Understand The Lesbian Identity By Henry Tajfel

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Understand the lesbian identity “…sex attains meaning in social relations, which implies that we can only make appropriate choices around sexuality by understanding its social, cultueral and political context.” (Quote: 9293 jeffrey weeks) The idea around the sexual tradition has drastically changed over the years; for centuries homosexuality was considered as a sinful act; but with developments in the scientific, cultural and social world this ‘act’ developed into an identity, a way of being based around characteristics which make an individual who they are. The essentialist theory reflects this in terms that in every concept known to be there is a formed idea around them; in terms of homosexuality the theory contributes to the idea that homosexuality is not just act, with reference to sodomy, but is a characteristic of the individual who engages in the act; an identiy. Throughout society there are a lot of identities one might categorize themselves within; based on knowledge and opinions and fundamentally a way of life. The Social Identity theory, proposed by Henry Tajfel in the 1970’s is designed to explain and help aid in the understanding of how it is one might develop a connection and belonging to particular groups within society; but more importantly providing an understanding as to how the mechanics of discrimination regarding other groups work. “In order to increase our self-image we enhance the status of the group to which we belong…we can also increase our self-image by discriminating and holding prejudice views against the out group (the group we don’t belong to).” (simplypsychology). To some degree everyone is influenced by social identity, the theory composes the idea that the social world is divided into ... ... middle of paper ... ...ea that lesbians are actually not that different. Social identies are a big force in the way lesbians are treated within society. The fact that groups fear individuals who are different to themselves is a big factor in trying to understand why it is lesbians face discrimination. The more heterosexuals are subjected to the reality of lesbiansm the more this social identity can become normalized. As stated before, unless a lesbian discloses her identity heterosexuals wont alsways assume thir identity hindering them into their social group. This research will further look at how the use of media, in specific TV dramas are a significant tool in representing these lesbian identities, to normalize the subculture which is often overlooked because there are no obvious factors that highlight a lesbian, and to show how normal lesbianism actually is withing society.

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