Homophobia Essay

Before we can address the issue of homophobia. We must distinguish what exactly homophobia is, Homophobia is a term to describe hate towards homosexually oriented people. Homophobia is a form of stigma based on sexual ideas. This is also explained in the book “The Challenges of being a gay rural gay man, coping with stigma”. It states “sexual stigma is defined as social disapproval of any-non-heterosexual behavior”. Stigma that is based on hate towards people that are different, or people we don’t understand.

Many people from the United States hold the belief that being gay is something that has always been considered to be okay. They believe that it is just a given. Despite people’s current beliefs on the subject, for a very long time, it was something that was widely believed to be taboo. In the past, people were imprisoned due to their sexuality. Regardless, throughout the decades, people have pushed for the widespread acceptance of people who are part of the LGBT community. Today, homophobia still exists in some parts of the United States, but we have come a long way since the early 1900s.

Throughout history, gay people have been discriminated by religious groups on a global scale. In the Room for Debate article “Have Christians Created a Harmful Atmosphere for Gays,” the issue being discussed refers to how poorly Christians discriminate against homosexuality. This Room for Debate article is mainly referring to Evangelical Christians, who are the main contributors to discrimination against homosexuality. Despite being taught to “love one another as Jesus has loved us,” there are still a majority of Evangelical Christians who preach Leviticus, the book in the Bible that condemns gay people. While a great majority of Christians condemn homosexuality, there’s also a minority of Christians that feel that homosexuality is an acceptable behavior. The statistics of Christians that oppose gay marriage versus Christians who support it vary between each Christian denomination. However, a religion’s set of beliefs are defined by generally running true for a majority of believers. There may be a minority of Evangelical Christians who support gay marriage, but many more Evangelical Christians oppose gay marriage. As a result of this majority, Christians have created a negative environment for gay people by denying homosexuality as an ethically accepted behavior, pressuring gays not to be themselves, and threatening them with eternal damnation.

This book Pray the Gay Away by Bernadetta C. Barton discusses about certain areas in the United States called Bible Belts were they have made absolutely no progress in securing rights for gay people. They lag behind the rest of nation were people are accepting homosexuality (Pray the Gay Away 15). Barton argues that in small towns were Christian institutions serve as a foundation for both passive and active homophobia in these areas (Pray the Gay Away 19). This article is related to the play because the two dominant religions discussed in the play was Judaism and Mormonism and both religions strongly oppose homosexuality and this lead to homophobic attitudes and themes within the play.

People have been homophobic sense modern humans have been around but it’s time for a change. 61% of the US supports gay marriage and that percent is growing so it’s time to join the nation and make way for a better

Regrettably, in the US there are a lot more problems than homophobia. One of the ongoing problems in the US (that has been an issue forever) is racism. Yes, racism is still an issue, and now thanks to social media, it continues to be a trending topic. An example is this summer there were riots in Charlottesville that ended with death. (SAYERS) “One person was killed and 19 were hurt when a speeding car slammed into a throng of counter protesters in Charlottesville, where a "Unite the Right" rally of where white nationalists

On June 26, 2015 the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the nation. This impacted many people, in both good and bad ways. Many of those from the older generation learned to despise same-sex marriage and homosexual people, and then that generation proceeded to teach their children the same thing. Although many views have changed, homophobia is still a big issue in society, no matter whom it is learned from.

For the slightly more attentive observer, the situation is globally very different. To tell the truth, the 20th century has undoubtedly been one of the most violently homophobic periods of history: deportation to

Furthermore, the discrimination of LGBTQ people is caused by people, afraid of others that are different and people who are too blind to see the consequences of their actions. Most people are afraid of the unfamiliar and it is normal for humans to be cautious, however it is not acceptable to put someone down and abuse that person, those actions make people inhumane. Sometimes people do not accept the LGBTQ community because of their religion such as said in the article, “Homosexuality and Religious Institutions”, published by PR Newswire. For example, in the article it states, “The Methodist Church stated clearly its position in the 1990s against ordination and marriage of

I learned that gay oppression stems from capitalistic ideas and nature. When the industrial revolution came around in the early 19th century it brought with it the traditional ideals of family that we know today (Carlin, 2007). Capitalists didn’t like the ideal of homosexuality because it defeated the purpose of sex only being for reproduction (Carlin, 2007). They thought that gays were getting in the way of producing the next generation of workers (Carlin, 2007). They quickly deemed them unnatural in the eyes of the Christian church and society (Carlin, 2007). Gays were routinely harassed and physically assaulted by police (Carlin, 2007). Capitalists tried to justify this oppression by saying that homosexuality was blatantly abnormal and unacceptable

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

Americans live in a society that seems constantly plagued by various types of discrimination. For instance, ableism, classism, and sizeism are a few examples of the sorts of systematic discriminations that Americans face every day. However, as of late, one of the most prevalent forms that targets homosexual minorities is Heterosexist discrimination. Heterosexism is defined as the discrimination or prejudice against homosexuals (“Heterosexism”). In addition to being prejudiced and discriminatory, Heterosexism is more often than not paired with the idea that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation, and therefore superior.

The United States of America is largely populated by the Christian religion, in which their views are believed that it is against Gods will for two people of the same sex to engage in relations. Yet, some lesbians and gays practice religion and some even consider themselves to be Christians. These homosexuals that practice religion believe that God does not judge them by their sexual preference but by their actions. As for any person that has studied the Bible, they are aware that it states Jesus died on the cross for our sins and we are made brand new. Which means God does not hold a grudge against anyone for any reason. Most of the Christians that are close minded on same sex couples existing are from older generations where people did not advertise their differences as they

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),

There has been no mention in the Bible that says anything about gays, and let's talk about the fact that Christians, Catholics, Buddhist, etc are told from scripture that they are not to judge thy neighbor. I don’t mean to get extremely political when it comes to religion but instead of letting it divide us we should unite and focus on problems within humanity. People say that unity and peace are virtually impossible when that’s simply not the truth. In truth, we could have peace if people got together, accepted differences and stop being huge jerks to each