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Sexuality in society
Sexuality in society
Sexuality's impact on society
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I identify myself someone who likes to help others, loving, a strong personality, I don’t really like to talk about my personal life but this time I have the opportunity to do it. My sexual orientation is something that I always kept private, but now, I considered myself lesbian I don’t really care what people can say about me. My sexual orientation was not acceptable in my family or my religion. I came out when I was sixteen, this was so devastating for my mother, it was embarrassing, my mother learned how to keep this on the side, and she loved me for who I am a person that never left her, yes I am her daughter but I’m her friend as well. Now she respects my personal life. Even though my sexual orientation was painful for my mother and my siblings, they love me and support me in anyway. As a kid, I was like a tom boy I guess I like sports, firearms, cars, everything that was not girly. I never cut my hair …show more content…
Now that I’m twenty five I understand that everything that happened in my life was only lessons I had to have, to learn and become stronger. I’m a private person, I don’t like to tell my personal life because people don’t really care, and they only like to criticize. For example, at work I don’t really tell people who I am, I let them get to know me better, know that I am a kind person, who has integrity, manners. People that know me so well, they tell me you are beautiful to be a lesbian, my response is “I know” but I love a woman, well smart woman only. I always have something with smart woman I think is very attractive I admire them. I like to learn new things all the time and when I meet someone that can teach me new things, is satisfying for me. I’m talking to someone now who’s been motivating me to do better, who I learned from her; we liked to help each other in different ways to understand different perspectives of
Today in our society, this kind of ordeal is happening everywhere. You read about it in magazines, see it on different talk shows, or you might even know someone who has gone through it or is considering it. If you are not happy with yourself you are going to be miserable until something is done about it. If that means coming out of the closet or going a step further and having a sex change, more power to you. You can't make everyone around you happy. Your first mission is to feel good about yourself. If your friends and family are genuine they will like you no matter what the circumstances are. In my own personal life, I have been friends with Pierce my guy best friend since the fifth grade. He moved away to Florida our ninth grade year.
Many transgender people lived in dysfunctional families when they were young. The support becomes vital for the wellbeing of kids. In her book Redefining Realness by Janet Mock, recaps the importance of support from Michelle his cousin, who kept in secrets of gender dysphoria of Charles (Keisha) by saying “‘Pinkie –swear you won’t tell your mom’…She’d keep the secret my secret because I was her favorite cousin” (Mook 76). Michelle, kept Keisha’s secret by allowing her to use her swimming clothes. Michelle shows the importance of support from relatives. This is a fundamental factor that might help with the development of her gender identity. Many transgender people may feel a relief at the time to disclose their identity. When transition is in progress the support from friends and families becomes important because, many transgender people might suffer if they lack support. Many transgender people seem depressed because they are rejected by society. Janet Mock, relates how Wendi, support Charles, by making him feel comfortable, saying “Wendi and I grew inseparable trough middle school, a bond that would link us for the rest of our lives. Through association, my class –mates learned that I was like Wendi-who hadn’t yet adopted any labels to describe her shifting self” (Mook 107). In most cases transgender people’s acquaintances can be referred as transgender people just by friendship. The association makes transgender people to gain confidence about their gender identity. The support from groups or friends makes transgender people feel that they are accepted and not alone. Support from friends might urge transgender people to come out the “closet” and reveal their gender identity to gain respect among society. The support from friends is important, but family support seems to be the most important. When families do not support transgender people it causes a hostile environment that may suppress
Andrew Sullivan, author of, What is a Homosexual, portrays his experience growing up; trapped in his own identity. He paints a detailed portrait of the hardships caused by being homosexual. He explains the struggle of self-concealment, and how doing so is vital for social acceptation. The ability to hide one’s true feelings make it easier to be “invisible” as Sullivan puts it. “The experience of growing up profoundly different in emotional and psychological makeup inevitably alters a person’s self-perception.”(Sullivan)This statement marks one of the many reasons for this concealment. The main idea of this passage is to reflect on those hardships, and too understand true self-conscious difference. Being different can cause identity problems, especially in adolescents.
For as long as I can remember, I have traveled between two houses. I live with my mom and every Tuesday and Thursday I visit my dad. Often when I describe my situation people assume I must be “broken” or “troubled” because my family isn’t normal. However, this is my normal and it would be strange to me if this was not how I lived my life. An identity has a dictionary definition, but is difficult to define. My identity has been and continues to be shaped by the social forces of gender, technology, and family.
My beliefs are important to me. I wake up every morning with a cup of coffee in my hand and turn on the daily news. I see many problems occurring around the world, but most of us are too blind to actually do something to help. We are too blinded by our society's cultural that we can’t separate ourselves from the good and bad.
Coming out, regardless of what one is coming out as, is incredibly difficult. An important aspect of accepting ones’ sexuality is the support that one gets from others of the same sexuality. “This support comes not only from loved ones … but also from associating with like-minded others in the gay, lesbians, and bisexual communities” (McLean 63). However, even in a group that’s been discriminated against by heterosexuals, there is an outstanding amount biphobia in the LGBT community. Bisexuals, while technically are included in the LGBT community, often have difficulty fitting in with the rest of the community.
Living life as a transgendered person is not easy. There are very few times when someone comes out as transgender and their lives are still relatively easy to manage. There are a copious...
Imagining if I transformed into the opposite sex for a week, my experiences of truth and reality would be quite different, yet strikingly similar to my life as a woman. Although my peers would accept me the same and know nothing altered, my mindset would have done a complete 180 degree flip. Although it is the expectation that humans identify with a single gender, multitudes of modern Americans refuse to succumb to this idea and prefer to identify with a sense gender fluidity. “The term "gender identity” . . . refers to a person's innate, deeply felt psychological identification as a man, woman or some other gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth” (par. 2). Some refuse to accept that gender is as one may say black or white, male or female. However, if I transfigured into a man, I would need to adjust my sense of reality in regards to the new expectations that come with the given gender.
I was born on March 08, 1995 at roughly seven pounds. When I was extracted from my mother, I was given the gender of a male with the appearance of my male body parts. My mother used to say to me, growing up as a toddler that I had so much hair like former American Football player, Troy Polamalu. People had always assumed that I was a girl, therefore my mother had to correct them and say, “No, he is a boy”. Growing up a toddler, I was always wearing some type of jeans with a sports shirt and shoes that were mostly colored black or blue. As I grew older, I gained interest in baseball, wrestling, and the military. I always wanted to play with action figures such as GI Joe and wrestling celebrities in addition to imaginary flying in an apache helicopter or taking command in a battle tank. Advancing to my pre-teen years, I wanted to play baseball, which is considered to be mostly a boy sport. It was at this moment, that my gender was a boy. Progressing to my teen years, I started to observe my father and learn my gender on his roles as the man in our family. I noticed that my father was already taking charge in the house and giving me orders that I needed to complete. Going through middle school, most boys had some type of sports backpack while the girls
A secret agent. A professional football player. A fire fighter. These would have been my responses when asked that inevitable question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Family, Media and Peers are said to have influenced my views concerning the role I am to play society. All of these factors had one thing in common. They all were influencing me to behave according to my gender. Everything from the clothes I wore to the toys I played with contributed to this. Even now as a young adult my dreams and aspirations are built around the gender roles that were placed on me.
There are several theorists that have presented models on sexual identity development. Many of the models have stages of sexual identity development suggesting that certain characteristics are present during a specific period. However, Anthony D’Augelli presents a model that suggests processes rather than stages. These processes take place over the span of one’s life and not necessarily in any specific order or fashion. D’Augelli’s (1994a) life span model of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) identity development takes into account “the complex factors that influence the development of people in context over historical time” (Evans et al, 2010). According to D’Augelli’s (1994) theory, identity formation includes three sets of interrelated variables that are involved in identity formation: personal actions and subjectivities, interactive intimacies, and sociohistorical connections. Personal subjectivities and actions include individuals’ perceptions and feelings about their sexual identities as well as actual sexual behaviors and the meanings attached to them. Interactive intimacies include the influences of family, peer group, and intimate partnerships and the meanings attached to experiences with significant others. Sociohistorical connections are defined as the social norms, policies and laws found in various geographical locations and cultures, as well as the values existing during particular historical periods (Evans et al, 2010).
Some of these people became friends, but one became someone more than a friend. We began hanging out and eventually began dating towards the end of the fall semester. She had been publicy out to her friends and family for quite a few years. At this point, only one person from home knew about our relationship. I felt increasingly guilty for hiding my relationship from my friends and family. The same feeling of shame was expressed by my girlfriend, and I knew I had to speak up to my parents. While my parents never openly said anything one way or another about an individual’s sexual orientation, I assumed their views were like those of people in our town. To my surprise, however, both were accepting of my new
So that was one side of my family that did not like me due to the color of my skin and it did upset me. This made it even harder for me to be myself when it came to my father’s dad’s side of the family because they were really religious and did not agree with someone being LGBT, or so I thought. I came up with that explanation on my own based off of the time period that they were raised and the fact that they grew up in a church. So I was nervous to tell them that I am a lesbian because of their backgrounds. I should have never done that because I never tried to figure out their true thoughts towards that subject matter. I gave into the way that society was and their beliefs that they put into place, instead of figuring out my own families beliefs. This made me become the part of society that I did not like and that is, the part that passes judgment on people based off of the time that they grew up in and the beliefs that were in
I am sentimental, out-going, indecisive, understanding, curious, naive, lazy, and young. I want to be ... , well a lot of things, and growing is discovering what they are. I feel people cannot see the potential within, although there is no one to blame but myself. I look to others for approval instead of to myself. I aim to please; it leads to approval. I don’t like to discuss my faults; I pity myself.
I never really thought about where my life was going. I always believed life took me where I wanted to go, I never thought that I was the one who took myself were I wanted to go. Once I entered high school I changed the way I thought. This is why I chose to go to college. I believe that college will give me the keys to unlock the doors of life. This way I can choose for myself where I go instead of someone choosing for me.