LA Pride And Anti-LGBT Culture

1050 Words3 Pages

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, …show more content…

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

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