Gay Oppression Research Paper

Life for most homosexuals during the first half of the Twentieth century was one of hiding, being ever so careful to not give away their true feelings and predilections. Although the 1920s saw a brief moment of openness in American society, that was quickly destroyed with the progress of the Cold War, and by default, that of McCarthyism. The homosexuals of the 50s “felt the heavy weight of medical prejudice, police harassment and church condemnation … [and] were not able to challenge these authorities.” They were constantly battered, both physically and emotionally, by the society that surrounded them. The very mention or rumor of one’s homosexuality could lead to the loss of their family, their livelihood and, in some cases, their

According to Sullivan (2008), same-sex attraction has not always been considered a deviation. However, post-war societal reaction to prohibition, gay bathhouses and other establishments were adverse and a new war on immorality arose, which was supported by American individuals, religious and governmental institutions. This outlook prevailed throughout the 1950's and led to blatant anti-gay attitudes. The persecution of the gay life style brought on renewed shame and guilt for the homosexual community as gay men were forced to cope with the stigmatization by "passing" as heterosexuals and thus become invisible. This resulted in the development of their own discriminatory social construct, with a hierarchy where males who were able to prove their masculinity through assimilation were held in the highest regards, while those that did not were looked down upon by their own gay communities

Over the next two decades, half the states decriminalized homosexual behavior, and police harassment grew less frequent and obvious to the public. Also in 1975, it became legal for gays to hold federal jobs. However all this headway also made room for more opposition. In 1977, Anita Bryant was so successful at obtaining a repeal of a recent gay ordinance in her home state of Florida that by 1980, a league of anti gay clubs had come together to make a force, led in part by Jesse Helms. The AIDS scare that began in the eighties did not help the gay image either, but more citizens joined their ranks in order to combat the oppression and fund a search for the cure, so in the end it actually made the movement stronger. According to the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2000), by 1999, the anti-sodomy laws of 32 states had been repealed, and in 1996 Vermont granted its gay citizens the right to same sex marriages. Gay rights has come a long way as a social movement, and though it still has a long way to go, it makes a good topic to analyze the process of the social movement.

“Sex was something mysterious which happened to married couples and Homosexuality was never mentioned; my mother told me my father did not believe it existed at all ‘until he joined the army’. As a child, I was warned about talking to ‘strange men’, without any real idea what this meant. I was left to find out for myself what it was all about.” Mike Newman, who was a child during the 1950s America recalls how homosexuality was perceived during the post-World War II era (F). This sexual oppression was not only in Newman’s household, but in almost everyone’s. While the civil rights movement began in the mid-1950s and ended late 1960s, the LGBT community started to come out of the closet slowly. The gay rights movement stemmed from the civil rights movement

Gay liberation throughout the United States had a purpose for lesbians and gay men to have gay lifestyles be normal. Gay liberation affected politics because gay men and lesbians wanted to inform their peers and family, which changed how citizens would view their sexual orientation. The gay liberation took place during the 1960’s through the 1980’s in which changed many cultures. The culture in the United States changed dramatically because during the 1960s through 1980s , there was an AIDS outbreak. AIDS was a sickness after HIV that would cause an individual’s body to weaken, therefore United States citizens would link AIDS to people who were gay or lesbian. For instance, David Rayside compares the United States to Britain, “After World War II, however, Britain once again stood out in the extent to public anxieties about sexuality were fanned and legal regulation of homosexual activity policed”(40) and “British authorities were especially preoccupied with the condemnation and strict containment of homsexuality.”(40). Homosexuality affected politics because authorities would prioritize the gays and lesbians before anything else. There were clear observations that governments from Britain and United States were not in favor for homosexuality, therefore attempting to change people's views on homosexuality so gays and lesbians would not be accepted into the society. Being accepted into a society requires majority of citizens to approve of other’s decisions. For example, citizens viewing gays or lesbians in public without attempting to discriminate their sexuality. The women’s movement was similar to the gay liberation because it affected politics greatly by hierarchies being

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer community also referred to as LGBTQQ is no stranger to oppression. “In 1600-1800, colonists discovered buggery (sex between men or between women) among Native Americans. In 1869, Dr. Karoly Benkert coined the term “homosexuality” to describe same-sex acts. In 1870-1910, homosexuals

Growing up, I have heard stories about my uncles’ struggles living in the 80’s and early 90’s while being gay. They could not even go to the grocery store without being harassed and they could not even walk down the street without risking being jumped. One of their friends happened to be attacked one day and had their eye dug out with a stick.

In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people

After decades of sociopolitical mobilization by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and their allies, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage this year. Despite the landmark ruling, black and other nonwhite members of the LGBT community criticized the movement’s narrow focus, and its failure to acknowledge the racial inequality, class cleavages, and marginalization within the community.1 My research addresses how black LGBTs’ experiences of discrimination affect their perception of the salience of same-sex marriage.

LGBT people have been oppressed and discriminated against for hundreds of years, and still are today. During the AIDS crisis, and average of 1 out of every 6 LGBT men were diagnosed with AIDS (“How”). But before I get too far ahead of myself, let us start from the beginning. Homosexuals have been oppressed for as far back as biblical times. Leviticus 20:13 states “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.’”. Though there is speculation over whether this verse refers to pedophilia or not, it still was a cause for a massive amount of homophobia. (“History”). As a result of homophobia, AIDS research was heavily underfunded. AIDS was thought of as a sort of punishment for LGBT men’s “sinful acts”. Ryan White, a teen at the time, was expelled from school for having AIDS (“History”). AIDS patients were

I am very proud to say that I have helped to reintroduce our school's Gay Straight Alliance club. My freshman year our club shut down due to lack of interest and most LGBT students at Evansville High were uncomfortable coming out since there was not a lot of them. By my sophomore year, I thought it would be appreciable to reintroduce this club. I wanted to create a fun safe place where students to join as one. I worked hard finding information so I could relate to all, since we had all types of people. A large challenge at my school, which is awful, is students making fun of other people for simply being different.

Before the stonewall riot, homosexuals were completely miserable because of police and homophobes.According to Dissent Magazine “both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran pieces that assumed the genesis of the gay freedom campaign can be traced to a single dramatic event with a singularly memorable name: Stonewall.”The only reason that people have LGBT+ rights today is because of the stonewall riot.Rights info “ We’ve come a

Sodomy involving men with men, men with women, and men with animals were made illegal. Same-sex relations between men was outlawed because it discouraged sexual reproduction. But same-sex acts between women were just seen as acts and not yet threatening. Later into the 19th century, we saw a more of a change. The industrial revolution further enforced patriarchal families. Women and children were transformed from “producers to dependents and consumers.” During this time, gender roles were more pronounced in society, which led to a series of issues for the LGBTQ community later during the 19th century.

Being queer isn't an insult! Many people of the LGBTQ ( lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community feel attacked by people who are homophobic towards them. People should be informed about the LGBTQ community, and how they are not bad people for being queer. Mainly because there is a big stigma associated with being part of the LGBTQ community.

In this country there is a flawed assumption that gay people enjoy the same civil right protections as everyone else and there are a lot of stereotypes about gay relationships. Living as a gay individual in this country can be extremely overwhelming and scary. When it comes to marriage between gay couples, controversy is bound to turn up. There are numerous arguments as to why gay marriage is not “right” such as; it offends everything religion stands for, marriage is for procreation, and gay