Negative Effects Of Heterosexism

In, “The interSexion: A Vision for a Queer Progressive Agenda” by Deepoli Gokhale, she writes about queer oppression. She defines heterosexism as the “belief that there are only two genders, and that a sexual relationship between a man and a

In the Berlant and Warner’s reading on “sex in public”, they suggest that the world is structured according to heterosexuality. They argue that within this heterosexuality world, exists an accepted social behaviors that mark the good couple or family. For example, A home is for a family and if you do not have a family, a heteronormative society tells you that you must be depressed or in need of support or help. In their article, they argue “Heteronormativity is produced in almost every aspect of the forms and arrangments of social life through nationality, the state, and the law, commerce; medicine; and education. (562)” For example, heternormativity would be having standard missionary sex between a married couple. In comparison,

A heterosexist is someone that discriminates in favour of heterosexual and against homosexual people. An example of people showing heterosexist beliefs in the public services is how people associate men in The Royal Navy as being gay when in fact according to The Navy Times in 2010 there are around 66,000 homosexuals serving in military which make up just 2.2%.

“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

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

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

Arguments for gay and lesbian families is a concern for the sanctity of marriage is often accompanied by a discomfort with the idea of gay and lesbian families, based on misinformation about the quality of those relationships and their impact on children (Kimmel 184). Arguments that support gay and lesbian families are mainly focused on having the same equal rights as heterosexuals. Many gay and lesbian couples want to get married because of the benefits they acquire such as the right to inherit from a spouse who dies without a will, the right to consult with doctors and make crucial decisions (Kimmel 184). A meta analysis of social studies of gay and lesbian parenting suggests that children are more accepting of homosexuality and maybe more likely to indicate a willingness to consider homosexual relationships themselves (Kimmel 186). Another great example is daughters of lesbian and gay parents are more assertive, confident, and ambitious, and sons are less conforming to traditional masculine aggression and domination and have a better understanding of their gender identity (Kimmel

2. What is homophobia? - The term homophobia translates to fear of homosexuality. This fear can manifest in many forms; it can include violence, harassment, exclusion, or discomfort.

Americans live in a society that seems constantly plagued by various types of discrimination. For instance, ableism, classism, and sizeism are a few examples of the sorts of systematic discriminations that Americans face every day. However, as of late, one of the most prevalent forms that targets homosexual minorities is Heterosexist discrimination. Heterosexism is defined as the discrimination or prejudice against homosexuals (“Heterosexism”). In addition to being prejudiced and discriminatory, Heterosexism is more often than not paired with the idea that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation, and therefore superior.

Heterosexism is a term used to describe people who discriminate against gays and lesbians. Throughout history, an intimate relationship between members of the opposite sex was considered the norm, and breaking this norm would make a person deviant. From birth, children are taught certain characteristics on how boys and girls are suppose to behave. Children learn these things from their parents, the schools they attend, and society that they live in. The characteristics that they learn shapes them into what they become when they’re adults. According to Barrie Thorne, “the sociological significance of children’s play is that boys and girls are helping to socialize one another into primary adult gender roles, girls being more concerned with

Heterosexism is the discrimination or prejudice against homosexuals on the assumption that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation.

She attributes this in part to the bullying, depression, and anxiety experienced by many gay teens because of their sexuality. In response to these problems, a suicide prevention hotline especially for young gays has been established and, Star states, has fielded thousands of calls from youths in crisis.”(Star). Star’s point, is that many teens may be harassed or abused by their peers for their sexuality. This can cause depression and extreme anxiety, about social situations or public places, like school or stores. Many teens choose not to live with the pain and decide to take their lives instead. Therefore, legalizing gay marriage would make being gay less of a struggle, therefore, giving bullies one less problem to abuse their victims with. Also, if gay marriage is legalized then more gay teens will feel comfortable in their own skin. “Various studies have shown that LGB youth are more likely to have experienced discrimination and stigma in their social environment. Furthermore, LGB youth often lack important protective factors, such as family or religious support.”(Dotinga,1). Many gays are looked down upon ad they are more

A social problem is normally a term used to describe problems with a particular area or group of people in the world. Social problems often involve problems that affect real life. It also affects how people react to certain situations. While differences in racial/ethnic prejudices have been explored extensively in past literature (e.g. Bobo and Zubrinksy’s 1996, study of differential prejudices directed toward Hispanic and Black individuals), little U.S. research has investigated how attitudes toward lesbians, gays, bisexual men, bisexual women, and male-to-female (MtF) and female-to-male (FtM) transgender (henceforth “LGBT”) may differ ( Marcus, 2015).

Many negative stereotypes are the cause of homosexuals failing to come out the closet to their friends, family and loved ones. There are also positive effects to coming out as well but the negative opinions of some has triumphed across the nation during the last decade. Even though it may seem that our country has come a long way and accepts homosexuals, we still have a long way to go. Why do such stereotypes override the good effects of coming out gay? Coming out as a homosexual improves the quality of life such as making the individual feel confident and happier within. My own experience will serve as an example on how these things can reduce the confidence level in someone that wants to be open to friends, family and loved ones.

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.