Who Says I Do

The movement of the gay and lesbian population in the United States is one that has been in progress since the early 1900s, and is still facing overwhelming controversy and backlash today. The push for gay liberation in a country founded on Christian morals and beliefs has subsequently led to struggles over equality of marriage, adoption, jobs, and healthcare. One side of the controversy argues that every individual deserves the same rights, while the opposing mindset argues that being homosexual puts you into a group of people that is different, and will therefore be treated as such.

The LGBT community has been silently suffering through generations. But in this generation, they are finally showing the world their voice. There have been many instances where young adults were denied their right to be who they are and now they are speaking out about the mistreatment. Even though the united states have begun to be more open about the LGBT community here is still more change it come. These changes can be explained through many sociological perspectives including: functionalist, conflict, symbolic interactionism and interactionism. Along with these perspective religion, norms and deviance all impact these individuals who are striving to be open about who they really are inside and out.

“Although sharply divided, public attitudes toward gays and lesbians are rapidly changing to reflect greater acceptance, with younger generations leading the way” (NORC University of Chicago, 2010, p. 1). This push for international acceptance of the LGBT people could not come any sooner. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals as well as transgender individuals from around the world have almost all experienced some sort of discrimination in their lives. This is why there is such a gap between heterosexual and LGBT people. There are hundreds, if not more, reasons for why some people will not accept LGBT individuals and couples, whether it is religion, family values or simply the fact that some people find LGBT people unnatural. This is why the common sufferings

Many people from the United States hold the belief that being gay is something that has always been considered to be okay. They believe that it is just a given. Despite people’s current beliefs on the subject, for a very long time, it was something that was widely believed to be taboo. In the past, people were imprisoned due to their sexuality. Regardless, throughout the decades, people have pushed for the widespread acceptance of people who are part of the LGBT community. Today, homophobia still exists in some parts of the United States, but we have come a long way since the early 1900s.

This decision has affected people’s behavior as individuals and public institutions such as family, young, elderly, disabled, LGTB and those with pre-existing conditions. For example, Kates & Ranji (2014) report that health care access and coverage for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGTB) community in the U.S. face opportunities and challenges when getting access to care. The authors report that LGBT individuals experience some discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, due to ongoing discrimination, access to health care have been limited to these people (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). LGBT individuals not only face discrimination when trying to receive care, but also face difficulties that limit them such as “barriers in obtaining insurance coverage, gaps in coverage, cost-related hurdles, and poor treatment by health care providers” (Kates & Ranji, 2014).

This paper will continue on, researching the societal change/acceptance in the gay and lesbian community as no longer being unorthodox and with the stigma coming from the gay community itself.

LGBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender. It is intended to highlight a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures. Historically, LGBT people have had to deal with being brutalised and misunderstood because of the misconception that being gay is different and deserves different treatment. However, there are efforts being made daily by the community in order to educate people and ease their fears. The purpose of the following analysis is to deconstruct how people who fought back while growing up realizing they are apart of community help shaped and/or will shape them to become strong roles for LGBT people around the world.

The LGBTQ community has struggled for decades to receive equal treatment but despite many advancements, this group of people is still not treated justly. The prevalent discrimination and prejudice enacted against the LGBTQ community can be witnessed on accounts of the Stonewall Riots and laws that affect the community such as not allowing gay men to donate blood, sexual orientation in connection to the military, et cetera. The gay rights movement has united to eradicate these issues through support of the LBGTQ community and to help people understand the process, timing, advantages, dangers, and pitfalls of coming out, as well as recent local and international rulings of the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage and the methods, laws, and attitudes of having children.

The members of the LGBT community have struggled a very long time through many obstacles and a lot of hatred in attempt to be accepted by the people of their community. Recently, America passed a law that made gay marriage legal, making progress on the community’s fight to abolish homophobia. Unfortunately, what many people don’t know, homosexuality still very, very illegal in 76 countries, punishments being imprisonment or worse. All around the world, 47.9% of LGBT males and 72.9% of LGBT females think about committing suicide, 29% of LGBT males and 52.4% of LGBT females attempt suicide, and 1 out of every 25 LGBT males and 2 out of every 25 of LGBT females who attempt at suicide succeed at it. Even though both Equiano’s and Wilson’s battles are over, this battle seems like it is just

Throughout history, society’s views of homosexuality and of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) have changed. These views have changed how the members of this community feel about their personal identity as a whole. Over the last ten years, homosexuality and the LGBTQ community have become more accepted in society. In fact, a recent victory for the LGBTQ community occurred in June of 2015 when gay marriage become legalized in all fifty states. Despite the immense torture that members of the LGBTQ have received over decades, they are slowly becoming more accepted in today’s society. As society begins to become more tolerant with different ideals, the new and younger generations will continue to become more accepting of the people who identify as members of the LGBTQ community. These members will become more comfortable in their own skin and be allowed the same opportunities so other members of society.

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

They say, “...married people have better health than those who are not married”(Essig and Owens 236). However they lack the facts to back up their statements. They use divorce as an example as to why marriage can cause health issues. The authors state, “...married and never married Americans are similar; it’s the divorced who seem to suffer”(Essig and Owens 236). The issue is that they write as if all marriages will end in divorce.

The struggle for equality has been intense, and still continues to this day. With this being said, much progress has been made in establishing respect and external acceptance for all individuals sense of identity. For example, in 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Same Sex Marriages, marking a pivotal point in the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community. For many, this act helped to support their sense of self, a right that been denied for so long. The United States effectively validated the LGBTQ community, giving this group all rights granted to all other citizen’s, However, the creation and acceptance of this community has not had positive benefits for all members. The Gender Binary has been changed, but many distinctions

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, also known as LGBT population have experienced a great deal of oppression worldwide. These particular individuals undergo discrimination from society, whether for reasons of ignorance, fear or intolerance, this population faces challenges in multiple areas of social justice sexual. Although the LGBT culture has made some strides in the areas of state and federal legislation, there is still a wide range of criminalization that takes place within our culture. Understanding the LGBT community and the history of their oppression may be the first step in becoming culturally competent. For many years this culture was denied their basic constitutional rights that were afforded to their equal heterosexual peers. Basic rights such as, adoption and marriage were uncommon to this culture until the 20th century.

The realization of the homosexuality in the modern western world as a cultural, sexual and a social category has been a result of complex power relations that surround sexuality and gender. The acceptance of homosexuality in the society has met its fair share of resistance and skepticism. The view that homosexuality can be in the same league as heterosexual has led it to be viewed as a normal behavioral and moral standard (Gallagher & Baker, 2006). Inasmuch as the skeptics may not want to accept the existence of homosexuality studies show that the habit is rampant today with many gay people coming out in the open. Of interest is the political acceptance of homosexuality with passing gay rights so that it can be recognized by law. This move has given homosexuals the ability to engage in legal entities like marriage (Gallagher & Baker, 2006).