The Challenges Between Homosexuality And Feminism

Roxane Gay, author of the article entitled “Bad Feminist”, is a very accomplished American feminist writer. Her publication of “Bad Feminist” in 2012 gained national public attention (1). Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes” (2), but Gay explains throughout her article that being a feminist is not just as simple as agreeing with this need for gender equality. The feminist label is too narrow and because of this the feminist movement is breaking apart. In this piece, Gay addresses how our society currently defines feminism and explains why this definition does not encompass everybody that it should.

Heterosexism, according to Warren J. Blumenfeld, is the system of advantages given to heterosexuals based on the social construct of gender roles and heterosexual norms, while marginalizing and oppressing homosexuals and others who do not fit into the heterosexual culture (373). The enforcement of this system is known as heteronormality. This is seen in the binary system, which is a social construct that divides people into different strictly bordered categories organized by “social roles, values, stereotypes, and behavioral and attitudinal imperatives, expressions, and expectations” (Blumenfeld 373). Those who stick to the binary system, maintain power and privilege. People who may live in the binary system, but also intentionally

In Stephanie Fairyington's essay, “The Gay Option”, the author expresses regret about the framing she used to explain her sexuality when coming out as a homosexual to her mother. She told her mother that her homosexuality was a result of biology and not choice. As a result, Fairyington's mother began to refer to her sexually as a birth defect. This in not the outcome Fairyington desired. She explains that her intent was to gain acceptance from her mother not pity. That experience lead her to conclude that the best course of action for the LGBT community should be for them to turn away from using biology to explain their sexuality but to look instead to an argument of choice. Fairyington explains that an argument of choice will force the rest

Both in a subtle and a direct way, Roxane Gay criticizes second-wave feminists in her article Bad Feminist through the use of irony and the juxtaposition of contrasting adjectives. In the article, Gay describes the stereotypes placed on feminists that have led people to shun the cause and refuse to be a part of it. Like many other females, Gay does not fit into the label of an essential feminist. She likes the color pink, listens to thuggish rap, wants babies, fakes orgasms, loves diamonds, and many other things that clash with being a feminist. Subsequently, Gay is in a personal struggle, which she says “keeps her up at night” (8) because she does not fit into the socially constructed definition of what a good or essential feminist is and does but she does believe in the cause and wants to fight for it.

The Stonewall Riots in 1969 leading to the first Gay Pride Parade in 1970 started a public discourse on LGBT rights (The Stonewall Riots). In the years to follow, two opposing mass movements manifested: the LGBT movement and the Religious Right movement. The LGBT movement aimed to get equal rights for homosexuals. The Religious Right focused on stopping the perceived moral decay of America and protecting children from lesbians and gays. While these movements had polar opposite goals, they used surprisingly similar methods to get their messages across.

The most important recurring issues in the study of the history of Christianity during our time period is sexual abuse amongst the Catholic Clergy and abortion, the killing of a living entity, as it is a sin against God according to biblical doctrine. Many believe that sexual abuse happening in the Catholic Church, is directly related to celibacy. The Churches restriction on priests that directs them to abstain from sexual relations. This issue has been debated since the reformation in which Martin Luther and other reformers opposed celibacy. They based their argument against celibacy on the bible scripture, namely Genesis 1:28, where God wanted people to “be fruitful and multiply”. There is nothing in the bible that directly mentions celibacy. There are many versions that mention fornication and uncleanliness and the interpretation of the Catholic Church seems to have made this deduction based on those scriptures. The other major issue that is common in most of the world’s religions is abortion; the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Protestant Church still adopt the early church’s belief to oppose the practice of abortion. Abortion is considered murder and a mortal sin in accordance which many versus in the bible as it relates to each of these faiths. Even between the Old Testament, where the law or Tora refers to the 10 commandments, where Exodus 20:13 states “Thou shall not Murder” and

capitalism came along did it become a problem to live outside the traditional nuclear family. As

Religion is powerful in that it controls followers’ behaviours and beliefs throughout their entire lives; it is a form of social control. Catholicism is one of the most widely known religions influencing more than 2 billion people around the world (Ross). Within Catholicism not everyone are seen as equals; men have greater privilege than women. The bible and church are from a male’s point of view (Christ 86) and passages within the bible are used to enforce a sexual hierarchy. In fact, the oppression of women begins with the first story in Genesis about creation, which portrays females as being inferior to men and even of an evil nature. This one passage is the main source of justification of oppression of woman in the church (Daly 13).

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?

her name, Sam: a name that is usually considered masculine resulting in the couple Darrin and Sam, alternatively the Stephens family. Sam is the partner who is out for herself and her family. It appears she would be perfectly happy with shedding the mortal world and living completely.

Christianity promises success and happiness as a reward for faith in Jesus and following the commandments of God. With a changing cultural climate, Christianity has a reputation for adapting the cultural background it finds itself. In the western culture, Christianity has evolved to hold some moderate views on issues such as gender, sexuality, marriage, and the role of women. Christianity references the Bible for its interpretation of modern day issues. On the issue of sexuality, Christianity condemns homosexuality and only encourages heterosexual marriage relationships.

Now I want you to realise that the head of every man is Christ, and

Christianity has been facing many obstacles from all the non religious world views. There has been a lot of contemporary influence in this modern churches and Christian gatherings as they try to fit in and accommodate the changing world views. Due to all this influences, everything about Christianity is being questioned especially on issues of sex, divorce, marriage and birth control. There has also been a rise in non denominational churches started by individuals or a group of people with no ties or relationships to already established churches

“All men are created equal, No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words,” Harvey Milk. A homosexual, as defined by the dictionary, is someone of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex. Homosexuality is ethical, and I will provide rational arguments for, and irrational arguments against the topic. A few objections are as follows: It is forbidden in the Bible and frowned upon by God; It is unnatural; Men and women are needed to reproduce; There are no known examples in nature; and the most common argument that concerns homosexuality is whether it is a choice or human biology.

even though sexuality can be considered universal, the sexual behaviors affiliated with it offer different attitudes in various communities. Sexuality is aligned to sexual attraction where individuals can identify themselves with a broad range of sexuality that is bisexual, gay or being lesbian. Sexuality can change over time in a person depending on the circumstances surrounding him or her. It may be affected by the social circle and emotional imbalances that may occur in an individual. Interestingly there exists sexual inequality among many societies in the world. As observed, many societies encourage men to have multiple sex partners but forbid it in women. Moreover, pre-marital sex is promoted in men, but women are flaunted if they participate in pre-marital sex. Across the globe, Western Europe has embraced certain norms in sexuality such as homosexuality whereas African society embraces a negative attitude towards the same.