The Role Of Homophobia In Prisons

In the article, How Homophobia Hurts Everyone by Warren J. Blumenfeld, Blumenfeld describes his experience growing up as a homosexual, and how homophobia affected him, as well as his family and peers. To begin, homophobia can be separated into two different catergories, personal homophobia and interpersonal homophobia. Personal homophobia can be described as a personal belief system, or prejudice that homosexuals, bisexual and transgender people are entitled to, should be disliked or remain powerless, due to their desires. They are also sometimes seen as psychologically disturbed, genetically modified or defective and overall, unfortunate human beings. While on the other hand, interpersonal homophobia refers to the personal prejudice or bias that affects relationships within individuals. An example of interpersonal homophobia could be making a joke, name calling, or insulting certain individuals or groups. This can be either verbal, physical or intimidation related.

Hate crime is a motivated violent act by a group or individual perpetrator towards a specific race, colour or religion (Collins, Pg 93,192). For many years, authority figures and the media have ignored hate crime offences towards individuals who identify under the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) umbrella. Up until the 20th century and prior to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, LGBTQ persons have been victimized in violent crimes based solely on gender identification and orientation. With a myriad of events, cases and unreported individual incidents the burden of proof towards hate crime on LQBTQ increased. The development of North American law towards LGBTQ citizens has improved throughout the last two decades. However, there

Prison personnel have not been doing much to secure the safety and well-being of transgender inmates. Some even engage in the unruly behavior and are the dominant aspects to the problems that transgender inmates sustain. Many transgender inmates have attempted to seek justice, but their cases were thrown out. Consequently, it is imperative that people know the conditions and obstacles, in which transgender prisoners encounter while incarcerated. The problems and concerns need to be addressed in order to raise awareness, to help provide safety and security for transgender prisoners because they are humans too. This paper will raise awareness and provide insight on the challenges that transgender prisoners experience, ways to improve conditions, and what policies are already put into place.

To facilitate exploring a specific anti-gay defense, I locate this statute within its homophobic political

People in America who choose to identify as members of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A community have been chastised and mistreated for years, specifically Black Americans. Thousands of people who identify as members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual community have been suppressed of the ability to love freely without being ridiculed. Every human around the world deserves to be loved, regardless of their sexual orientation. Identifying as a member of the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A community does not make you abnormal. There is nothing troubling with liking the same sex, it does not classify you as anything less than a man or woman. Furthermore, society has created this negative notion about identifying as an L.G.B.T.Q.I.A member, we are all humans, with emotions. Homosexuality amongst the African American community is prevalent; it has its detriments and burdens on individuals. The effects of how Blacks are ostracized amongst the Black community is disheartening and is displayed through homophobia, violence, and acceptance.

In the US everyone says we’re free, but are we? What about the black man afraid to walk down the street with his hood up, hoping he isn’t stopped by the police again? The gay teen that is bullied so badly that he is brought to the thought of death. Or the man wearing a turban being called a terrorist for following a religion? Injustice is still around today, maybe more than ever. Homophobia, Racism, and Police Brutality have led to crimes, arrests, and even death. These are injustices that need to be addressed and take care of.

There is not a plethora of research on the transgender inmate population. Brown and McDuffie (2009) report 750 transgender prisoners were in custody in 2007. The only reason this population is last on the list of importance is because of the limited population. Transgender inmate population pose one of the most challenging legal questions to the DOC. How far does the DOC have to go in providing medical, psychiatric, or surgical needs to those inmates who enter the correctional facility as transgender (Brown & McDuffie, 2009). There has been some successful litigation that has addressed these issues with inmates who have been diagnosed with gender identity disorders (GID). Brown and McDuffie (2009), suggest California has some of the most “comprehensive directive” that allows inmates to continue or initiate “cross-sex hormones for appropriately diagnosed inmates” (p.288). Ultimately, the transgender population pose a real threat to the correctional environment, such as, safety issues and predatory behavior by other inmates. One area of concern for transgender inmate population, because it is such a relatively new population, there are not a lot of facilities medically equipped to care for them properly (Brown & McDuffie, 2009), a lot like the elderly inmate population. This population is as equally at risk of being violated as any of the other special

The reason for this, as stated in the article, is because they are more likely to face discriminatory treatment by those who will not and do not respond to their unique experiences and needs. A report stated that 12.5% of those abused while in the juvenile justice system were members of the LGBT community, while those who were heterosexual only experienced 1.3% of abuse. I thought this was very concerning because these women are being violated for their sexual orientation, and the correctional facilities are neglecting to protect LGBT members from abuse and discrimination. A survey containing 2,100 youth in detention facilities discovered that 9% of women who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual hide their sexuality to prevent discrimination and abuse from other residents and the staff. Although I did not find this to be surprising, I did find it to be quite saddening. These women, instead of embracing who they are, feel the need to hide their sexual orientation to avoid getting harassed. Although harassment from other residents of a prison is not a rare thing, harassment from the staff, who are people that are meant to keep you safe, is not

Based on the discussion from the Williams Institute, it is evident that there continues to be a prevalence of discrimination among groups that are not viewed as culturally acceptable in our county. In this article, it is reported that people are more likely to experience hate crimes based on their sexual orientations. For instance, 44% of people reported experience physical violence (without a weapon) because of their sexual orientation, and 80% had been verbally harassed (Herek, 2009). Although the Hates Crimes Statistic Law became effective in 1990, the stigma surrounding the LGBTQ community continues to affect their everyday life. It may defer a person by identified their sexual orientation for the fear of being discriminating in the workplace,

In order to reduce the risk of harm, many prisons have elected to put their transgender inmates into segregation, to keep them away for the general population (Smith, 2012). Administrative segregation is often used the most when housing transgender inmates. This form of segregation is very similar to solitary confinement, meaning that inmates are put in a single cell and left alone for hours at a time (Simopoulos & Khin Khin, 2014). When put into administrative segregation, the inmate often loses various opportunities such as being able to work, having visitation hours, exercise, specified treatment, and other activities (Smith, 2012). It is not unusual for the segregation cells to be less then desirable. Most times they dirty, unkempt and sometime even

Currently, in the United States there are 9 million people who are openly a part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community; that is roughly equivalent to the entire population of New Jersey. The LGBT community stands for and places their beliefs in equality, individuality, and pride. Despite their efforts, they are still faced with degrading discrimination and cruel hatred. Today, fourteen percent of all hate crimes are directed towards to LGBT community. (fbi.gov) The number of hate crimes towards the community is quickly increasing and evolving into a worldwide problem. One of the most recent and impactful hate crimes was in 2016 when a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was attacked by a gunman. That night, nearly fifty

A black transgender woman is arrested under suspicion of prostitution just because of her gender identity. A bisexual parolee can't find a home because she's not legally protected from housing discrimination and she also has a criminal record. A lesbian woman in prison is assaulted by a correctional officer. A transgender woman who is an undocumented immigrant is placed in a men's facility, in isolation, simply because she is transgender” (Unjust: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT People). These are things that still happen in today's society. “'Fixing' America's criminal justice system means fixing it for everybody, including nine million LGBT people across the nation. A "fix" would also mean thinking more broadly about what we can do at all levels to reduce discrimination and increase opportunity and equality—so that LGBT people, people of color, and other frequently marginalized populations can live more safely and securely with the understanding that law enforcement and criminal justice systems exist for protection, not discrimination” (Report: Criminal Justice System Discriminates and Fails the LGBT

In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people

This paper is about the different issues transgender prisoners face in the United States. Transgender prisoners are often targeted and abused by both inmates and police officials due to being placed in the prisons of their biological sex. Transgenders are a misunderstood group of minorities in the United States. Transgenders do not receive the same health care as other prisoners and do not always receive their hormone therapy. Prisons over the U.S. are trying to find new ways to make better environments for transgender prisoners. Some prisons allow transgenders to buy female and or male products, but with no desecration from police officials it leads to further abuse within the prison and psychological damage to trans prisoner. Transgender

The LGBTQ community are living a life in danger in America. Regardless of the acceptance of same-sex marriage, there are a number problems the LGBTQ community have to face, like the many obstacles to acceptance and equality. In The New York Times article, “The Challenges That Remain for L.G.B.T. People After Marriage Ruling” by Liam Stack, he goes by talking about info that can be reliable with sources that work, with quotes that match with what he needs to say, and usefully using emotional appeals to persuade his audience that the LGBTQ community are in danger. Stack sets about his work of persuading his audience about what is going on in the world is by using strong logical and ethical appeals. In his writing he points out that the LGBTQ community faces discrimination, lack of transgender rights, health care and Immigration and Criminal equity reform.