The long fight against discrimination of minorities is inevitable as those with power seem to always overlook the disadvantaged with ease. This struggle is evident through mass genocides, segregation and abusive authority that have occurred that have occurred over the centruies throughout the world. Homosexuality has triggered a similar dilemma as American society detrimentally instills derogatory implications of same-sex relationships in American’s way of life through media and everyday applications. A close examination of "What is a Homosexual” reveals that Andrew Sullivan’s appeal to ethos through exercising a cynical language in his personal anecdote that exposes the plight of homosexuals which reflects from institutionalized social ideology …show more content…
Heterosexism and Social Darwinism are characterized in the piece as Sullivan provides an overview of his experience growing up as a homosexual during his adolescence by relating colorful anecdotes in the beginning of his chapter. The stereotypes of the typical clichés of jocks, nerds and the flamboyant diva are portrayed as homosexuals who embody these personas to gain some type of “respect” from society and to fit in normally (A. Sullivan 196). The oppressed homosexuals who go through adolescence resort to such means in order to endure the harsh judgments of society instead of being comfortable with their sexuality. He digresses from his examples and explains that he utilize these stories to answer the question “what Is a homosexual?”. Sullivan’s indicative language throughout the piece encourages the audience to acknowledge the oppression and mistreatment of homosexuals as well as urge society to put a stop to implanting ideologies that prevent individuals from attaining the lifestyle they desire and cause …show more content…
Due to the fact that it is human nature for individuals to adapt to changes and modify one’s shortcomings to fit in within civilization. In “What is a Homosexual”, Sullivan deliberately incorporates Darwinism’s theory to suggest that the homosexuals “survival depends upon self concealment” in a heterosexual institutionalized society (A. Sullivan 195). He manipulatively utilizes the audience’s personal memories of their first crush to imploringly urge readers to recreate their mentality of homosexuals and homophobic behaviors. Simultaneously, he sustains the idea that in order to survive in a world full of heterosexuals, the gay community has been forced to disguising their standings to a “favourable variant” (Halliday 392) . This in turn, underscores the immorality of the situation as it restricts an individual’s mentality from one’s true self as well as a reason to why homosexuals develop a “psychological toll” due to the “negative social attitudes toward homosexuality” (G. Sullivan
Homosexuals are often faced with “the central psychological developmental task of generativity versus stagnation in self-absorption”. In Harvey’s case, generativity resulted in the adaptive benefit of non-reproduction of cultural evolution which “follows principles similar to biological evolution. Elements of culture (e.g. ideas, skills, faiths, and science) are copied and transmitted to the next generation, from brain to brain” (Stortelder, 2014). This mental process theoretically occurs alongside biological evolution which passes genetics from one generation to the next; Harvey passed his ideology and his passion for human rights to many young people as well as his peers and elders. He was a mentor to many and an inspiration for a countless number of homosexuals and straight people
Andrew Sullivan, author of, What is a Homosexual, portrays his experience growing up; trapped in his own identity. He paints a detailed portrait of the hardships caused by being homosexual. He explains the struggle of self-concealment, and how doing so is vital for social acceptation. The ability to hide one’s true feelings make it easier to be “invisible” as Sullivan puts it. “The experience of growing up profoundly different in emotional and psychological makeup inevitably alters a person’s self-perception.”(Sullivan)This statement marks one of the many reasons for this concealment. The main idea of this passage is to reflect on those hardships, and too understand true self-conscious difference. Being different can cause identity problems, especially in adolescents.
The focus of the book helps understand the true importance of books like Gay New York, Coming Out Under Fire, and Men Like That by explaining the progress made in the United States regarding the acceptance of the gay community into society. Consisting of six chapters that cover many issues regarding the government, including the military, welfare, and immigration. Much like in Coming Out Under Fire, Canaday points out issues gay men and women faced following World War II. From the mid-1940s into the late 1960s, the state crafted tools to overtly target homosexuality (Canaday, 2009). Policies were enacted that explicitly used homosexuality to define who could serve in the military (Canaday, 2009). Much has changed since then, considering the infamous “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was repealed. Canaday’s main argument in the book is that sexual citizenship was built into the federal bureaucracy as it was being created, and this needs to be more attended to by historians (Canaday, 2009). According to Canaday, the foundations of sexual citizenship are the reason the United States has such an issue with securing universal gay rights. Issues in the South are also addressed, much like in Men Like That. Religion and the power it has in the country limits many initiatives that support gay
Discrimination has always been prominent in mainstream society. Judgments are quickly formed based on one’s race, class, or gender. The idea that an individual’s self-worth is measured by their ethnicity or sexual preference has impacted the lives of many Americans. During the early colonial period, a social hierarchy was established with white landowners at the top and African-American slaves at the bottom. As equality movements have transpired, victims of discrimination have varied. In the late 1980’s when Paris is Burning was filmed, gay rights were still controversial in society. The lack of acceptance in conventional society created hardships in the lives of transgender women and gay men.
In “Dude, You’re a Fag,” multiple boys that were interviewed said they “didn’t like gay people” and were disgusted by gay men but lesbians were “good” (Pascoe). These boys only viewed female homosexuality as “good” because of its place in the heterosexual male fantasy and not because they approved of homosexuality as a legitimate and accepted sexuality (Pascoe). The binary gender system creates a male dominated society that allows for only female homosexuality to exist because even through it goes against the strict normative heterosexuality it can still be a source of pleasure for men. Male homosexuality, however, is not accepted because in a male dominated world it is associated with not being masculine. Through the use of the slur “fag,” people demean and emasculate boys and men (Pascoe). The use of “fag” against someone does not imply that they are homosexual; instead, Pascoe’s study and interview of high school age boys shows that it is used to say that a person is not masculine and therefore not conforming to their gender roles. Even though women can be sexually fluid and have intimate relationships with other women, it is not viewed as legitimate sex because there is no penis involved. Women are allowed by society to have sex with whomever they want, as long as they are still able to perform their gender role as wives and birth givers. In contrast, in
...were initially skeptical, until gradually, the weight of scientific fact has shifted the opinion to the belief in these views. As seen in the film, Paris is Burning, homosexuality is not much of a choice, but a way of life that not many would chose living unless biologically destined to be. We must trust that the very knowledge of the natural and biological springs of sexual abnormality will bring about the recognition that the syndrome is natural, and may change our perceptions of what is normal. After all, the problem, such as Bornstein stated, is with our intolerance that they do not conform with what we think is 'normal' gender identity and sexual behavior. Though it is our biologically wired mind that makes us intolerable and aggressive to the 'outsider', it is our duty as a society to erase this ignorance by education of the genetically sexual 'deviant' ones.
In a structured society, as one we’ve continued to create today, has raised concerns over the way society uses the term queer. Queer was a term used to describe “odd” “peculiar” or “strange” beings or things alike, but over the centuries societies began to adapt and incorporate the term into their vocabulary. Many authors such as Natalie Kouri-Towe, Siobhan B. Somerville, and Nikki Sullivan have distinct ways of describing the way the word queer has been shaped over the years and how society has viewed it as a whole. In effect, to talk about the term queer one must understand the hardship and struggle someone from the community faces in their everyday lives. My goal in this paper is to bring attention to the history of the term queer, how different
The topic of homosexuality has become a constant issue throughout our society for many years. Many people believe that being gay is not acceptable for both religious and moral reasons. Because being gay is not accepted, many homosexuals may feel shame or guilt because of the way they live their everyday lives. This in turn can affect how the person chooses to live their life and it can also affect who the person would like to become. Growing up, David Sedaris struggled to find the common ground between being gay as well as being a normal teenager. He often resorted to the conclusion that you could not be both. Sedaris allows us to see things through his young eyes with his personable short story "I Like Guys". Throughout his short story, Sedaris illustrates to the reader what it was like growing up being gay as well as how the complexities of being gay, and the topic of sexuality controlled his lifestyle daily. He emphasizes the shame he once felt for being gay and how that shame has framed him into the person he has become.
Quite interesting, Nussbaum’s opens up the preface with an example of a gay teenager who describes his experiences when “coming out of the closet”. The teenager admits to being horrified and disgustful towards his own emotions that weren’t passing, as they should. Through this example, Nussbaum distinguishes between the two perspectives that are in our society today regarding homosexuals. The contrast lays “between people who can ‘sort of experience’ what a gay teenager feels and people who simply think of those desires, and no doubt, the teenagers themselves, ‘as being disgusting’”(Nussbaum xiii). She even go...
This unit has been about what gay masculinity means and the struggles gay men face in society. We looked at how gay men coped living in a world that wasn’t accepting of them. How they dealt with self-hatred and the role that race plays in gay communities. In this essay I will be discussing the self-hearted that was shown in the two movies we saw: The boys in the band and Tongues untied. I will also be taking a closer look at the readings that we covered in this unit. I found it really interesting how these men in order to protect themselves used derogatory terms or jokes towards each other and towards themselves. I felt that these men used jokes as a self defense mechanism, in a sense that there is nothing anyone could say that would hurt them because they were already telling themselves and each other horrible things. I will also be discussing the affect that race has on gay masculinity and, I will be discussing on why society in a way considers gay masculinity as a failing masculinity.
Gloria Anzaldúa firmly writes about her negative encounters with this dichotomy in her piece To(o) Queer the Writer. Her encounters with the movement to self identify highlight the steamroller-like qualities of societal peer-pressure. The expectation to have contemplated one's own sexuality and be willing to share with any person who inquires has become overwhelming. It has become normal to disregard personal privacy and comfort levels to be able to ask anyone what their sexual or gender orientation is, and blanket terms are no longer accepted. As an answer, "queer" is met with a look of expectation for whoever is being interrogated to keep explaining until he provides acceptable mainstream terminology that the interviewee has heard of before. Anzaldúa expresses her distress, and "struggles with naming without fragmenting, without excluding" (Anzaldúa 166). Each label is a box, with strict confinements included. However, everyone who does not identify with the societal norm to be a white Protestant heteronormative individual is expected to choose a label. These loaded self-definitions aren't in place to help explain how someone identifies. Instead, they help decide how society should judge him instead. Instead, the labels are manifestations of what the assumptions and reputations are, behind the boxes. To come to terms with the ominous intersection between religion and queer, each individual
The article written by Blashill and Powlishta titled “Gay Stereotypes: The Use of Sexual Orientation as a ...
Queerness, no pun intended, but what an “odd, strange, unusual, funny and peculiar” term”. People justify its usage because it supposedly takes away the power from those who would use it in a derogatory manner. Which is to say or equate a person’s sexuality as “peculiar or odd”. Why is gay equal to queer? Or why is queerness considered to be gay. Some would argue that the word “Queer” by definition sets up those associated with the word to be labeled in a manner that sets them aside from “normal”, if such a thing exist. Queer is often associated with sexual lifestyle and ultimately used by many as an insult. The clash of gender, sexuality and race collide with queerness in such a way that creates the illusion of interrogation.
The homosexual community faced, and still faces many hardships. Homosexuals are constantly being judged based on their feelings and beliefs. Many homosexuals and supporters believe this is not fair, especially the ones in Ame...
Jacques Balthazart, in the book, Biology of Homosexuality, examines the historical and cultural context in which homosexuality is expressed and attempts to dissect homosexual behavior and cognition from a biological perspective. He explains that there are behaviors in human sexuality that exhibit greater diversity than the sexual behavior of other animals. This exertion may lead one to conclude that human sexuality, as a result of its biological and emotional components, is more complex than the sexuality of other species. (Balthazart, p.4)