LGBT Community and Discrimination.

1284 Words3 Pages

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. Media portrayal of the LGBT community is varying. It may be very positive and a “good” portrayal or negative and instead focuses on the stereotypical aspects of the LGBT community. One definition of a good LGBT television portrayal is one that depicts an LGBT character without over glaringly obviousness of their sexual orientation, or without adding many LGBT stereotypes that are all too often added. For example, many people believe Willow and Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a good portrayal of a lesbian couple as it was one of the healthiest relationships on the show as well as realistic in the fact that it did not draw on any of the stereotypes that may or usually are added in LGBT relationships or simply LGBT characters in the media. It was also one of the most extensive couples on the show, ending only when Tara was tragically killed- not as characters often are in LGBT relationships for the sole reason that they are gay, but merely to add suspense and as writer Joss Whed... ... middle of paper ... ...l(s) if you are uncertain on how best to help a student. Lastly, support training for staff on these types of issues. Works Cited Adam Sharpiro, Megan Schultz, Christina Roush, Cassandra Schofar, Emily Shilling, Tawnia Simpson, Natalie Sampiller. Portrayal of Homosexuality in Media. 26 March 2014 . Huegel, Kelly. GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens. Vol. 1. Free Spirit Publishing, 2003. 1 vols. Issues: Hate Crimes. 14 March 2014 . Joanna Almeida, Renee M. Johnson, Heather L. Corliss, Beth E. Molnar. Emotional Distress among LGBT Youth: The Influence of Percieved Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation. 13 March 2014 . Riese, Jane. Bullying and Sexual Orientation. .

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