings of terror and dread. In The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allen Poe tells the tale of Montresor, a disgruntled noble man who plots revenge on his adversary. Montresor declares that another noble man named Fortunato that has constantly battered him and insulted him. Montresor has plotted his revenge over time and has carefully constructed a plan to blatantly and consciously destroy Fortunato right before his very eyes. The most terrifying aspect of Montresor’s plan is the methodical nature in which he leads Fortunato to his doom. Poe continually builds terror in The Cask of Amontillado, masterfully utilizing plot, setting and symbolism to develop horror in his classic
the beginning the text has an exciting tone since the authors describe the overwhelming emotions of individuals as well as the celebrations that took place after the law allowing same sex marriage was approved. By starting the article in this manner the writers are trying to provoke feelings of excitement from their readers in order to make them think that this event is a positive aspect of our society. Also, by mentioning the gay movement’s multiple efforts over the past “forty-two years to ensure the marital as well as civil rights of homosexuals” (Virtanen, Hill, and Zraick 1), the writers motivate their audience to be sympathetic towards these individuals. Moreover, the authors try to make people become more suppo...
Becoming aware of a culture supersedes the individual emotions you may experience in trying to understand how a group of people have become, through their own experience, different from the identity that you have attained from your own culture. “Cultural awareness is one being aware of their personal attitudes, beliefs, biases, and behaviors that may influence the type of care they are able to render in an environment.” (Mopraize)
...d.). "A" Level Sociology, Teaching Notes for Students. Culture and Identity, 6. Sources of Identity. World Wide Web: http://freespace.virgin.net/chris.livesey/cculture.htm [2002, July, 24].
La Mission (2009) is a film that ties to the importance of cultural beliefs, as well as issues on homosexuality. Director Peter Bratt presents his views of the San Francisco Mission District, as a person who grew up there. Set in this location, the film gives an accurate and vivid depiction of the culture living there. Peter Bratt delivers a genuine representation of his experiences, linking to the viral subject of homosexuality. La Mission may not be the first film revealing one's sexuality, but it is an impactful one which gave an accurate representation of the problems and familial views of the exposure. The film provides accuracy on the disbelief, anger, and the possible acceptance or rejection of revealing one’s homosexuality to their family.
Experiencing a society of multi-cultures is beneficial through a variety of concepts to epitomize each individual identity. A person may vary in the degree to which he or she identifies with, morals, or...
Homosexual activity has been around since the dawn of time. As far back as 9660-5000 BCE there has been evidence of homosexual encounters. Throughout history there have been numerous recordings of homosexual activity, from Roman art depicting homosexual acts during the 1st century, to Leonardo da Vinci who was charged with sodomy on multiple occasions in 1476, the acts of same sex encounters have been no stranger in the past (LGBT social movements, 2014). The LGBT movement however, is a more recent escapade. The LGBT movement is the attempt to change social and political attitudes towards homosexuality for the better. There have been multiple movements in the LGBT community as to date, along with the emergence of numerous LGBT organizations. There are well over fifty different LGBT organizations all over the world. Some are international, such as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), and some are country or region based, such as Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) in Uganda. Each organization has its own mission and goals which it wishes to accomplish in order to make the world a better and more equal place for LGBT communities. Two specific LGBT organizations are: the Gay & Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) in the United States, and the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL) in Sweden.
Culture has a big impact on how we all fit in as individuals in today’s society, and since this assignment is about that I decided to include some of my own experiences to illustrate my point of view and compare it with those of my classmates and some of the readings.
In sociology, the LGBT community is viewed as a subculture to the dominant world culture. The community is generally accepted by the dominant culture and although the group has some of its own beliefs and rituals/traditions, it still adheres to the fundamental beliefs and cultural expectations of the dominant culture. Before being considered a subculture, homosexual relationships and variations of sexual orientation were classified as devian behaviort. Even before that, someone who experienced homosexual thoughts or tendencies was labeled as mentally ill. The idea of homosexuality being a mental illness appeared in the DSM until 1987. There are still remnants of homophobia today but the consensus (at
Individuals will gain more experience of the host country through experiencing more of the host culture. This shows that being adjusting to another culture can have an impact on an individual’s ethnic and cultural identity because they spend a period of time in another country within a community who have a different culture.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.