Lgbtq Reflection

The LGBT community has been silently suffering through generations. But in this generation, they are finally showing the world their voice. There have been many instances where young adults were denied their right to be who they are and now they are speaking out about the mistreatment. Even though the united states have begun to be more open about the LGBT community here is still more change it come. These changes can be explained through many sociological perspectives including: functionalist, conflict, symbolic interactionism and interactionism. Along with these perspective religion, norms and deviance all impact these individuals who are striving to be open about who they really are inside and out.

“Although sharply divided, public attitudes toward gays and lesbians are rapidly changing to reflect greater acceptance, with younger generations leading the way” (NORC University of Chicago, 2010, p. 1). This push for international acceptance of the LGBT people could not come any sooner. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals as well as transgender individuals from around the world have almost all experienced some sort of discrimination in their lives. This is why there is such a gap between heterosexual and LGBT people. There are hundreds, if not more, reasons for why some people will not accept LGBT individuals and couples, whether it is religion, family values or simply the fact that some people find LGBT people unnatural. This is why the common sufferings

In the current society that we live in, there are many things that help shape our perception of sexual identity. In the discussion with the class, there was a consensus that family, media, religion were the major influencers on how we develop our sexual identities and how we view other’s sexual identity. From childhood, most of us are shaped by the view of our parents and often follow the same principles and views at them. Though many people usually divert from this thought process, it still serves as a foundation for our future views and principles, whether we agree with our parents or not. Going through our individual groups discussions, many people in my group felt that a large part of their perception about the LGBT community came from the media and how the community was portrayed in the media. We discussed that in our childhoods we were often presented with gay characters that were often very flamboyant, feminine

LGBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender. It is intended to highlight a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures. Historically, LGBT people have had to deal with being brutalised and misunderstood because of the misconception that being gay is different and deserves different treatment. However, there are efforts being made daily by the community in order to educate people and ease their fears. The purpose of the following analysis is to deconstruct how people who fought back while growing up realizing they are apart of community help shaped and/or will shape them to become strong roles for LGBT people around the world.

Within the midst of the sexual revolution, homosexual women struggled to find comfort in the whole sexual revolution. “For most of history, lesbianism was so little understood that it was actually pretty easy for gay women to live out their lives in peace and quiet” (Collins 173). Although it was great that these women were not persecuted for being themselves, it still must have been so difficult to hide themselves. It really brings me back to our modern day because I think it is so cool to think that I lived in the year where gay marriage was legalized. Going along with that though, I can not believe how long it took for homosexual people to be accepted into our society. I could not imagine the feeling of having to hide your true self. I am thankful that the LGBTQ community can finally make their love

I developed knowledge on the first real LGBT+ rights movements in the 1920’s, previous to this I had known nothing other than the recent marriage right movements. The readings helped me to learn not only about recent events but also about an incredible amount of historical events, organizations, and fights that made the LGBT+ community what it is today. I also learned that different types of sources are utilized to gather information, in the ChYOR projects we used many sources such as; books, oral histories, videos/movies, scholarly articles, and websites. I learned while writing out my ChYOR assignments that there are an immense amount of sources and if you use more than one for a project it can give you not only a broader perspective but it can also give you more knowledge of the event.

The LGBTQ community has struggled for decades to receive equal treatment but despite many advancements, this group of people is still not treated justly. The prevalent discrimination and prejudice enacted against the LGBTQ community can be witnessed on accounts of the Stonewall Riots and laws that affect the community such as not allowing gay men to donate blood, sexual orientation in connection to the military, et cetera. The gay rights movement has united to eradicate these issues through support of the LBGTQ community and to help people understand the process, timing, advantages, dangers, and pitfalls of coming out, as well as recent local and international rulings of the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage and the methods, laws, and attitudes of having children.

As a member of the LGBT+ community I consider myself to have a lot of knowledge on the issues and topics within the community. I realized, however, after a few lectures that I really did not know very much about the history of the LGBT+ community, I just knew about the modern issues and topics. Coincidently I also did not know much about topics in the LGBT+ community either. I had known about Stonewall and about the LGBT+ treatment in Nazi concentration camps, however I did not really know much else. Accordingly, I did not realize how little I knew about Stonewall as an LGBT+ event, all I knew was that it was the start of the revolution in LGBT+ activism and rights, I also knew that someone threw something at a cop and it started the riots,

The struggle for equality has been intense, and still continues to this day. With this being said, much progress has been made in establishing respect and external acceptance for all individuals sense of identity. For example, in 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Same Sex Marriages, marking a pivotal point in the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community. For many, this act helped to support their sense of self, a right that been denied for so long. The United States effectively validated the LGBTQ community, giving this group all rights granted to all other citizen’s, However, the creation and acceptance of this community has not had positive benefits for all members. The Gender Binary has been changed, but many distinctions

addressing these complex and often messy issues of the LBGTQ+ community, to a predominantly heteronormative audience,

It doesn’t make a difference if you’re straight, bisexual, transgender or asexual or gay, one should come into terms with who they are if they would like to respect and understand others. Moreover, this leads to the topic of sexual identity development or most commonly known as “coming out.” This process occurs in three steps: admitting to oneself that one has a homosexual or bisexual orientation, getting to know other homosexuals or of the same orientation, and telling family and friends of his or her sexual orientation (Bruce M. King). Each of these steps can affect the persons hearing this in different ways, but most importantly the person coming out. In the first step, these individuals knew they were different in some way growing up, yet didn’t know what it was. This “what” were the labels society has given homosexuals and bisexuals and etc. If society were to stop putting people with orientations that they don’t understand in boxes, there would be change. Others should become informed and ask sincere questions, and not promote violence, homophobia (the irrational fear of homosexuals), and sexual prejudice (society enforced negative attitudes towards homosexuals or bisexuals) (Chapter 9). By understanding ourselves, we can then understand others because coming out is important to everyone, they are validating who they are and what they feel. If someone comes to you, hear them,

Gender and sexual orientation is a topic that has been and still today is not talked about in such a way it should be because of how society has chosen to structure and control it. Social stratification is a system in which groups of people are divided up into layers according to their relative privileges (power, property, and prestige). It’s a way of ranking large groups of people into a hierarchy according to their relative privileges (Vela-McConnell 2016). People, who deviate from the norm of the “accepted” gender and sexual orientation that society has placed upon us, are stratified below the norm of a dominating binary gender and sexual orientation. People who are queer face the struggle of mistreatment and an unaccepting society that has been socialized to see and act on gender and sexual orientation to being a dualistic system.

Very few parents expect their children to be different. Some of them even dread the thought of the day they discover that their little girl or their little boy is starkly different from their peers, and even their family. The day their child comes out, whether expected or not, could provoke any sort of mixed feelings. However, the child is the one who has to break the news; they have to sit their parents down, to tell them they are in the LGBT+ community, and try to hold back tears at their parents’ reaction, whether it is being overjoyed that they are accepted so readily or being heartbroken at the disapproval in the eyes of their biggest role models. The LGBT+ community is there to comfort and support those who experience this, whether they are a child kicked out of their house or a young adult who hasn’t spoken to their family since they moved out. This community is misunderstood and portrayed as weak, when in reality, the people in this community I am a part of are some of the strongest people I have ever met.

When I think of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) group, I cannot really relate to them at all because I am a straight female. I also have different beliefs about the group. I do not choose to ridicule anyone just because they are different but I do stay true to what I believe in. Despite my beliefs, I was very open to their discussion and tried to relate and understand where they were coming from. During the session, I realized that many people in the LGBTQ community suffer ridicule every day, want to change how the LGBTQ community is looked upon, and struggle with identity.

The battles that the LGBT community faces every day are something most people aren’t familiar with. For me however it’s a different story. The LGBT community is a community looking for wider acceptance and understanding. Every morning someone who is lesbian, gay, transsexual, or transgender has to wake up and face the daily battles of living this lifestyle. They have to fight for equality and have hope they won’t get shorthanded just because of how they live their life. It’s becoming easier for people to be okay with what they are, but it’s still not fully accepted. It’s a constant battle in the minds of people who don’t feel supported by their loved ones, or they feel like they can’t be who they truly want to be. In reality of the whole situation, we’re all human, rich or poor, straight or part of the LGBT community. So why is there still fear in people? And why can’t we all just let everyone be happy?