Exploring Homosexuality In 'Pray Away The Gays'

The history of the gay rights movement goes as far back as the late 19th century. More accurately, the quest by gays to search out others like themselves and foster a feeling of identity has been around since then. It is an innovative movement that seeks to change existing norms and gain acceptance within our culture. By 1915, one gay person said that the gay world was a "community, distinctly organized" (Milestones 1991), but kept mostly out of view because of social hostility. According to the Milestones article, after World War II, around 1940, many cities saw their first gay bars open as many homosexuals began to start a networking system. However, their newfound visibility only backfired on them, as

In Stephanie Fairyington's essay, “The Gay Option”, the author expresses regret about the framing she used to explain her sexuality when coming out as a homosexual to her mother. She told her mother that her homosexuality was a result of biology and not choice. As a result, Fairyington's mother began to refer to her sexually as a birth defect. This in not the outcome Fairyington desired. She explains that her intent was to gain acceptance from her mother not pity. That experience lead her to conclude that the best course of action for the LGBT community should be for them to turn away from using biology to explain their sexuality but to look instead to an argument of choice. Fairyington explains that an argument of choice will force the rest

Barton, Bernadette C.. Pray the Gay Away : The Extraordinary Lives of Bible Belt Gays. New York: NYU Press, 2012. Ebook Library. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.

Homosexuality is one of the most debated issues among Christians today, regardless of the denomination of their church. Some churches view homosexuality as a sin and have no tolerance for it, while other denominations are more accepting and consider it a non-sin. Even though some denominations have taken a stand on homosexuality, there seems to much discord within the governing bodies of the churches regarding this issue. It has moved from a topic rarely discussed and considered very personal and private, to a mainstream topic of conversation.

The word “gay” has gone through drastic changes. Traditionally, it was a positive term that meant to be “happily excited” or “jolly” (Merriam Webster, “Gay”). It was used regularly to express one’s feelings about life. Today, it has a far different meaning. Now people use the word gay to label homosexuals, those with feminine qualities, or those who do something thought to be outside of the norm for their gender. “Being gay” went from expressing someone’s happiness to describing his sexual preference. The definition of gay has changed so much that its original meaning has become archaic and lost to the times.

In “The Myth of Homosexuality” by Christine Downing, there is the discussion of homosexuality and its meaning over the years. Downing begins the article by stating how a myth has classified women-on-women and men-on-men relationships to fall under the same term of homosexuality, but there is much deeper understanding to it than that. The classification under one word has caused a lot of shaping concerning how they are viewed or how they view themselves. In order to look past the surface of what defines the myth, Downing states that we must start with the culture’s myth and it’s origin.

God never created man to be with another man. God created a woman, Eve, out of Adam. God’s will is for every man to have a woman. God has created man out of his own image, and his image is not a homosexual man. According to the Bible, you are this image until you sin, and homosexuality is considered a sin, and therefore homosexuality is wrong because God did not create man for man, but for woman and the purpose of procreation. Any other type of relation is wrong in the eye of God.

Pariah is a story about a lesbian teen name Alike, who resides in the Bronx with her parents and sister. Alike is having a hard time trying to balance the open expression of her sexuality with her close friends while keep it disclosed from her religious parents. Alike, who is known as Lee had her first sexual relation with a herosexual female name Bina. However, Bina believes she was just trying something but Lee thought Bina truly liked her. Bina did not want Lee to tell anyone about what they did together. Audrey, who is Lee mother, beat her up when she confessed that she was a lesbian. Therefore, Lee left the home and start living with her free Laura. Laure lives with her sister because her parents stop speaking to her and but her out. Laura

During the 1960s, homosexuals were subject to major legal and social persecution. Not only did the gay community struggle with a homophobic legal system and with strict police enforcement, but they also faced resentment from other members of the community. One of the major themes in this course is freedom, and freedom for the LGBT people in the 1960s was very restricted. Not many places allowed the presence of gay or transgender people, but the most popular places that allowed gay people were bars. Members of the gay community did not feel as judged there and actually felt like they could be themselves at these establishments.

The story “Foundation of the Earth” by Randall Kenan tells us about the life of 70 years old Mrs. Maggie MacGowan Williams. She lives in a small community where religious standards and principles are considered extremely important and people who do something that is not in accordance to the doctrine are frowned upon. Ms. Maggie’s grandson Edward has just died and she found out that the reason he had stayed away from home all these years was because he was gay and married to another man. According to her, she had always followed the laws of the bible and raised her grandson in the church but could not comprehend how he could live his life in such sin. She is trying to come to terms with this new development and keeping it a secret from the community. For the love she has for her grandson, whom she has raised as her own son since he was a baby, Ms. Maggie tries to be open-minded and accept her granson’s sexualilty even though it goes against everything she has believed in her christian values. This story exemplifies that fact that many people believe that christianity and homosexuality are mutually exclusive and do not go hand in hand. Ms. Maggie is trying to take a stand and show people that it can work by accepting her grandson’s sexuality and his husband and still uphold her christian morals. This story demonstrates and research confirms that a majority of people still view homosexuality as a choice; and that the attempt to reconcile between being gay and christian

Robert G. Waite discusses the struggle of teenagers, especially young male youth homosexuals. Waites argues that teenagers were the pre-occupation of the Nazi regime because of their concern for the future of their country. Before World War II began Nazi’s had strict control over teenagers, in Waites article he mentions that conviction of teenagers for homosexual acts were ranked twelfth in “frequency of convictions” it climbed to fifth by the end of the decade Waites mentions that shortly after the Nazi government came into power the convictions rate went up 14 %, but when World War II began the Nazi’s had a hard time keeping the same strict control over the teenagers because there were less parents, employment rates of teenagers went up,

Femininity is something that can often be overlooked by the authors of any literary piece. During the time of “Angels in America”, Homosexuality was not something that was as widely noticed, or even respected, during the 1990s, in which the play was written. The play, taking place in Manhattan, New York, being a fairly loud city, homosexuality would generally be something that is not widely accepted. Kushner represented the ups and downs of homosexuality and a character with aids, becoming realistic for events that could potentially happen. Femininity is not often seen in men especially in the past, since they always relied on having more “manlike” qualities. Femininity is represented by Kushner by complex ideas that create and criticize

The Puritans left England to be able to have the freedom of choosing their religion. Their voyage seems like a long time ago, but still today, America struggles to find the balance between religion and freedom. This paper will discuss three areas where this battle is manifested: public prayer, homosexuality, and alcohol and drugs. America today reflects the outcome of each side’s ability to make laws and the measures that were taken to achieve its goals. These laws have reshaped America.

There are many misconceptions of Christianity. It is said that all Christians go to church every week on sunday, but you can still have beliefs and morals that you apply to your life that came from Christianity without always going to church. God loves you whether you love him or not, or if you go to church, or read the bible every night. Christians don't have to be super strict either, some Christians are strict and they believe that there life revolves around God, but not everyone. Families can pray before meals and pray at night without disrupting their daily life. Another misconception of Christains believe that Homosexualtiy is a sin. In christianity they believe in sins, sins are immoral acts that counteract divine law. It is commonly

Similar to the ancient Greeks’ way of thinking, homosexuality in Christianity was considered taboo because of the way the homosexual acts (specifically sodomy) were considered to degrade one partner to the status of a female. An encyclopedia article in the Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, titled “Christianity and Homosexuality”, talks about how the way a person interprets the different lessons of the Bible can influence how they view homosexuality. Using the historical-critical way of reading the text, you put the reading into its historical context, taking into consideration what was happening at the time, what the words would have meant in that time and so on. The article argues that “the complexity of the issue is often over-simplified either because of an inadequate appreciation for the diversity of positions promulgated about homosexuality among Christian denominations today or because of long-held cultural taboos and religious biases about the root ‘causes’ of homosexuality”(O’Brien). I somewhat agree with the article when it talks about how it is assumed that Christianity is automatically against homosexuality. I think that Christianity hadn’t really thought out its view on homosexuality until it started to become a widespread issue in society, but at the same time, they are inherently homophobic, starting with Adam and Eve and their heterosexual relationship. I also believe that, while the article doesn’t mention it, one of the “religious biases about the root