Difference is a quality that allows for individual experience. However difference is not appreciated by all of humanity. Throughout human history difference has been shunned, denied, persecuted and destroyed. The population that is determined to be ‘different’ changes over the decades but the methodology and discrimination remains the same. In this paper the sufferings and trials of homosexuals and victims of racism will be examined in an attempt to determine if homophobia is morally equivalent to racism. This paper will be examining the historical context, modern discrimination and various social movements along with the counter-arguments of limited historical documentation, concealed sexual identities and lack of elaborate social movement in an attempt to prove that homophobia is the moral equivalent to racism.
In a historical context racism and homophobia have been rampant. Early documentation in the bible condemns homosexuality and approves of slavery of those that are different. It is to such an extreme extent that homosexuality is condemned that offenders should be put to death as punishment. A recent historical example of the World War Two holocaust saw the attempted genocide at people of Jewish faith. A not commonly known detail is that roughly twenty-thousand homosexuals, and people perceived to be homosexual,
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Racism can be traced back almost to the dawn of human history with examples such as mass slavery, wars between countries, discrimination on outsiders, colonization, and assimilation of Native Americans, North American Slavery, the holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide. By comparison homophobia can be traced for roughly the past century with traces of discrimination riddled throughout history. The scale of discrimination inflicted by homophobia is insignificant in comparison to the historical documentation of
Brian Whitaker, in his paper ‘Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East’, argues that homophobia in Arab Muslim countries “is not a religious or a cultural issue, but is foremost a political problem of which culture and religion are reliant factors”, arguing that Homophobia in the Muslim world can be attributed to the attitude this world has to its counterpart, the modern secular European and Western
The homosexual community is one of the most misunderstood and degraded cultures in today’s society. Homosexuals are usually the brunt of much of the misunderstanding and, as a result, have most of the unban legends and denigrating jokes that are found in modern tradition centered on themselves. Two legends stand out above many others; the myth of “Gerbiling”, which describe a supposed cruel and exotic practice of gay men, and “The Gay Roommate”, in which a gay man sexually assaults his heterosexual roommate in a college dorm. Both of these legends exemplify the fact that, through misunderstanding or fearing a culture, you can create horrible monsters out of average men.
2. In the essay “Gender Treachery: Homophobia, Masculinity, and Threatened Identities” the terms ‘homophobia’ and ‘heterosexism’ are discussed. Hopkins contends that there is no distinct boundary between the two terms, but he outlines ways in which to distinguish the two terms. First,
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer community also referred to as LGBTQQ is no stranger to oppression. “In 1600-1800, colonists discovered buggery (sex between men or between women) among Native Americans. In 1869, Dr. Karoly Benkert coined the term “homosexuality” to describe same-sex acts. In 1870-1910, homosexuals
Many religious conflicts are built from prejudice. However, only few will have a lasting effect on the world’s history. In Germany in the year 1933, a man named Adolf Hitler rose to power. His mission would be to “exterminate” all minorities, but most importantly, the Jews. "Holocaust" is a word of Greek origin meaning "sacrifice by fire". But as we now know in history, the Holocaust was the genocide of six million Jews by Hitler and the Nazi regime. Over the time of Hitler's reign, the Jewish population would be stripped of their rights, dignity, and most preciously their lives.
As a citizen in society, it is important to be aware and understand what heterosexism is and how it affects the lives of a large group of individuals all over the world. Heterosexism is a belief system where heterosexuality is considered normal and superior and discriminates against those who are emotionally or physically attracted to the same sex gender. This fuel of discrimination causes hate crimes and leaves LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders) members to be victims of depression, substance abuse, and suicide. Not only does society spread hostility towards this group, but the criminal justice system, military, and workplace have shown to be intolerant as well. This paper will discuss the difference of treatment between heterosexuals and other sexual orientations, as well as the criminal justice system.
Invention is the greatest idea of our time. Whether it is medical, scientific, social, or mechanical, a new invention of the day seems to be part of our everyday lives. Homosexuality is really no different. It may not be your everyday invention, but it clearly is and people throughout time to try and identify the first “known homosexual” in time. Some people wanted this new idea of homosexuality to just go away, but as time has gone on, it will not be going away anytime soon. It is getting to be more prominent in society and this paper takes the stand that in Canada especially, homosexuality is not seen by society overall as something different. Of course it is still not
Canada’s laws are presented to be unbiased and non-discriminatory. The law promises every individual the right to life, freedom of expression, well-being and uses sparkly language to prove that no one is above the law despite sexual orientation (Canadian Human Rights Act, 1985). However, this is not the case in regards to homosexual individuals. This paper will discuss how homosexual suffer from discriminatory laws in their everyday lives. The discriminatory laws further lead to myths, ideologies and labels that are imposed on homosexuals (Fedders, pgs.787-789, 2006). Also, in this piece of writing two cases will be introduced to further prove how the law can be discriminatory even though it appears to be sparkly with persuasive language
Discriminatory action against individuals who identified or were labeled as non-heterosexual began to be brought to light during the twentieth century and is still prevalent today. There are arguments by certain individuals that claim that discrimination of those who identify as non-heterosexual have disappeared. I would argue that such discrimination is still alive and present in our modern society. Very noticeable today with the values of our Vice-President Elect Mike Pence who thinks that homosexuality can be “fixed” through electric shock therapy. Values like this are similar to that held during the twentieth century - which Margot Canaday deeper examines in her book The Straight State: Homosexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth Century America. Canaday’s argument throughout her book is that of homosexuality considered undesirable. Canaday starts off her book by delving into the stripping of citizenship rights from individuals who were labeled as homosexual. A topic Ian Haney Lopez explores in his book White By Law: The Legal Construction of Race: How individuals pertaining to a particular group of racial or ethnic groups were deprived of their citizenship and personhood rights. In this essay, I will explore the concepts introduced by Lopez of law as ideology and law as behavioral control and how those concepts relate to Canaday’s book in the oppression of non-hetersoxual individuals within the realms of immigration, the military, and welfare (Canaday).
Many religious conflicts are built from bigotry; however, only few will forever have an imprint on the world’s history. While some may leave a smear on the world’s past, some – like the homicide of Semitic people – may leave a scar. The Holocaust, closely tied to World War II, was a devastating and systematic persecution of millions of Jews by the Nazi regime and allies. Hitler, an anti-Semitic leader of the Nazis, believed that the Jewish race made the Aryan race impure. The Nazis did all in their power to annihilate the followers of Judaism, while the Jews attempted to rebel, rioted against the government, and united as one. Furthermore, the genocide had many social science factors that caused the opposition between the Jews and Nazis.
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
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).
Homophobia Through the years it would be delightful to believe that society has gotten more accepting of minorities. While in many ways this is true, it is also a false statement as well. The United States has gone through leaps and bounds over the last century. Women were the first to win their rights, and after that African Americans broke through the barriers of oppression.
The task of this is essay is not so much to find the bona fide implications of the word “equality”, but rather to clarify its meaning towards individuals. It will seek to analyse how oppression and discrimination are related to inequality and will gradually develop into exploring how an individual’s sexual orientation can lead to social exclusion. Towards the end, the essay will
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,