On June 24, 2011, New York passed a law that allows same-sex marriage since then, New York has become the largest state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. Homosexuals have been gaining more rights in the 21st century yet there is still pressure for them to keep their relationships hidden or disguised from society. Since 2007 acceptance of homosexuality has been on a steady increase in most countries; the United States is one of three exceptions. Here in America, acceptance has grown by more than 10%. Despite this, endorsement is still only at 60%, which is less than more than a dozen other countries. Regardless of this increase, the U.S still lags behind the forefront of approval of homosexuality (Global Divide). With this in mind, I decided to test society’s views on homosexuality.
Just recently Michael Sam who is a high ranked Defensive End about to get drafted into the National Football League, announced he was gay. He became the first openly gay NFL prospect in history. The title of this article was “Michael Sam’s barrier –breaking status makes him NFL test case”. Personally, I don’t understand why they have to make a big deal about this and have it all over the place, including ESPN, NFL and many other sports related shows and articles. Not only was this the first time he has announced he was gay to the public, but it was also the first time his family has heard the news; unfortunately, his father didn’t take it well. Sam’s only worry isn’t dealing with the
While 70% of the NFL players having African-American descent, there’s a difference between journalist and sports reporters, with 80% of the radio and TV broadcasters being White and 9% being Black. These articles, The Experience of Media and Race in the National Football League – An Existential Phenomenological Study (Fisher 2008), Depicting the Quarterback in Black and White: A Content Analysis of College and Professional Football Broadcast Commentary (Billings 2004), and Race and ethnicity in U.S. sports media (Davis & Harris 1998) examined the connections between Black NFL players and experienced media reporters. The data was recorded and studied, and main themes were acknowledged. The athletes report themes of: (1) the players’ view of how media coverage affects the NFL players, (2) the players’ perceptions of media personnel, and (3) the athletes’ perception of black quarterbacks. The study of the experienced media reporters’ meetings uncovers three major themes: (1) perceptions of how the media cover the NFL, (2) interrelationships with NFL players, and (3) playing quarterback in the NFL.
One of the largest dividers in the U.S. is the issue of marriage equality. Marriage equality is the quest for equal civil and social rights for homosexuals. Currently, many Americans are unwilling to accept homosexuals and provide them with equal civil and social rights. Marriage equality is a problem because homosexuals feel oppressed by society. Similar to racial problems, people are scared of things that are different from societal norms and that they do not understand. In turn, they suppress and criticize homosexuals for their non-standard behavior. Marriage equality has become a topic of controversy in the United States. Legislation accepting homosexuals could improve society’s opinion on marriage equality. When people have a better understanding of something, they tend to form a more educated opinion on the
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.
At the time the article was first published, the push for legalizing gay unions was a controversial topic in the USA. The writer, ‘Rev. Louis P. Sheldon was at the time, the chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, a California-based organization of some 32,000 churches’ (p. 1). He was obviously against the idea of accepting gay marriage and sustained that gay relationships are simply ‘unnatural’. Moreover, he stated that nearly 80% of Americans were opposing the legalization of marriage among gay people. Along with the author many people opposed to the idea at that time of his article – But in despite of that, gay marriage was finally legalized in the United States in June 26, 2015 (Wikipedia 2001).
“Being gay is much more profound than simply a sexual relationship; being gay is part of that person’s core identity, and goes right to the very center of his being. It’s like being black in s society of whites, or a blonde European in a nation of black Asians” (Tamara L. Roleff). Although marriage, cohabitation and parenting styles of homosexual families pose no threats to the heterosexual society; many still believe same-sex marriage goes against its true purpose. “At the national level, American public opinion on the issue remains split (44 percent support legalizing same-sex marriage; 53 percent oppose same-sex marriage in a May 2010 Gallup Poll) even as opposition toward legalizing same-sex marriage is at its lowest point in decades
According to the CBS News Poll, 58% of Americans believe it should be legal for same-sex couples to marry (Polling Report, June 9-13, 2016). Since recent years, the support for same sex-marriage has steadily increased. In fact, according to the Gallup Poll, 61% of Americans believe that same-sex couples should validly be recognized by the law with the same rights as traditional marriages (Gallup Poll, May 4-8, 2016). Over time, the idea of marriage has transformed from the union of a man and woman to the union of two people who love each other regardless of their sexual orientation. In fact, according to the CNN/ORC Poll, 59% of Americans support the ruling of the Supreme Court regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage in all fifty states (Polling Report, June 26-28, 2015). Based on these polls, Americans generally support equal rights for all individuals regardless of their sexual orientation. Therefore, a majority of Americans favor government involvement to ensure equal rights for all individuals regardless of their differences. Therefore, the position of most Americans regarding same-sex marriage supports the idea that Americans are generally reform liberalists in their
It’s hard to talk about things to people in fear of how judgmental they will be towards you, but it’s also harder to have acceptance in your community even when you are open about your sexuality. Michael Sam, the first openly gay NFL defensive end was drafted from the University of Missouri, and on draft day, in front of millions of spectators, he kisses his boyfriend on national television. It raised at heated debate between fans, athletes that were playing and retired, and also his newfound teammates. A media outcry ensued as people took to all forms of social media in disgust of what was just witnessed. In Michael’s defense, I could understand him being visibly emotional over what now has changed his entire life, but to go about it while
The article I chose is “NFL Protest Spread as Trump’s Feud with Athletes Escalates. The article is about the NFL players and the president’s feud. The players of NFL has been protesting during the national anthem because of the issues affecting the African-American community. Some players are kneeling while other interlocked arms to show solidarity against discrimination. A debate has started after the president used social media to express his disagreement with how the players were protesting because he believes it’s disrespectful to our flag. And many people are supporting the president because they feel the protest during the anthem it’s disrespectful.
But this is too much. Way too much. What E. Furgal has just signaled here is that these NFL players with "attitudes" are to be regarded by us with the same overriding contempt as any of us would naturally
According to an opinion widely held, homosexuality is said to be freer today than ever before. It is present and visible everywhere: in the street, in the newspapers, on television, at the movies. It is even supposedly completely accepted, judging by the recent legislative advances made in many countries for the recognition of same sex couples. Certainly, some work remains necessary in order to eradicate the last vestiges of discrimination. But with changing public opinion, it will only be, according to some people, a matter of time, the time needed for a movement begun many decades earlier to achieve its goals.
As time went on, homosexuality came to be accepted as more mainstream. To confirm an article entitled “Most say homosexuality should be accepted by society” reveals that among the findings from the latest Pew Research Center political typology survey, released May 4, 2011. The survey conducted ,stated that while the public is divided over same-sex marriage, a majority of Americans (58%) say that homosexuality should be accepted, rather than discouraged, by society. Among younger people in particular, there is broad support for societal acceptance of homosexuality. More than six-in-ten (63%) of
The political aspects of whether same-sex couples should be allowed to federal and government recognized marriages are a very complex issue. There are basically two sides to the political argument of whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. On one side are the liberals who feel that marriage is a civil right that should be denied based on the basis of a person's sexual orientation. On the other side you have conservatives who feel that marriage is an institution in which should only constitute one man and one woman. In this report we are going to examine how the issue of same-sex marriages are affecting our current political environment, how politics is affecting the movement for
Same sex- marriage is still the topic of many peoples conversation across the country. Citizens, divided by politic party, are very passionate about how they feel about it. The president didn’t approve of it at first, but now he finally accepts same- sex marriage, the Judicial System uses its power to dictate to the States, forcing them to accept same- sex marriage. Both houses of Congress continue to debate what marriage means.
Opposition to gay marriage has increased since the summer and a narrow majority of Americans also oppose allowing gays and lesbians to enter legal agreements that fall short of marriage. Moreover, despite the overall rise in tolerance toward gays since the 1980s, many Americans remain highly critical of homosexuals and religious belief is a major factor in these attitudes.
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).