The way in which a person recognises themselves sexually, of the gender in which they are attracted to is known as their sexual orientation. A person can identify themselves as being one of many orientations. The most known and recognised of these are homosexual; lesbian and gay, bisexual; being sexually attracted to both sexes and transgender; which means that a person has a sense of self-identity of themselves and their gender which differs with the gender in which they were born. These sexual orientations are grouped and known as the LGBT community.
Unfortunately, for the individuals that recognise themselves in this way, there have been many preconceptions and shaming surrounding their orientation by some heterosexual people. This leads to the dislike and prejudice of those who are a part of the LGBT community resulting in homophobic and transphobic behaviour. Although this is shown amongst a number of heterosexual people, people who also identify themselves as being LGBT, can also exhibit homophobic/transphobic manners.
George Weinberg, a heterosexual psychologist was the man who came up with the word homophobia in the late 1960’s. He penned this term to describe the dread held by heterosexuals when in close proximity of homosexuals. He also used the word to describe a homosexuals’ self-loathing.
Prior to the introduction of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967, it was illegal to be a male homosexual, with it even being considered a capital offence some century earlier.
Homosexuality is defined or characterized as attraction towards the same gender either male or female. It came from the Greek language, where “homo” means the same or similar, hence referring to the attraction between two beings of the same sex. Homosexuality is also referred as a clinical term. Most male homosexuals generally prefer to be called "gay men" and most homosexual women generally prefer to be called "lesbians." Homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation, alongside bisexual and heterosexual. The longstanding consensus of the behavioral and social sciences and the health and mental health professions is that homosexuality is an example of normal and positive variation in human sexual
Homosexuality, however, was still legally considered a mental disorder until 1973. That’s far too recent, that was not long enough ago for anyone to say that homophobia is a thing of the past!
Same sex relations have fluctuated throughout history between being something frowned upon or even forbidden to something that is socially acceptable. The term homosexuality was created in the late 19th century by a German psychologist, Karoly Maria Benkert (Plato). Although it has yet to be accurately identified when exactly the first signs of homosexuality appeared in history it the can be dated as far back as to the 24th-25th century B.C.E. (Northeastern). Homosexuality is not something new or unheard of by any means. In 529 we begin seeing the first punishments of homosexuals (Borngay). Roman emperor Justinian ordered “persons who engaged in homosexual sex to be executed, although those who were repent could be spared,” (Borngay). Following
The word “homosexual” did not come around until 1869 when a “German pamphlet advocating the repeal of an anti-sodomy law” was circulated in Prussia. Those who fell under that category did their best to appear as masculine or feminine as possible as to avoid suspicion and
The word “homosexual” did not come around until 1869 when a “German pamphlet advocating the repeal of an anti-sodomy law” was circulated in Prussia. Those who fell under that category did their best to appear as masculine or feminine as possible as to avoid suspicion and rejection of
Human psychosexual development is the complex learning in today’s society. What is the meaning of sexual orientation? Obviously, it has to be related to sex. It is a way for people to choose their partners to have sex with. Most of people would say it means either interested in men or are interested in women. This is called sexual orientation. In the book Gay Straight, and the reason why written by Simon LeVay, the first chapter of talker about what sexual orientation is, “We usually judge sexual orientation based on a person sexual attraction to men and to women- that is , on her or his feelings –as expressed in answers to direct questions such as “ Are you sexually attracted to men, to women, or to both men and women?” (Page 2) The question doesn’t refer to the interviewees’ feelings of sexual attraction at the very instant of being asked, of course but to their tendency or predisposition to experience such feelings over some extended period of time, perhaps over their entire adult life. In this paragraph, Simone has described how sexual orientation formations create in a sexual orientation. Sexuality refers to a person based on sexual partner sex appeal on the basis of gender and sex want to, Heterosexual sexual orientation to the opposite sex, Gay to same-sex sexual orientation, Bisexual sexual orientation partner selection and can be either gay can also be members of
There are many different positions that are held in society today regarding certain sexual orientations and activities. These issues include premarital sexual activity, masturbation, and the most debated, homosexual orientation and behavior. The opinions that people hold on these topics are likely to be influenced by several factors. The more common of these factors would be religious background and affiliation. In order to gain information regarding how certain religious organizations feel about certain sexual orientations and activities, I looked to my church to see the positions held on each of these issues.
Homosexuals have been looked down upon since the 1800s and even further back. In the book, What’s Wrong with Homosexuality? John Corvino, novelist, inscribes “[T]here were gays in ancient Greece, for example, even though the Greeks would not have thought of themselves in quite those terms. Constructionists, by contrast, hold that sexual orientation is cultural and historical: Prior to the late 19th century, when the term ‘homosexuals’ was coined, there were no such thing as a gay person in the usual sense. Of course, the
The meaning of gender contrasts from what is meant by sex. Gender refers to the personal identification of one’s gender based on internal feeling. Contrarily, sex is the anatomical makeup of the body distinguishing them between male, female, or even intersex, being a mix of the two and unfit to be categorized as male or female. Lastly, sexual orientation is for whom and what kind of people someone feels attracted to romantically,
A. Anti-LGBT violence in 2013 had a total of 2001incidents reported, with a substantial increase in severity of violence reported. (NCAVP, May 2014)
SEXUALITY: Sexual attraction, practices and identity which may or may not align with sex and gender. Such as Homosexual (Lesbian or Gay) Bisexual, Queer, Heterosexual etc.
Sexual Orientation can be defined as the persistent pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to another. The opposing person who you are attracted to can either be of the opposite sex, the same sex, or to both sexes. Although these are the three main categories, there are sometimes minor categories that can be used to define sexual orientation as well. This could be where they may consist of being attracted to different gender identities, maybe innate objects, or may not even be attracted to anything at all. Whatever it may be, sexual orientation is not a choice and cannot be changed manually.
Few aspects of human behavior excite as much interest and controversy as sexual orientation. In cultures and societies today, as well as in the past, there is usually an emphasis on a specific orientation as a norm, and typically heterosexuality is perceived as such. This in turn generates a wide range of reaction to homosexuality, from its being seen as “unnatural” in moral terms, to ideas of it as threatening the stability of a culture. In recent years, however, new perspectives are emerging which strongly support that sexual orientation is by no means so easily defined, and that, when social parameters on sexual behaviors are set aside, the reality is that most people are not strictly heterosexual or homosexual. In the following,
"It was the sexologists… who were to define same-sex love, to give it a name. The term homosexuality was actually used for the first time in 1869 by Karl Maria Kertbeny, a German-Hungarian campaigner for the abolition of Prussia's laws that criminalized sexual relations between men. Homosexuality was not the only term that the late nineteenth century found to describe sexual relations between persons of the same sex. The term inversion was even more widely used. And in 1870, the German physician Karl Westphal invented the phrase "contrary sexual feeling," in detailing the history of a young lesbian. These expressions all had a
The main issue concerning LGBT people is “coming out”, which is the process of understanding, accepting, and valuing one’s sexual orientation/identity. Coming out includes both exploring one’s identity and sharing that identity with others. LGBT individuals have to deal with what it means to be different in a society that tends to assume everyone to be heterosexual and that tends to judge differences from the norm in negative ways. This process creates cognitive dissonance within the person. Because society teaches that the norm is to feel attraction to people of the opposite sex, when a person experiences the opposite feeling finds him/herself in a state of confusion, discomfort and fear of rejection. The coming