INTRODUCTION
If you were to ask me what exactly sparked my passion for LGBT rights, I wouldn’t be able to give a straight answer (pun not intended). I did (and still do) not identify personally to any of the terms LGBT stands for, nor did any of my close family members or friends at the time identify as such. Now a few do, but that’s hardly the only reason I’m still passionate about it. Regardless of what spurred my interest, I think one of the reasons I became invested was that, being raised by a fairly liberal family, I never entertained the thought that being LGBT could ever be considered “wrong” in any way. It simply became a natural fact of life. So by the time I discovered that not everybody though it was natural, my opinion could no
…show more content…
The purpose is that by writing a book that objectively talks about these things, even if people are against it, they can become more knowledgeable about it to have reasonable and logical debate, and people who are unsure of their identity, or don’t understand the topic as well as they would like, can look to this book and gain a sense of understanding, and can formulate their own opinions. Because as much as I’d like it if everyone supported LGBT rights, I won’t get anywhere forcing my opinion on everybody. So for the time being, I am content if everyone can be educated and aware of LGBT issues, so that if they do choose to be against it, it will not be for some baseless rumors or …show more content…
I have chosen identities and relationships as my global context because my product is to give a clearer picture of the many LGBTQ identities through writing a book.
Prior Knowledge and Subject-Specific Knowledge
I know a good amount about LGBTQ issues because I have had a long-standing interest. I am familiar with much of the current policies implemented, especially in the US, That benefit or impede on LGBTQ rights. For example I am familiar with the bathroom bill that has recently been implemented in the United States as well as the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy within the US Military that the Obama Administration has since repealed. I learned much of this knowledge from watching CNN coverage of the Obergefell v. Hodges case, as well as reading articles and watching videos by news sources such as Vox, VICE, and CNN, as well as watching pieces concerning LGBT issues in shows such as The Daily Show and Last Week
To be honest, when I had my first encounter with homophobia, I didn’t really understand this hatred. I watched a movie called The Laramie Project. It tells the true story of Matthew Shepard. You may have heard of him. Matthew Shepard was an innocent gay student who was tortured and left to die tied to a fence because of his sexual orientation. I couldn’t comprehend it because until then I had never been exposed to gay culture and therefore I didn’t consider homosexuality a weakness. The thing is, I saw homosexuality as a fact, I didn’t question it, I didn’t attribute certain features or qualities to it. And I still don’t. For me it is merely a part of people’s personal lives. You can imagine how shocked I was when I found out that there were people who thought that the sexual preferences of others affected them. But I wanted to understand, because there must have been some explanation behind this behaviour. So I started reading.
Same sex marriage has been a controversial issue since homosexual couples started to petition for their civil and marital rights. Even though homosexuality existed long before our society labeled it, it is still not socially accepted by many groups as well as individuals. As a result, people tend to be biased when reporting facts concerning homosexual marriage. Biases can be hidden in many literature works like books, journals, magazines, and articles. Through these documents writers try to provoke an emotional response from their readers in order to influence their view of a usually highly debated matter. An example of this would be three articles through which the rhetors dissimilarly influence the opinion of their audience by omitting or emphasizing certain facts about the legalization of gay marriage in New York State.
As a society we see everyone as straight person and if you are not then others do not accept you. Last week, Arizona state legislature passed a bill permitting business owners to refuse service to homosexual customers if it conflicts with the owner’s religious beliefs. Researchers argue that homosexuality is based on genetics while religious persona believe homosexuality is unorthodox. I will be discussing research about the impact of homosexuality on the family and how people believe that when homosexuality is innate it increases LGBT rights. Also, how homosexuality can lead to at risk sexual behavior for men and prone to HIV’s.
“Equal rights for lesbians and gay men may be the greatest civil rights battle of the 21st century” (Avery 2007, p. 71). Homosexual couples have been fighting a losing battle for years, and their struggle has recently taken the spotlight once again as a burning topic. Over the years, many people have come to support equal love. However, many Americans still advocate the one man-one woman institution of marriage. The fight for equal rights in general has always been a complex issue. African Americans, women, and many other minorities have had to fight for the rights that they hold today. There are many factors involved in gay activism such as support, attitudes, roles, and the implications of the movement. Social psychology takes a particular interest in gay rights and these factors in particular, as it is a current, controversial topic within American society.
The movie “It’s Elementary” does a great job showing the positivity reaction kids have to presenting LGBT issues in the school system. The documentary showed that all age groups can benefit from these lessons. For example, a heterosexual, 8th grade social studies teacher felt it was very important to teach his students to be respectful and not afraid of their sexuality. This teacher started his lesson by asking students to share stereotypes. He then related these stereotypes to LGBT issues. One student shared with the class that he uses slurs “out of ignorance”. This
Growing up, I was always an activist for LGBTQ people.
Gay people want to formalize their relationship and gain some of the legal standing and support that is given to heterosexual couples on a daily basis. Sadly, in most of this country, gay people are denied this right and not allowed to participate in what is a natural right for most other Americans. Efforts by NYS legislatures or Executive Orders by Governors to grant gay and lesbian people rights (i.e. non discrimination in hiring, housing or public accommodations) have been challenged by the right using public referendums. Putting the rights of gays and lesbians, or any minority, up to a vote by the majority places any minority at a disadvantage, and gay rights have usually come up short.
What I found significant about this historical chronicle was that of how powerless this community felt. As Jim Kepner explains his experience he talks about how whenever he asked individuals to take action, the response was always negative. The community of LGBTQ felt as if there was no point in organizing a group because they started to believe what others were saying about them. Things such as they are going to hell, they’re immature, they’re sinners, etc. Despite having an entire community of similar individuals, they still felt lower than a heterosexual being. As if they mattered less in society. Even today, they are not accepted. Have you ever seen LGBTQ couples or families strolling around in suburbs fitting in? It is surprising that after ten years of this article being written, these types of feelings still exist. The hate and discrimination continue to grow. In my perspective, as important as this issue is to the government and society, they are the ones letting this discrimination continue. LGBTQ people struggle with their identity because they are not accepted
Many heterosexual folks don’t understand their privilege until they begin to talk with people, listen to their stories, and observe other realities or read about other realities, that they then begin to realize what role they play in certain spaces. This is something that is absolutely crucial as a sociologist. Developing a deeper reflexivity by learning about other societies can cultivate your sociological imagination and it can help comprehend your own placement in the complex world we live in today. Reflexivity in my field of study can also have it’s downfalls as well if you are not careful about your own biases. In hopes to be as objective as possible in understanding my own standing as a queer person of color, I want to shed light on the feminist and queer scholar of how people relate to the LGBTRC in their own
In the face of a homophobic society we need creative and critical processes that draw out the complexity of lesbian lives and same sex choices, not a retreat into the comforting myths of heroines and unfractured, impeachable identities
They discuss “safe spaces” for LGBT members and how often they are focused solely on eliminating heterosexism and homophobia, “as if anti-LGBT bias is experienced similarly by all LGBT people” (Fox and Ore, 2010). In fact, that is not the case, and LGBT people of color face more minority stress than do White LGBT people. Along with that, there is a profound feeling of a lack of acceptance and belonging that LGBT people of color face, because the movement and community is so focused on White LGBT people (Giwa and Greensmith, 2012). Stakeholders
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.
The treatment of the LGBT community in American Society is a social injustice. What most people think is that they just want to be able to marry one another and be happy but that’s not it. They want to be treated like humans and not some weird creatures that no one has ever seen before. They want to be accepted for who them are and not what people want them to be and they deserve the right to be who they are just the same as any other human being. After all the discrimination they have endured they should be allowed to be who they are and be accepted as equals just like people of different skin color did in the times of segregation. We have a long way to go as a country but being the greatest country in the world in the eyes of many great America will make big steps to make things fair.
Society has shaped the thoughts and minds of many individuals and because of this personal beliefs towards LGBT people came into play. Society was constantly telling people that there was something wrong with them if they were LGBT and that they would go to hell for it because God did not approve of it and it was a sin. I would like to say that because society was judging people and denying them, that they were committing a sin. It is not their place to decide the fate of certain people, the only person that can make those decisions is God. God is the one that decides whether we are deemed worthy to go to Heaven or not. With that being said, I grew up in a family that is very religious on one side and the other side had their person beliefs
As a child we are told that we can be anything we want. We are told that if we wanted to be a fireman, policeman or astronaut, we can become it. We are told that if we have the passion and desire for something, we will achieve it. But what if I wanted the freedom to express myself to the utmost? We are told we have the right to be anything we want, but ourselves. When I was a child I wanted to take guitar classes, but my mother put me in figure skating classes because it was the girly thing to do and I had no say because I was merely a child. When I realized I liked the same sex in middle school I had no voice because I was a child who was exploring her sexuality. Age eighteen and I still have no say because I’m still a child who is confused. I knew that my voice would be silenced and I was going against the norm of society. The church says gays are an abomination. The government says gays aren't allowed to marry. Every day on the news there another image of a gay student who committed suicide due to bullying. I wasn't allowed to be myself because I knew being gay was not looked upon lightly by others. I hid myself from my friends and most importantly my parents due to the fear of society constriction against me. I was strong enough not to end up on the news but the right to be myself was taken away.