The Movie Dope

The movie Dope (2015) has a colorful cast including Malcolm, Diggy, and Jib. Diggy is a lesbian teenager whose grandmother takes to church every Sunday. While at church, fellow church members pray over Diggy in hopes to “pray away the gay.” In today’s culture some people believe that if they pray hard enough then they will no longer be attracted to the same sex. On one occasion Diggy was undressing a female church member with her eyes while she was praying for her. That showed that that theory is not always true.

Praying away the gay does not always work. Diggy and her friends are walking down the hallway at school. They are taking about yesterday’s church event that involved Diggy being prayed over, Jib asks Diggy did she think the praying

worked and how does she feel now. Diggy jokingly responds by saying that while she watched a Justin Bieber video she felt moist, meaning that she felt some attraction towards him. The fact that she joked about it proves that the praying did not work on her and that she is still sexually attracted to the same gender.
In recent events, just a few months ago gay marriage was legalized in every state in North America by the Supreme Court. “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.” said Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. During the period of 2003 to 2015, an abundant lower court verdicts and state legislation had already legalized same-sex marriage to thirty-eight out of the fifty U.S. states, in the U.S. territory Guam, and in the District of Columbia. "They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law," Kennedy wrote of same-sex couples in the case. "The Constitution grants them that right." Said Justice Anthony Kennedy who was the crucial vote in the case. President Obama acclaimed the Supreme Court's ruling, saying that it arrived "like a thunderbolt" after a chains of back-and-forth fights over the same-sex marriage topic. Obama believes that the ruling "will strengthen all of our communities" by proposing pride and equal status to all same-sex couples and their families. The president calls the decision "a victory for America."
On October 20th, 2015, an episode of “Out in Hip Hop” aired on VH1. The roundtable discussion included celebrities such as Milan Christopher, Big Freedia, Ray J, and DMC. The panel discussed topics such as whether or not should homosexual rappers be accepted in the Hip Hop community, ways to come out to your family and friends, gay pastors, etc. Openly gay Pastor Kevin E. Taylor says that “Going to church and feeling the real love of God, seeing in the scripture that God made Man to be who he/she is ‘I made you just as you are now go do you.’” Made him who he is today. Gospel artist Tiye Tribbett said in an interview with Sister 2 Sister magazine, “There are lots of things that are natural to us that may not be God’s best for us. That’s my only thing. I’m not saying that homosexuality is not natural. I agree with you that it is. There are several things that come naturally that’s not God’s best. Children 2 years old, “Did you eat that cookie?” “No.” Lying came naturally to them.” Nobody taught that kid how to lie. It came in the flesh package, but that’s not God’s best. There are certain things that can trigger the not-so-great natural in all of us. But is it God’s will or God’s best for us, period? And I don’t condemn homosexuality, but I don’t believe it’s God’s best for our lifestyle, according to the Bible.”
Homosexuality in the African American world is something that has been conversed about since the Harlem Renaissance, it has been distinguished that African American literary writers including Langston Hughes and Richard Bruce Nugent have written short stories and poems about African American homosexuality in Harlem (Silberman, 1996). As time went on more writers have written about the struggles of being gay, African Americans experiencing homophobia, heterosexism, and racial inequality. As a Black lesbian, I should not feel any less a part of the Black community than my straight sisters. The Black community is my house and home!” (Newman-Wagner, 2004. p. 30).
People have used outrageous and unorthodox methods to rid people of this sin. Many parents send their child to Get Straight Camps or Pray Away the Gay Camps. Kids at the camp get physically and mentally tortured and do recover after it. Many commit suicide. Sam Brinton describes his experience at one of the camps. “One in three LGBT kids will go through some form of "conversion therapy" in their lifetime. But not all of them get away with an unhealthy dose of sex-shaming and a handful of ignorant lectures.” Brinton said in an article. "Within my first weeks in therapy, I was told every other gay person on Earth had been executed. ... By the end of the so-called 'treatments,' I believed the government was looking for me because the gays had brought AIDS to America and that I now had this disease raging through me."
If growing up in America is hard, imagine being gay in Black America. Christian families often turn away from their children, send them to those Get Straight camps, or spend hours praying away the gay in their child. D’Augelli, Grossman, & Starks (2005, p. 474) reported, “Adolescents whose families were unaware of their sexual orientation reported more fear of verbal and physical abuse from families than adolescents whose families knew.” In the African American community, homophobia is everywhere, causing young adults to keep their sexuality a secret. “Since the family and/or the community may be the most crucial source of support in living within a hostile dominant culture, fears about loss of family support may seem to some too high a price to pay for coming out” (Johnson & Keren, 1998, p. 322).
Hodges and Parkes (2005) described internal homophobia as the self-hatred or denial of one’s own sexual orientation as part of an identity struggle linked with an affirmation of queer identity more commonly referred to as coming out. For example, Neisen (1993) distinguished that the impression of heterosexism and homophobia on homosexual people impedes individual and emotional growth, and often yields a sense of internal embarrassment. Oppression adds to the embarrassment as many homosexual individuals learn at an early age to think less of themselves and place a higher worth on heterosexual people.
The cultural aspect of homophobia and heterosexism talk about general pressure within our humanity and communities that intentionally or unintentionally continues the repression and suppression of gay people.

The cultural aspect of homophobia and heterosexism is sugarcoated in its generational effects on a people. These cultural beliefs are predominantly established through community, religious and family relationships, along with social norms. It is also based on cultural norms and dominant cultural values, which is subjective and dictates what is acceptable, beautiful, and appreciated (Perez. 2005; Ungar, 2004). When queer people of color are rejected by their own communities, they experience a double exclusion. They feel they are not a part of the queer community, which is predominantly white, nor do they fit into heterosexual groups of color. These dynamics are a psychological, emotional and social mountain that queer people of color must learn how to continuously climb (Perez, 2005). One notable example of parents not accepting their child’s sexuality in the character Veronica Harrington on The Haves and The Haves Nots. Veronica expressed extreme hatred for her son Jeffery’s homosexuality. When Jeffrey came out of the closet to his parents his father was open and heartfelt with him, his mother showed the opposite reaction. Her actions toward him include forcing him to get a girlfriend (who knows that he is gay), ruining his friendship with his best friend Wyatt, telling

him that she would rather herself having a miscarriage before having him over him becoming gay, disowning him making completely poor, and planning on getting him to impregnate his girlfriend so that he will be left with no choice but to marry the young lady. Her actions led to her having a horrible relationship with her son and even her husband. As a result of her actions, her husband moved out of their house. She tried to kill her husband by burning him alive in their own bed because he supports their son’s sexuality. She had also arranged for her son to get beat up by an incredibly dangerous ex-felon, Jeffrey is almost killed during this confrontation. She even had an inmate try to rape Wyatt while he was incarcerated. This brings Catherine Cryer’s husband, Jim Cryer, who is Wyatt’s father, to strangle her to death. Jeffrey finally stands up to his mother after finding out all of the evil things she was doing in regards to getting his pretend girlfriend pregnant.
Celebrities with gay children include Cher and her newly transgender son Chaz, Isiah Thomas and his son Zeke, “I came out to them, and they were very accepting.

I always knew they would be accepting.” Gloria Vanderbilt’s celebrity TV Journalist Anderson Cooper came out in 2012 and received nothing but love and support from his mother. Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman was well known for his stand against gay marriage, that is until his son announced that he was gay in the year 2011. In 2013 he changed his position on the matter. In a column for The Columbus Dispatch, he wrote, “I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married.”

The Huffington Post reports that New York’s Lesbian Chef Mirella Salemi was awarded $1.6 Million after her employer attempted to pray away the gay in her. Edward Globokar held employee prayer meetings inside his establishment, Mary Ann’s. Salemi had worked at the restaurant for six years. "He not only threatened her soul, but he also threatened her livelihood," Derek Smith, a lawyer for Salemi, told the Post. "He thought praying might cure her of her sexuality, but she is someone who didn’t need to be

saved."
An article written by Robin Abcarian from the Los Angeles Times, “Exodus International: From “pray away the gay” to acceptance, talks about a Christian ministry that focuses on “praying away the gay.” Alan Chambers founded the church as a safe place for homosexuals who were struggling with their attraction for the same sex. Chambers believes that his church has done more damage than repair. He claims that his church has become a home for homosexuals who aren’t trying to change.