Personal Narrative: Homosexuality And Civil Rights

Throughout American history, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community has been persecuted for their differences. LGBT individuals have dealt with various forms of discrimination in their lives, and will inevitably experience even more. From police brutality towards the gay community in the 1960's , to blaming AIDS on homosexual relations in the 80's, to No Promo Homo laws in 2017, gays have been blamed and punished for a number of things in American history. The states of Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah all enforce ‘No Promo Homo’ laws in their sex education

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,

In 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement, was the first gay rights demonstration which led to the gay liberation movement in the 70’s. Being such an impactful commemoration it inspired more liberating groups in the growing gay and lesbian world such as: feminist movements, record labels, music festivals and the National Organization for Women. This quickly evolved into acceptance in a place of worship when the first gay minister was ordained in ’72. Soon after, several large political groups formed in support of the growing “outing” of a gay society in a stand for gay rights. (Morris, 2017)

Often when we think of American civil rights history, we picture the African American struggle for equality; we think of famous court cases like Brown v. Board, a milestone in ending segregation in public schools; we think of Dr. King and the NAACP’s efforts to organize the black community through speeches, boycotts, and peaceful protests. But often times, when we discuss civil rights history in classrooms we tend to overlook the discrimination faced by other minorities and their separate movements towards social equality.

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.

Homosexuality has been an issue for the public for an extremely long time dating back to even Ancient Rome and Greek. Especially with the birth of Christianity, the religious society has been persecuting anyone claiming homosexuality, forcing people to hide their own sexuality for centuries. It is important to understand and know the past of the homsexuality to understand the reason for their fight and the mentality of their opposition. Homosexuality has never been accepted into the norms of society and was even viewed as a mental disease by the American Psychiatric Association (Bowman). Not until a few decades ago has the movement for gay rights began to kick off. The event that really set off the movement was the Stonewall Riot of 1969. “New York’s gay community had grown weary of the police department targeting gay clubs, a majority of which had already been closed. The crowd on the street watched quietly as Stonewall’s employees were arrested, but when three drag queens and a lesbian were forced into the paddy wagon, the crowd began throwing bottles at the police” (“Stonewall”). This event is regarded as the foundation for the modern gay rights movement including the formation of many gay, lesbian, and bisexual civil rights organizations.

During the Civil Rights Movement, James Baldwin wrote many articles and essays on racial issues. His unique and powerful style invoked the thoughts of many people. What also made Baldwin stand out from others was his homosexuality. Baldwin wrote several essays and novels that had a homosexual theme rooted within the story. It was through this method that Baldwin was able to express his homosexuality and at the same time present a view of black culture that was highly unacceptable during that time period. His works gave him much widespread attention but essentially he was not recognized as a prominent leader of the movement. This was a result of stereotyped images of homosexuals and the desire for African American men

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).

Over the year the United States and the world was and still is violating a person’s human rights. For century’s women, African Americans, gays, and lesbians were the grunt of such unfair treatment. Men thought a women place was in the home, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. Whites thought that black people did not deserve any rights because of their skin color. People where against gays and lesbians because of their sexual preference. In some countries women are not allowed to work. In India a great part of the reason they don 't work seems to lie in the constancy of India 's conventional sexual orientation standards, which try to guarantee virtue of ladies by shielding them from men other than their spouses and limit

One important issue in our world today is Gay Civil Rights. The question is “Should they have the same rights as straight people?” A lot of people say no, but a lot of people also say yes. Obama passed a law called “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” This law allowed homosexuals to go into the military. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to? There was also a Hate Crime law passed stating there will be no hate crime based on sexual orientation. Lastly there was the Respect for Marriage Act passed that allows homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals.

In 1963, the Civil Rights Movement was in full force. Leaders of the movement, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., fought relentlessly for equality amongst everyone, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or nationality, would be treated equally. Though we, as a nation, have come a long way since the 1960s, King’s words still have a great relevance in many aspects of society today.

On December 1, 1955 was the day I felt that I didn’t matter. The day started off normally I woke up, got ready, and went to work. I was having an okay day but nothing good was happening but also nothing bad. Until I rode the bus home from work. I got on the bus walked past the white section and placed myself in the first open seat in the black section. The bus ride went on like usual but I started to notice that the white section was filling up. The bus driver came back to the blacks and spoke to us, the blacks, and told us we needed to stand so the white man could have a seat to sit in. I knew I couldn’t rebel because if I did what would my two sweet daughters, Anne and Maylee, do without their mom. They had already lost their dad, I was their

In the United States the issue of civil liberties, or a lack thereof for certain minorities has been prevalent since the 1800’s. The historically renowned Stonewall Incident marked the beginning of the civil rights and equality movement, for the gay and lesbian demographic in America. “On June 27th, 1969, patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a New York City bar popular with gays and lesbians responded to a police raid by throwing beer cans and bottles because they were angry at what they felt was unjustified police harassment” (Bardes et al. 170). Since the incident, gay men and lesbian women have formed various organizations to exert pressure on legislations, the media, schools, and churches. The liberation achieved by the homosexual community of the United States during the Stonewall Incident has lead to the acceptance of openly gay and lesbian representation in Congress, the military, and same-sex marriage in certain states. (Do I need to add a comma to thesis) -- seems long?

Throughout centuries of generations, there have been many changes that have influenced sexual tolerance. Sexual tolerance is defined as “the acceptance of multiple sexual orientations and lifestyles, generally accompanied by the appropriate legal and civil rights” (Urban Dictionary, 2009). Though there have been improvements in tolerance, there are still many different views on the recent policies, laws or social trends occurring towards sexual and gender orientation. Every aspect of society, from the Department of Defense to local school departments, are beginning to adapt to this growth in gender identity and orientation. An article published by the New York Times (Rosenberg, 2016) addresses an uprising policy on the acceptance of

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).