Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - Homosexuality and the Media

It was not until the twelfth century that homosexuality started to be condemned. This condemnation proved to live through then until now. Due to the fact that America incorporated these early views into its early laws, even the most bland of today's sex acts were seen as unlawful (“Homosexuality and Mental Health”). Since then, these laws have changed, however, there is still a primarily negative connotation on homosexuals when coming from a church or legal standpoint concerning the masses of America.

Society evolves with time and some of the things we see as normal now, were seen as offensive or wrong in another decade. Until 1967, homosexuality was criminalised and people were sent to prison for things they did in private. At the time, society saw homosexual acts, even those performed in private, as offensive; and homosexuals were stigmatized. This is what Feinberg calls legal moralism: to “prohibit conduct on the ground that it is inherently immoral, although it causes neither harm

Before the 20th century, when religion played a bigger role in the daily lives of Americans, many people opposed homosexuality and those who practiced it because they felt it was a sin. God did not approve of homosexuality, so neither would they. This would lead to the scarce amount of openly gay people in the United States during this time to be tremendously discriminated against and ostracized by society. Homophobia would be passed on for generations and generations.

Gay discrimination has been present for many years in the United States history. In colonial America homosexuality was regulated with harsh penalties but was rarely enforced (Chauncey 1). Between the 1930’s and 1960’s, Discrimination of homosexuality peeked (Chauncy 1). Homosexual men and

Another reason is that homosexuality is "unnatural", especially due to the fact that homosexuals cannot procreate. Homosexuality occurs in over 450 species. It is a not a "sin" that would simply be caused by the original sin; it has always been there. Homosexuality is a mixture of cells and genes arranged differently than for a heterosexual. Even if it was unnatural, that does not automatically make it wrong. The desire to murder is natural, but it is not right. Airplanes are unnatural, but aid in many ways and do little harm. These two classifications do not go hand in hand. While it is true that homosexuals cannot procreate, there is not a burning need for this. Our world is faced with

Twenty years ago, 42 million viewers watched the sitcom Ellen, featuring Ellen DeGeneres, and the now famous Puppy episode. That night Ellen had admitted to the world that she was gay. The backlash to her coming out was vicious, boycotts and protests towards the sitcom seemed neverending and when the ABC network made the decision to renew the show for another season, they went to the extent of putting a “parental advisory” warning at the beginning of each episode. Shortly after, it was cancelled for being criticised as “too gay.” Fast forward 20 years later, Ellen DeGeneres was given the Medal of Freedom by former President of the United States, Barack Obama who said, “It’s easy to forget now just how much courage was required for Ellen to come out on the most public of stages 20 years ago.” This event has been marked as a milestone referring to the world of entertainment for the LGBTQ community.

Times have changed we are living in a world more liberal , where for society is more commom see same sex couples, where same sex marriage are allowed , where laws protect people with different sexual orientation. Even in this times people with different sexual orientation are afraid to show their identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender for fear of suffering some kind of abuse by society.

Admittedly, since the establishment of American being known as life, liberty, and happiness there were still restrictions disregarding who people could necessarily be with. According to NORC, “Although sharply divided, public attitudes toward gays and lesbians are rapidly changing to reflect greater acceptance, with younger generations leading the way, research by NORC at the University of Chicago shows.” Either way, people that belong to the homosexuality community did not stop in the justice for pursing same-sex marriage. According to NORE, ‘In addition to a plurality who now approve of same-sex marriage, Americans overwhelmingly support basic civil liberties and freedom of expression for gays and lesbians, in contrast to sharp division on such issues in the 1970s.” Giovanna persona clearly imparts on the following listener’s ears that at times people will not respect what one stands in favor of but still stand.

portray more homosexual orientation in the media. It is not often we will see in movies, TV shows or ads a gay couple so doing this will help to take the stigma around being gay and send a strong message that people are treated as equals, no matter what their sexual identity. With inclusive portrayal in the media, this will make it seem less unusual for someone to be homosexual and it can show that, just because they are gay, it doesn’t mean that they dress or act any differently from anyone else.

“I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us,” said Kinky Friedman, an American musician from Texas. Friedman’s exclamation may come as a surprise, coming from a man from the state of Texas, which for the most part is less accepting of homosexuals. However, the statement holds weight, even if said in jest, as it includes homosexuals in the conversation, something that needs to take place. The video I watched for this essay, Further off the Straight and Narrow highlights trends in sexual representation on television. Although equal representation of homosexuals on television is far from taking place overnight, due to the growing number of roles featured it appears change, albeit slow, is taking place. In this essay, I will explain my position on gay representation on television. To do this I will first, discuss my thoughts on the idea that gays should embody middles class standards to be accepted, then speak on my reaction towards explicit gay sexuality represented on television, and finally,

Although in today’s society, there are topics that can be very uncomfortable and numerous amount of people don’t necessarily think it is vital information unless it proves necessary. One of the most questionable issues among nowadays is homosexuality. God's creatures think that it is a sin or a genetic virus that we have to prevent. Some people believe that it is a personal choice or a right to be different. But on the other hand homosexuality is alive and people should be mindful of the tribal and tribulation that these people have to go through in their lives. The other factor that cannot be ignored is a that the religion we believe in claims that homosexuality to be one of the most unforgivable sins ever, but does religion imply that

A lot of prejudices exist in the United States and globally, when it comes to gays. One of those prejudices suggests that gays should not be entitled to the same rights as would same sex couples. These stereotypes perhaps stem back as far as biblical days, where passages in the old testament book, Leviticus that prohibited “lying with mankind as with womankind”. Also, the story of Sodom and Gomarrah have also been interpreted by Christian churches as a way of condemning and banning homosexual behaviors. There really are no positive sides to these stereotypes as in most cases, the stereotypes are mentioned in a way that is condescending. The word gay alone, though it is supposed to be a noun, as it is used in the context of sexual preference, has also

Television portrays people who are homosexual to the extreme and negatively. In shows with a gay or lesbian character they tend to show them in an opposite genre than what they originally are. An example, if the character is gay they represent him as more feminine than being manly. This also goes with lesbians because they tend to portray them more manly than feminine. Also in television, they have shows that are biased on subjects like certain news show. When I say this as a kid they made me believe that being homosexual was wrong and people were always going to judge you or hate

A major reason for the fear and objection towards homosexuality is organized religion. Whether we notice it or not, we as humans follow many everyday concepts from the Bible. Examples would be, to not steal, murder, or commit adultery in marriage. The Bible also states that homosexuality is unethical and should be avoided as other sins. These are all great to follow, if you conform to the rules of the Bible. Religious back up should not be used in order to deem something wrong or unethical. It is essential to understand, to deem homosexuality ethical or not, rational decision-making must occur. One must analyze the pros and cons; if the pros outweigh the cons, homosexuality is ethical, and visa versa. One who explicitly follows an organized religion must follow the rules of a higher power (God). Getting rid of this obstacle will leave room for autonomous decisions on homosexuality, and eventually its place in good ethics.

The phenomenon of homosexuality has always been a controversy to almost every culture and society. Throughout history, various positions regarding homosexuality have been taken, some oppose homosexuality and some are with homosexuality and have their own reasons. According to John Bancroft, graduate sexologist of Cambridge University and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at (IUSM) Indiana University School of Medicine, of 42 cultures, 41 % are strongly against homosexuality and 33% ignored the concept, thus, making the idea of rejecting the phenomenon more dominant than living with it and it's a well-known fact that homosexuality faces the lowest acceptance rates in Asian and African countries and the highest in Australia, Europe and the Americas. In the philosophical social science, there have been two views of homosexuality. The first view of the "essentialists" stated that sexual orientation of a person is determined by natural genes and the second of "constructionists" assumed that sexual orientation is learned through trial. So basically, that's why we have several standings when it comes to homosexuality.