The Role Of Homophobia In The United States

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.

Ever since the first cases of what eventually came to be known as AIDS were diagnosed in the early 1980s, people with HIV/AIDS have been stigmatized. Over time, there have been many misconceptions about this disease. Even though there have been many discoveries, and treatments for HIV have improved over time, there are still many people who understand very little about this disease. This lack of understanding, along with fear, misinformation about how the disease is transmitted, and “moral” judgments made about the types of people who contract HIV, all have led to stigmatization of, and discrimination against, people who are living with HIV/AIDS. Understanding the stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS is an important social justice issue because that stigmatization can result in people with HIV being insulted, rejected, gossiped about, excluded from family and social activities, fired, and even jailed. People with HIV are no different from people suffering from other chronic diseases. Instead of being alienated, they have a right to be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity.

The dawn of the AIDS crisis in the early 1980’s prompted delayed waves of responses sweeping out across America. First impacting a scattering of gay men in San Francisco, the disease gained the stigma of being a “gay disease” that fascinated the nation as health systems and communities struggled to cope with its rapid spread. However, one man, seemingly unaffected by the mix of panic and curiosity, did not react. The Ronald Reagan administration has historically been criticized for its lack of response to the AIDS crisis. Many different aspects of society were instead forced to step up and carry the burden of slowing and responding to the crisis, in a reactionary shift. The Reagan administration’s lackluster response to the AIDS crisis of the

In the election year of 1992, the AIDS epidemic ran rampant through America, despite attempts to curb its effects. Not only was America as a country unwilling to step up to help an already stigmatized population, but finding ways to deal with the rapid spread became more of an accessory to political agendas than a necessity to save lives. The Republican party, which holds on to religiously-influenced ideals, was not eager to offer support to a group which Christianity condemns, so did very little to rectify the epidemic. On top of inaction, many did not want to help gay people; homosexuality was still widely unaccepted in society, and the addition of AIDS to the LGBT community did nothing to endear their situation to the general public.

According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.2 million individuals in the United States have HIV (about 14 percent of which are unaware of their infection and another 1.1 million have progressed to AIDS. Over the past decade, the number of HIV cases in the US has increased, however, the annual number of cases remains stable at about 50, 000 new cases per year. Within these estimates, certain groups tend to carry the burden of these disease, particularly the gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) and among race/ethnic groups, Blacks/African American males remain disproportionately affected. (CDC)

With the help of government programs such as the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) as well as multiple other methods of sociological research and social justice work, there have been shifts toward better understanding this disease, those which are living with it, and the societal impact one’s own prejudices can make toward an individual living with AIDS. However, discrepancies still exist within how to properly educate others on the disease, how to recognize it as a disability within the context of our society, and how we must reconcile stigmas that play a role in plaguing any sort of positive conversation on the topic. With well-informed citizens on the issues of HIV and AIDS patients, not only can we reduce the stigma associated with the illness, but also work toward medical advancements that assist those living with HIV in a nondiscriminatory manner.

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.

“We live in a completely interdependent world, which simply means we cannot escape each other. How we respond to AIDs depends, in part, on whether we understand this interdependence” Bill Clinton spoke these words to an ever-changing, and ever-accepting nation. This idea of interdependence, no matter how evident, was a concept many people In the late 80’s could not grasp. The war on AID’s first started in 1981 when the first case of aids was diagnosed in the U.S. but it wasn't until Clinton took presidency in 1993 that the nation took this epidemic to heart. For over 10 years this outbreak that killed over 70 million was overlooked by many religions and government officials that turned there heads due to the judgment they would receive when affiliating themselves with the lgbt community.

The 1980s were particularly devastating for the gay men. 1985 marked the beginning of President Reagan’s second term. Reagan is mentioned several times over the course of part 1 not only to set a political backdrop for the series, but also challenges the audience to question why the government was so slow to respond to this issue. Reagan didn’t even give his first speech on HIV/AIDS until years after the on-start of the epidemic and after thousands of lives had been lost. In this context, it is fair to assume that HIV/AIDS really became an epidemic through the lack of immediate action from the government and medical establishments that can be directly attributed to homophobic. From its onset, there was widespread fear of contamination as AIDS was constructed as a fatal infectious disease that threatened to wipe out mankind. It was also seen as a “gay plague” or punishment for sexually abnormal behavior.

Imagine you're walking down the street and you’re doing something normal like shopping. All of the sudden you hear a huge bang, a gunshot, from somewhere in front of you and see a woman lying down on the ground bleeding to death while people call 911 and try to save her, she's already dead. People cry and try helping, but the reason that the event that just occurred happened was because she was transgender. Now does that change your perspective? Do you stop crying and leave once you find this out? Most people would.

HIV/AIDS, was a disease with social stigma due to its association with the gay community. However, after the rise of sexual liberation starting in the 1960s, the fear of homosexuals became more concrete, as sexuality was discussed more openly[footnoteRef:35]. Historically a disease was viewed in both social and cultural terms, and the ill can be viewed as being caused by perversions from societal norms[footnoteRef:36]. This happened with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For conservatives, HIV/AIDS was a justified specter, one that could be vindicated as “God’s Judgement” and as a crackdown on the “heinous lifestyle”[footnoteRef:37]. Because HIV/AIDS was so concentrated in particularly deviant groups, the logical linkage of the disease to the gay lifestyle was easy. “Gays (IDUs) chose to be gay (and drug injectors) of their own will. A Supreme Court decision in June 1986 reinforced the moral

In the video with the westboro baptist family church they hate all gays and homosexuals.

A relationship is defined as a way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. “Mariam Webstar 11/01/16” Webstar also states that a relationship can also be a romantic or sexual friendship between two people. In many states under public view, a relationship is supposed to between a man and a woman, however, the era of a relationship being between a man and a woman is over. Now a days, the publics eye has ben more accepting of homosexuality in America. A recent article posted on www. Gallup.com, stated “Over the last few decades, landmark legal cases, medical discoveries, and movies and TV shows have done much to increase acceptance toward homosexuality in American culture {.}”

In the late 1970’s AIDS was just introduced, others knew it as the “gay plague.” In Manhattan, the government was thought to have made HIV later introduced as the main leading cause of AIDS, to use it as a weapon of genocide against gay men.

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, homophobia is the irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. Much like a witch hunt, homophobia targets and seeks out individuals, gay or straight, and persecutes them based on ignorance, and further more if one cannot provide solid proof of his or her innocence. (Hughes) It is the fuel behind many hate crimes and discrimination. Some claim that homosexuality is a disease. If this statement is true, couldn’t we all simply begin to call in “queer” to work and school when we won’t be present? (Avert)