Homosexuality In The 1980's

As AIDS primarily affected homosexuals and drug users these populations were targeted by others with cruel hostility and many religious groups cited this was a punishment sent from God. With hatred and discrimination on the rise, these individuals not only had to coop with an unknown life threaten illness, but also endured unjust judgment from the public. As the illness continued to spread across the country Ronald Reagan acted as though it did not exist. As many believed this would only affect the homosexual community as well as drug users and Reagan’s Advisors felt these people were getting what they deserved. In addition, it was only after 20,849 deaths from the illness in which Ronald Reagan acknowledge the presence of AIDS. However, if Reagan had invested in education and research early on the human loss could have been

inevitable that AIDS would be defined in political and cultural terms as well as medically, and

Though incurable, there is medication that can be used to help an infected person live a relatively normal life, but the medication is extremely expansive. Thus the number one prevention method is education. The United States government’s response to the entire disease in a medical, social and economic way were consider major failures as millions were left to suffer without support. Unlike today, where one can search the Internet to learn about their disease and how to handle it, back in 1980’s and 1990’s people were being infected and given no guidance from the government on how to handle it. This caused great fear in Americans and many misconceptions about the disease started to develop. People were unaware that the disease could only transfer through the contact of bodily fluids so people with AIDS were socially exiled out of fear that they might infect others. Thus this disease affected the gay community that was already stigmatized by society more than any other single demographic of people.

In “The Myth of Homosexuality” by Christine Downing, there is the discussion of homosexuality and its meaning over the years. Downing begins the article by stating how a myth has classified women-on-women and men-on-men relationships to fall under the same term of homosexuality, but there is much deeper understanding to it than that. The classification under one word has caused a lot of shaping concerning how they are viewed or how they view themselves. In order to look past the surface of what defines the myth, Downing states that we must start with the culture’s myth and it’s origin.

In the election year of 1992, the AIDS epidemic ran rampant through America, despite attempts to curb its effects. Not only was America as a country unwilling to step up to help an already stigmatized population, but finding ways to deal with the rapid spread became more of an accessory to political agendas than a necessity to save lives. The Republican party, which holds on to religiously-influenced ideals, was not eager to offer support to a group which Christianity condemns, so did very little to rectify the epidemic. On top of inaction, many did not want to help gay people; homosexuality was still widely unaccepted in society, and the addition of AIDS to the LGBT community did nothing to endear their situation to the general public.

Jerry Falwell, an American Southern Baptist pastor, was considered the leader of the fundamentalist anti-gay movement. In almost every speech Falwell made, there were references to the “growing clout of homosexuals.” Once Reagan was elected President, Falwell took credit for Reagan’s win and vowed to continue his pro-life and anti-gay agenda. Following Reagan’s inauguration, Reagan’s budget spending posed significant cuts to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which would pose a threat to the growing epidemic. In April of 1985, the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services, Margaret Heckler, spoke for the extent of the Reagan administration’s involvement with the disease saying, “We must conquer AIDS before it affects the heterosexual population…the general population. We have a very strong public interest in stopping AIDS before it spreads outside the risk groups, before it becomes an overwhelming problem.” With Heckler’s statement, the Department of Health and Human Services changed their name to The Department of Health and Heterosexual Services. The reasoning towards the federal government’s homophobic response to AIDS is examined in the book Inside Out: Lesbian Theories, Gay Theories edited by

During the 1960’s to be gay in the United States was essentially a crime. It was the time of the “Lavender Scare,” in which thousands of people were fired from the federal government for no other reason than their sexuality. The fear stemmed from Cold War concerns that homosexuals would be a “security risk,” exploitable by communists (Sherouse) (Sears). Dozens of anti-gay legislation was in existence, specifically prohibiting employment of “homosexuals and other sex perverts” in civil service positions, and subsequently creating a president of discrimination throughout the country (Sears).

The 1980s were particularly devastating for the gay men. 1985 marked the beginning of President Reagan’s second term. Reagan is mentioned several times over the course of part 1 not only to set a political backdrop for the series, but also challenges the audience to question why the government was so slow to respond to this issue. Reagan didn’t even give his first speech on HIV/AIDS until years after the on-start of the epidemic and after thousands of lives had been lost. In this context, it is fair to assume that HIV/AIDS really became an epidemic through the lack of immediate action from the government and medical establishments that can be directly attributed to homophobic. From its onset, there was widespread fear of contamination as AIDS was constructed as a fatal infectious disease that threatened to wipe out mankind. It was also seen as a “gay plague” or punishment for sexually abnormal behavior.

      The 80's were a time of economic growth and global power.  It is also the setting for Tony Kushner's play, "Angels in America".  In Kushner's play it was at time of gay revelation.  Reagan's reforms and policies gave homosexual people the power and

HIV/AIDS, was a disease with social stigma due to its association with the gay community. However, after the rise of sexual liberation starting in the 1960s, the fear of homosexuals became more concrete, as sexuality was discussed more openly[footnoteRef:35]. Historically a disease was viewed in both social and cultural terms, and the ill can be viewed as being caused by perversions from societal norms[footnoteRef:36]. This happened with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For conservatives, HIV/AIDS was a justified specter, one that could be vindicated as “God’s Judgement” and as a crackdown on the “heinous lifestyle”[footnoteRef:37]. Because HIV/AIDS was so concentrated in particularly deviant groups, the logical linkage of the disease to the gay lifestyle was easy. “Gays (IDUs) chose to be gay (and drug injectors) of their own will. A Supreme Court decision in June 1986 reinforced the moral

After the sexual revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s, conservatives were becoming increasingly concerned about the rise of homosexuality and heterosexual promiscuity prior to marriage. Conservatives were fearful of the immoralities they were witnessing as well as the liberal notion of people depending on the government to be a social provider and concerns about the implications of social activism that they were witnessing. This called for a shift in politics and government. Voters elected Ronald Reagan as the new president and relied on his promise to “restore the United States’

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born January 30th, 1882, to James Roosevelt and Sarah Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt attended several renowned educational institutions, such as Groton preparatory school and later Harvard University. After graduating with his Bachelor’s degree in history in 1903, he attended law school at Columbia University. On St. Patrick’s Day 1905, he married his wife, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. The next year, the couple’s first child and only daughter, Anna, was born.

In the early 1900’s people showed little to no sexual orientation. If one were to show their orientation, it would be in a heterosexual way. Homosexuals were not allowed, and extremely frowned upon by society. Most homosexuals covered up their sexual orientation. Today, our world is changed. We as a society, have become more accepting of different orientations such as gay or lesbian. To understand what a homosexual in the 1900’s might have been like I will be participating in an experiment. For the experiment date, I chose to select Thursday, October 27 to show no public display of affection in any way.

As a society, we feed off of each other for what a proper response to something may be. As children, we first look to see our mother’s reaction after falling down; if she is calm, I should also be. We look to each other for what a definition of things should be, as well. In the 1950’s, it was generally obscene for a woman on television to show her belly button, whereas today we will show nude breasts on primetime programming. This follows the sociological theory of symbolic interactionism, where society and individual social interaction provides a subjective meaning to deviant behavior. Many social definitions change for the better, however some change for the worse. One such example was once viewed as normal, with no second thoughts given

Homosexuality is genetic! How can this statement be true? It is indeed true in the precise fact that Romans 3:23 points out, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Humanity has been cursed with being genetically embedded with sin and a sinful nature. The current worldview is that homosexuality and multiple sexual orientations come from nature, and not nurture. This viewpoint is correct in that it is human nature to sin and seek out one’s own selfish desire. However, No one is prescribing a remedy for this sin. “Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34) What the world has done is celebrated this sin and deceive youth through their much-wanted desire for acceptance and identity. There is a copious amount of research out there, along with world definitions of each orientation, and a call for acceptance of others’ orientations. There is also the other side of the argument and the fundamental truths that come from the word of God. Various resources are available to help youth leaders, teachers, parents and pastors to have a higher understanding of this cultural issue and the solutions and treatments available for youth struggling in this area. Spiritual leaders in the home, church, and schools ought to be prepared to teach on these topics readily, since this world, in which many youth are daily immersed, will readily present its own point of view with utter