Homophobia, The LGBT And Sodomy Laws

Homophobia. A word that has been thrown around for a while, and yet there is no exact meaning for it. According to Wikipedia, an average website used or seen by many people, “homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).”, and yet to Merriam-Webster, a highly accredited online dictionary website, homophobia is the “irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.” There are many definitions and perceptions of homophobia, all varying by mind set and cultural stances. In “Why Can’t We Talk About Homophobia in the Black Community,” by Daniel Reynolds, Reynolds talks

Sexual orientation is “the clear, persistent desire of a person for affiliation with one sex rather than the other”, otherwise known as sexual preference. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com) Prejudice against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals (otherwise known as LGBT people) remain widespread in American society. LGBT people have always been a target for discrimination. Like other forms of prejudice, this discrimination is based on a hostile attitude toward a specific group and in this case minority. The current strides in the controversy of the legalization of the same sex marriage is a prime example of this discrimination. Sexual orientation prejudice

Homophobia includes discrimination or abuse, which is based on someone’s homosexuality or sexual orientation. This can negatively impact the emotional and physical wellbeing of people who are victimised. There are three main types of homophobia that are known as the three I’s, which are internalised, interpersonal and institutional. Internalised homophobia is the fear or hatred of homosexuality that exists in ones own mind, such as making a determined effort to dress or

Sexual orientation is defined as the direction of an individual's sexuality, often in relation to their own sex or gender. There are three basic categories of sexual orientation; bisexual (bi), heterosexual (straight), and homosexual (gay/lesbian). Public perception and knowledge regarding differences in sexual orientation are far behind perhaps every other demographic. The fight for gay and lesbian rights against discrimination is a relatively new fight. The term hate crime has arisen in lea of anger and discrimination against the gay and lesbian population. Wikipedia.com defines hate crimes as violent crimes, hate speech, or vandalism, motivated by feelings of enmity an identifiable

Let's start off with the basics. LGBT stands for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. On average, in a 2016 poll, 23% of the American population is either gay or lesbian which is 2% less than a poll in 2011 and

Homophobia is defined as negative attitudes and feelings that people feel towards individuals who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered. These negative thoughts and feelings often lead to acts of bullying, harassment, victimization and even violence.

The LGBT community is another word for the gay community. The gay community is all about getting their civil rights on issues like Economic issues concerning employment. In the

According to www.dictionary.com homophobia is defined as the “unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality (Homophobia | Define Homophobia at Dictionary.com, n.d.).” A lot like racism and sexism, homophobia can be subtle or it can be overt. “Harassment is not only limited to name calling but can include obscene gestures, intentional gay jokes, or finding nasty notes on your belongings. It can also escalate to physical threats of

There is a rising population of transgender and homosexual people in our society. A transgender is a person who insists that they were born into the wrong body. While they have the body of one gender, transgender people have the conscience of the opposite gender. A homosexual is someone who is emotionally and physically attracted to the same sex or gender. According to www.statista.com: “2.2% of adult men identify as being gay in the U.S. and 1.1% of

This essay will consider law reform in the context of homosexual relationships between men. In particular, it will look at the various influencing Acts, establish the different legal principles and scrutinise how the changing social attitudes have affected the development of this law. It will only focus on the broader context and will not include other influencing changes such as LGBT adoption laws, discrimination etc. In order to reach a conclusion of the effects of these …. secondary sources such as books and the Westlaw website.

“Discrimination [dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuh n]: treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.” Right from the dictionary, the definition is clear. Look back 95 years to 1920, where women across America raised their voices and fought back for the right to vote. Now take a look back 48 years ago when in 1967, interracial marriage was finally legalized. These were all monumental events fighting against discrimination. However, the definition is still blurring in minds of some across America as a multitude of bills are being passed permitting people to act with bigotry towards members of the LGBTQ+ community, the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts just being one of them. In discussions of bills such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, or RFRA’s, one controversial issue has been whether or not they permit discrimination. On one hand, those supporting the laws argue that they only reinforce the free practice of religion. On the other hand, those against them contend that with their vagueness it plays out as disguising legal discrimination. My own view is that the RFRA’s and other anti-LGBTQ+ laws should be repealed or at the very least backed with a state wide non-discrimination law for LGBTQ+ individuals. This is in order to prevent a large amount of service being denied to LGBTQ+

In the 20th Century there is a visible pattern of criminalizing homosexuality and a misunderstanding of homosexuality. This impact of this error is still prominent today, with society’s continuous delusion that homosexuality and pedophilia overlap or are the same thing. In 1948 with the implementation of the Miller Act, which was created as a tool to protect children from sexual violence; like molestation, and indecent exposure (Eskridge). Creating the Miller Act allowed for harsher charges against offenders, but it also escalated the charges for crimes that were homosexuality motivated (Eskridge). The special interest in crimes against children that are homosexual in nature is motivated from a place of fear of the spread of homosexuality-

Many homophobes can trace their fear of homosexuality to their defensiveness about their own homosexual tendencies. This theory is one that has been around for some time, since Freud's time actually. Freud believed that heterosexual men who fear homosexual men do so because they defend against their own feelings for men( Goleman 3). Though old, this theory is still the diagnosis of many present homophobes. Many men are frightened by the thought that they mat have a gay neighbor, and this fear is shared by the children.

Most homophobism stems from people not understanding what it means to be queer. “An estimated 3.5% of adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and an estimated 0.3% of adults are transgender”(Gates 1). Since so few people identify themselves under one of those categories, not many people understand what it means. Someone who is a lesbian is a girl attracted to a

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).