Homophobia And Discrimination

‘Homophobia is a feeling of prejudice or negative attitudes and feelings towards homosexual or people who identify or perceive themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.’ People who are homosexual feel that they were born the way they are and cannot change their orientation. Society dislikes them and sees them as a threat. They believe it is immoral, unnatural, unacceptable, and deserve to be hated. One main reason why people can’t accept homosexual people is because they feel that what they are feeling is being portrayed as sick, nonexistent, or confused of what they are. It has lead to many suicidal deaths of teens and bullying in schools and judgements of people.

As Gloria Anzaldúa moves forward with the cultural dealings of homophobic ideas, we learn more of her fear of being rejected. Some groups may conform to the norms to be accepted in a culture, which we see often in the United States when dealing simply with immigration and assimilation, but there are

During the 1980’s indulging in homosexual activity was considered in crime, people were imprisoned when caught doing so. But in 2003 some parts of the United States, suspended the law, and made homosexuality legal, soon European countries such as Canada, Belgium, and Netherlands passed an act which approved of homosexual weddings (Bonvillain 2006). If one digs deeper into this issue, where these debatable, one can find that it roots back from religions. Most religion disapprove of homosexuality but in religions such as Hindu, for sexuality, scriptures of homosexual activity only stated that it was normal and natural, to be attracted to the same sex (Bonvillain 2006). But in today’s society the main issue is regarding the issue of males being attracted to each other, an example of this issue is ‘Homophobia of men’. Homosexuality is considered to be a cultural construct, which apart from the ‘lesbian identities’ gave rise to the ‘gay identities’ (Herek 1986). It is common for normal men, to avoid influencing with homosexual men, as they fear what the public might think of them being judged as not ‘masculine’, where as its more normal for woman to associate with lesbians or homosexual women, as they are not being judged by the rest of the females (Herek 1986). Studies showed, that the social construction of gay identities meant that there was something psychologically wrong with that person,

Homophobia is the concept in which people are hateful or fearful towards lesbians and gays (Dictionary.com, 2014). Fear and revulsion of the LGBT population commonly emanate from religious concepts or traditional ideas of society. In 2011, 18% of hate crimes based upon sexual orientation were reported, however, the number proved to be higher than expected due to the fact that many more individuals are reporting these crimes to the authorities (Northhumberland View, 2013). This further demonstrates the progression of LGBT rights in Canadian society due to the fact that lesbian, gay and transgender individuals alike feel comfortable enough to report these matters to the police and receive justice rather than allowing the issue to go unnoticed out of fear of being judged. Also, though many laws have been implemented to prevent discrimination, it is a reality in which many members of the LGBT community still face today. In terms of bullying, 25% of homosexual adolescents reported being physically harassed by heterosexual peers in 2009 (CBC, 2010). However, in 2002 approximately one third of homosexual students were harassed based upon their sexuality (Riese, 2014). Although discrimination and bullying based upon sexual orientation is prevalent in today's society, Canadians have become more accustomed to the idea of homosexuality which is reflected through the decrease in the amount of harassment that occurs. However, with adequate education and continuous learning about the matter, discrimination based upon sexuality can be virtually eliminated in the

There are a lot of things that are wrong in our world today. From crime running wild on the streets to there being homelessness wherever we turn. There are things that we can fix, but there are others that just cannot be. We are humans after all; we all have our flaws, we all have our secrets, we have our weaknesses. There are just some things that can never be fixed. Hatred and unrationalizable actions being a few of these things. Every once in a while there is a major crime that sweeps the nation. The reasons for this can vary from mass shootings, police shootouts, the pure shock or the crime or many other reasons. One of these crimes that swept the nation was the horrible act committed against Matthew Shepard.

As time has changed, a new wave of discrimination has taken shape in the United States. This new discrimination comes in the form of homophobia and heterosexism. Walls (2008), suggested that heterosexism, racism, sexism, and class privilege are systems of advantage that provide those with the “right” sexual orientation, race, gender, and class with opportunities and rewards that are unavailable to other individuals and groups in society. Homophobia and heterosexism come in various forms that include both overt and subtle forms of discrimination. Choi, et al. (2011) has suggested that the effects of homophobia and heterosexism are more pronounced in African American communities. Those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT),

Queer community is considered as a minority group in the united State of America. Initially, it was believed that peoples form the Queer community were broking the moral norms of the community thus, the law does not allow any in the Queer environment to get married to individuals in their respective group because it was considered forbidden, but as civilization begins to grow, Individuals from the majority group begins to accept the Queer community as human and as a result they have certain human right that cannot be taken away from them. Even though things are turning out right, many religions still hold a strong animosity towards individuals from that group. In a paper published by Andrew William states that, "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and

In conclusion, sexual prejudice has become a major concern in our community and country. It not only has affected individuals physically but also mentally as well. We have made big strides in the United States in accepting lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. This will continue to be a process as we become more educated on this topic. In this paper, I compared

There can many facts to fuel such acts of terrorism such as religion, it continues to be the most promoter and dangerous purveyor of homophobia. The mantra of “Love the sinner but not the sin,” religion sends a message

Homosexuality plays a big part in Sexual Prejudice in the United States today. According to Herek 2002, “Survey participants generally were more likely to regard gay men as mentally ill, supported adoption rights for lesbians more than for gay men, and had more negative personal reactions to gay men than to lesbians”. People in the present US society, mostly label gay men as completely wrong and are more favorable for lesbian

The social group of gay men in America remains one of the most debated in sociological and political discourse. Homosexuality has long been a neglected topic in social sciences but since 1970s, it has become a fruitful filed of research. Gay men in the US have long been an unprotected social group that being afraid of discrimination and violence preferred to live in the shadow. However, over the last decade, the life of gay men in the US has undergone the significant changes and it is important to trace the historical progression towards the current situation with the attitudes toward this group in society and the legal rights it has. The aim of this research is to study the social group of gay men in the US focusing on its history, the statistics of its population in the country, the privileges it has and the oppression it

However, this process can difficult for someone who is homosexual, many minority cultures frown upon being gay or lesbian, it is hard enough for homosexuals to be accepted amongst their family, because once they “come out,” they are exposed to a new set or norms and life-style, which goes against the traditional way of living and beliefs. In this article the authors explain the bicultural process for those who are homosexuals, explaining that a homosexual must first find a way to be accepted amongst their minority culture, and then expose themselves to the majority culture through socialization. However, when socializing with the mainstream culture as a gay or lesbian, many times that leads to further issues in areas such as marriage, family, parenting, education, and religion. Not only is a challenge for them to be accepted in these areas by society, but there are actual laws and legislations that exclude them from these

Homosexual people are not seen by other people such as, straights; in addition, society's ideas treat them differently in marriages, workplaces and makes them have unequal partnership benefits.

Religion is a major aspect on why society believes that homosexuality is wrong and should not be accepted. Individuals who are against the LGBT (Lesbian,

The realization of the homosexuality in the modern western world as a cultural, sexual and a social category has been a result of complex power relations that surround sexuality and gender. The acceptance of homosexuality in the society has met its fair share of resistance and skepticism. The view that homosexuality can be in the same league as heterosexual has led it to be viewed as a normal behavioral and moral standard (Gallagher & Baker, 2006). Inasmuch as the skeptics may not want to accept the existence of homosexuality studies show that the habit is rampant today with many gay people coming out in the open. Of interest is the political acceptance of homosexuality with passing gay rights so that it can be recognized by law. This move has given homosexuals the ability to engage in legal entities like marriage (Gallagher & Baker, 2006).