Ellen Degeneres : A Humorous Humanitarian

Throughout the course of history for the homosexual community, many people have played major roles in the push for equality and normalization of the gay and lesbian lifestyle. In the 1970s, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to be given a position in the California government. Milk pushed for homosexual men and women to always be open about their sexuality and who they are (Fenwick 32). Later on in the homosexual history timeline, Ellen DeGeneres opened up about being a lesbian on the television show, “Ellen” (Staff), kick starting the infusion of gays and lesbians into the entertainment business. Politically, Barack Obama made a huge impact on the current rights gays and lesbians have. In 2015, Obama signed a law making same-sex marriage legal across the entire United States. President Obama also declared an annual gay pride month, along with making gay hate crimes federal offenses, and ending gay conversion therapy for minors (Staff).

Gay sees herself as an intersection of the black, woman, and feminist communities, making her a hybrid of the three, giving her a distinct community to identify with as well as broader groups. She identifies as a woman and acknowledges all of the expectations and stereotypes that accompanies. On the other hand, her fundamental views on gender equality gives her the ability to empathize with the feminist community. Nevertheless, in every group of people, everyone is a distinct individual with a distinct number of characteristics, both physical and emotional, that sets them apart from the person next to them. As a woman of color, Gay has a list of additional concerns and interests that pertains to her specific experience that are not necessarily included throughout the entire group of feminists. Gay could be branched off into dozens of more sects and factions that pertain to specific

Over the past few years, the issues faced by people who identify as transgender (gender dysphoric) have gained momentum in the media. From Caitlyn Jenner to which bathroom to use, transgender people have made a lot of progress in addressing

As the years have gone by, you can see the change of how gays and lesbians are widely seen in mostly every tv show or movie in today’s society. This is something most of our own parents didn’t even grow up seeing gays throughout the media. Living in today’s time period, you’re able to see how the influence has changed the way people see gays and lesbians. The nation has become more accepting of the gay and lesbian culture verses back in the days of when our parents and even grandparents were our age. Not only was is rare to see homosexuals on television, it was portrayed negatively, and now you can see it portrayed positively.

LGBT representation is a touchy subject, and Amy is one of the few brave enough to explore the topic. However, she left more than a few holes in her argument, biting off more than she could chew. Her position on the misrepresentation of bisexuals in TV was ineffective at persuading her audience, because of her lack of concrete evidence, misdirection of audiences, and contradictory statements.

In the essay titled “A Tale of Three Coming Out Stories” by Roxane Gay, the author expresses the invasion of the privacy of celebrities and other well known individuals by society. The essay revolves around the LGBT community which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and the issues that occur due to society pressure and anti-gay governmental legislation . Gay uses the coming out stories of 3 well-known individuals in her essay in a persuasive manner to prove the idea that although celebrities losing their privacy is unfair, they have an obligation to speak up in order to benefit the greater good. In order to benefit the greater good Roxane Gay repeatedly expresses that fellow LGBT members must stand up and be counted.

The present essay aims to analyse and discuss how social actions related to gender and sexuality have given rise to social change. Particular attention will be given to how views and opinions on gender and sexuality have positively evolved throughout the years as a result of decades of social activism led by the members and allies of the LGBT community. In order to do so, the current paper will firstly provide a concise account of how gender and sexuality were seen in the former times, which will be then compared to more current perspectives. Secondly, the paper will present a brief overview of the history of the LGBT movement, and highlight its main milestones. Significant emphasis will be given to how these salient occurrences have significantly affected today’s perception and attitudes towards the LGBT community in the majority of the world countries. In conclusion, the current essay will introduce and explore the recent ongoing activism that has been occurring globally within the LGBT community.

The uprising of gay and lesbian entertainment in shows such as “Will & Grace,” Showtime series “Queer As Folk” and “The L Word,” has overthrown the former cookie cutter husband and wife TV series. Gay and lesbian affairs in the media emerged quickly after the coming out of Ellen Degeneres in her hit sitcom, “Ellen.” The comedian now has her own daytime talk show, achieving mainstream popularity for obvious reasons: she’s funny, down-to-earth, and openly gay. In earlier decades homosexuality was previously limited to a closet of taboos, where no one knew about it, and no one admitted to it. Primetime programming would never house a show in which gay men and lesbian women openly discussed their sex lives and sexual preferences, nor a show that based its entire plotline on gay and lesbian couples.

After high school, DeGeneres did not know what she wanted to do with her life. At the age of 19, one of DeGeneres’ friends was killed in a car accident and DeGeneres was living in an apartment basement with no money. She suddenly had a calling from God and realized she wanted to be the first woman on the Tonight Show and take the path of stand-up. However, this was a challenge for her to constantly hide her secret of her being gay. She was worried people wouldn’t listen to her and was living with shame and fear. Eventually, DeGeneres came to realization that she wanted to be honest with herself and she told everyone who she really was. Even though she did not receive any job offers for three years she knew she was doing the right thing due to the

Ellen DeGeneres states, “I'm not an activist; I don't look for controversy. I'm not a political person, but I'm a person with compassion. I care passionately about equal rights. I care about human rights. I care about animal rights.”(“Ellen DeGeneres Quotes.”). Ellen is a popular television host that isn’t afraid to express her opinion to the public. She knows that people do not need to have a high education in equality to understand the every person deserves to be seen and treated equally. People can still take a stand and make a difference simply by supporting a cause. Imagine being discriminated against for something one cannot control, such as their sex. Many people had faced this, until someone decided to take charge. The Equal rights Amendment was supposed to protect oneself from this type of discrimination. A lot has had to happen just to get this amendment up and running to be introduced. The equal rights Amendment has a long history and can be linked to many famous writings, which makes it easily relatable to almost everyone.

LGBT history has changed the way society works in the United States and has had an impact around the world. The homosexual community came as an impact to the world during the early 1900’s. They were considered different; odd, ill, and weak, but little did we know the effects it would have in today’s society and politics. The war, queer, and AIDs movements seem to relatively impact members of the gay and lesbian community the most. In an series of interviews in “Word is Out” conducted by Nancy Adair and Casey Adair, the reader is introduced into the lives of Pam, Rusty, and Pat; lesbian women living within their true identity during the mid-1900’s. Their stories consist of broken family relationships, marriage failure, and gender roles. To help one understand the dynamics of their relationships and lives, John D’Emilo talks about the effects of war and how it structures and damages the gay community and their opportunity for equality. Elizabeth Davis speaks about the Lesbian experience in public spaces that exposes many to find their character by associating with those that fit best to their community in “Lesbian Bar Culture in the 1930’s and 1940’s”. The LGBT community for centuries has won the spotlight in the news and many articles published in well know newspapers, but what many never get to hear or see are the struggle that many homosexuals face. Both gays and lesbians in the United States have received backlash because of their race, gender, and social class. The

As human beings the vast majority of us wish we could change the world, whether that be helping humans, animals, the environment, it is helping those that cannot help themselves. However, we also realize to help with these causes it takes money and for the most part a great deal of it. But, some people are fortunate enough and can help change the lives of many. That is what Ellen DeGeneres has done with her leadership skills, guidance, celebrity status and wealth. Through her kind heart and passion for the social good she does everything she can to make the world a better place. It is true that money can certainly help in spanning social good, however, multiple pennies can also impact those in need. Social good is something that anyone can do. It is not about celebrity status or being a millionaire. Social good is about feeling good about helping others when they are in need. It is about creating a sense of connectedness to humanity and being humble all the while influencing those that follow you. This is what Ellen DeGeneres is all about. This paper will discuss, Ellen 's foundations and charities, how these reflect her personal values and leadership integrity, how her giving enhances her celebrity image and whether her integrity is compatible with her image.

My Biological sex is female, my gender identity is female, but is my gender expression what I am starting to question. It was after I read Janet Mock’s book and I listened to an interview with Joy Ladin that I became aware of the similarities transgender women undertake in their process to come out, and my own process of redefining the expression of the woman that I am. I feel that the coming out of transgender people is encouraging us, especially women, to deeply question our woman expression. Trans-women like Joy Ladin and Janet Mock are raising a new conversation about gender identity and gender expression…..

The struggle for equality has been intense, and still continues to this day. With this being said, much progress has been made in establishing respect and external acceptance for all individuals sense of identity. For example, in 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Same Sex Marriages, marking a pivotal point in the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community. For many, this act helped to support their sense of self, a right that been denied for so long. The United States effectively validated the LGBTQ community, giving this group all rights granted to all other citizen’s, However, the creation and acceptance of this community has not had positive benefits for all members. The Gender Binary has been changed, but many distinctions

In today’s day and age one of the most influential women and people is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has had a big impact on today’s society and played a huge role in advancing it. Oprah Winfrey is a talk show host, producer, actress and philanthropist who are widely respected around the world. By becoming one of the biggest names in talk show history Oprah has paved the way for others and became one of the more popular women in talk show history. Her willingness to help others and to be sure others are guided in positive light shows how much passion she has to see the greater good in others. Oprah’s biggest role comes from helping to pursue the advancement of young women and girls. Oprah has taken the time to see to it that young women are out of poverty and opening up a brand new school for underprivileged females to see to it that they have the same opportunity that children in America and other parts of the world have. Being that African- Americans, let alone women were not seen as marketable, Oprah helped to change this dynamic early in her career by using her platform in communication to open doors for other people. Winfrey’s work over a number of years is the single most evident reason why she has been able to be successful in the field of mass communication. Oprah is one of the most influential women of our time because of how well she is able to contribute to the human rights of women and advancing them in today’s society.