Homosexual Behavior In The 1950's And Today

“People think that the arts are optional and they aren’t. They teach a level of emotional depth that’s equally important to mathematical skill. You can replace some math skills with a calculator if you know how to operate the thing, but there’s no calculator for human interaction”. This is a quote by actor Hal Sparks depicting the importance and necessity of face to face interaction. These interactions are central to a stable society as it assumes meanings are created through interaction. This is a theory known as symbolic interactionism and is one of three major sociological perspectives. Symbolic interactionism is an essential part of a stable society and is very apparent in the novel Gang Leader For A Day by Sudhir Venkatesh, where the

Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.

Religious discrimination is presented in all shapes and sizes in society. Throughout the prehistoric to eighteenth century, nineteenth century, and twentieth/twenty-first century, religious discrimination is continuously occurring with each generation that passes.

From the segregation and discrimination of African American’s to threats towards Muslims. Sadly discrimination in the United States is still happening today. These people that are affected are not equal to the other people who aren’t getting discriminated against. Studies show that it racism and discrimination is a big problem and it’s getting worse. “In a new nationwide poll conducted by CNN and the Kaiser Family Foundation, roughly half of Americans -- 49% -- say racism is "a big problem" in society today” (Shoichet, CNN). Discrimination is a big problem and it’s only getting worse. Racial tensions are on the rise. The Muslim community has been repeatedly harassed and attacked because of their religion. “They have been harassed, fired from jobs, denied access to public places, and otherwise discriminated against because they wear hijab” (ACLU). Society sees them as future terrorist because terrorist in the Middle East claim to be Muslim. Society plays a big role in discrimination. “Racism is inevitable in any society” (Shoichet, CNN). There is always going to be racism is society. It’s going to happen to different people. That doesn’t mean that it should be brushed over or ignored. Society can manipulate other people into thinking that what they say is correct. “They perpetuate certain ways of seeing the world and peoples within that world” (Jiwani, Racism and the media). Society can change the way some people

This chapter focuses on anti-oppression and anti-discrimination practice. We will be looking at what is meant by these terms and the law which underpins them. We will explore the different ways people are affected by oppression and how to combat it. Evaluate society’s stereotypical images of groups of people in society and the principles of positive action and anti-oppression.

A popular topic of discussion, when referring to historic Roman culture, is the topic of sexuality. Even more specific is the subject of Roman attitudes toward homosexuality. During the time period of 753 B.C. to 476 A.D. the Roman Empire was arguably one of the most powerful and advanced empires of its age. With such a powerful empire of citizens that were fixated on their pride and, for the males, masculinity, one must wonder what their thoughts on homosexuality were. Also, when discussing the Romans and homosexuality you must take into consideration that males were infatuated with themselves, including their physical appearance all the way down to the way that they operated

It will never be possible to get rid of suffering and oppression. Humanity must step in to protect and free any who is suffering or being oppressed. If this circumstance continues, terrible events that happened in the world’s history will be forced to relive. While some know that a problem exists, many just turn an eye blind and forget it ever existed. Humanity should not let that happen, as a matter of fact it did. In agreement with Elie Wiesel’s quote “… wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views…” because us as child’s, we did not choose to be the religion or race that we are, it is something that gets passed on from our parents, their parents, and from there on.

“You’re gay,” a term now used so freely to not only insult peers but to take a stab at the homosexual community. But was this homosexual stigma always prevalent in history? Over two thousand years ago, the ancient Roman state ruled most of the known world. During those five hundred years, emperors rose to power and fell, a republic formed and was destroyed but what perhaps is one the most important aspects of Roman society is free love.

Throughout the film, many sociological concepts were seen in the movie. Symbolic interactionism, values, mores, coercion, gender socialization, and total institutions were apparent in the film. Symbolic interactionism is defined as “a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning,

Discrimination is all around us, whether it’s against women, race, or religion, it is here. No matter what you try to say, it is here and it won’t be going away anytime soon. People say that others aren’t mistreated or that others feelings don’t get hurt because they are treated different, but the truth is that it does hurt. Women have to fight for equal rights. All races have too many stereotypes. People who practice religion have to be secretive about doing it.

There are so many serious issues like poverty, disease, war and so much more happening in this world. Life is already difficult therefore, why must we allow something like discrimination makes people afraid of whom they truly are. It is clear that discrimination is a part of a systematic use of power that “the enslavement of Africans in the United States, the official domination of Blacks by Whites in South Africa, and Hitler's widespread extermination of Jews are some historic examples of systematic, legal discrimination” so why can’t we break this chain. Like I mentioned in my introduction, discrimination is an action people have come to witness but yet, we still discriminate against each other. Everyone wants to be superior over the other, others on the other hand, would never accept different types of races in their mist therefore, and we will never find peace.

Discrimination and prejudice have been in our world for as long as humans have themselves. Discrimination has caused problems in societies all throughout history. But despite all of the terrible things that have happened because of prejudice and discrimination, it continues to live on in our world today.

Homosexual conduct between a teacher and a student was considered a valuable part of the education process. Since the children were taken care of mostly by the government, it was important to establish a lasting relationship with someone that would teach you how to become a young man. The military supported homosexuality, as they thought that one would fight harder to protect his unit if he had a lover or multiple lovers in the same unit. It was also believed to bring about a sense of comradeship. "Similarly, the Greek attitude toward sex was, for the most part, value-neutral... And though exclusive homosexuality was probably discouraged as a threat to the family, it was widely tolerated both for older men who had children and for younger men prior to marriage."-(Blumenfeld and Raymond 1988. 155) Yet, as time went on, people who performed homosexual acts were considered polluted and to have become like women, and were therefore expelled from the military. The Greeks had double standards. Even though they recognized passion and attraction towards the same sex, those who were not attracted to women were not tolerated. Therefore, if a man was homosexual, he had to already have a wife and children. These double standards came from the fact that the society had to reproduce in order to survive. Homosexuality was only tolerated if both of the men have already established a family and met their obligations to reproduce. Social status was also

Homosexuality is not a 20th century situation but has been in history from the age of ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, and even China. The attitude toward homosexuality always has been a variable, depending on the social, cultural and morality, or even the political development (Barnecka et al., 2005). Back in Greek history the concept of relations between two men was seen as the highest form of love, whereas the Judaic view always was against and frowned upon these relations considering it immoral and illegal. However, when the Roman rule was destroyed and the Christians took over Europe, homosexuality was seen as perverse (Woodward, 1997).

In the United States of America, societal deviance changes nearly on a daily basis. Depending on the current culture, deviance is modified to make societal heroes like celebrities, political figures, and sport players look less deviant and more like role models for the public. The change in what is considered “normal” is customarily a result of society in general. By using a reference group of people, individuals tend to identify with those who are in the lime light. Then when that role model does something appalling, the public becomes desensitized to this behavior and its abnormality and becomes less distinct thus adding to the change in social deviances.