Homophobia has been a problem for a very long time, all across the world. For example, during the Holocaust, in which homosexuals were forced to wear the “Pink Triangle”, a pink, upside down triangle, on his or her coat for identification. Of course, the pattern of homophobia is not only shown throughout world history, but American history as well. For example, sodomy laws, laws that rule certain sexual acts as crimes, were established as early as 1963. The penalty for these laws varied from state to state. Some of the punishments include: two to ten year imprisonments or two thousand dollar fines. The cruelty of these homophobic actions should not be accepted any longer. It encourages bullying, denies human beings their civil rights, and continues to foster a mentality of indifference and intolerance towards our fellow man. According to a study done by National Youth Association in 2010, 9 out of 10 students in the LGBT community have experienced harassment in school, and over ⅓ of LGBT youth have attempted suicide. More recently, statistics by the Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org) claim that 4 in 10 LGBT youth say that their community is not accepting of LGBT people. In 1998 the Westboro Baptist Church was brought into America’s spotlight when they picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young man in the LGBT community who had been beaten to death because of his sexuality. Since then, the cruelty of WBC hasn’t ceased to leave many in sickening shock. Bullying, throughout time, has evolved. It’s not just Little Timmy being beaten up for his lunch money anymore. Now, parents are involved. Many religious households raise their children on the beliefs that bullying is A-OK if Little Timmy is a homosexual. Parents ar... ... middle of paper ... ...oot of bullying in the LGBT community. It keeps same-sex couples from sharing the benefits of marriage, and causes a mentality of indifference and intolerance towards our fellow man. Works Cited "Crimes Against Homosexuals Tracked by Government, 1988-April, 1990." DISCovering U.S. History. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. "GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUALITY/TRANSGENDER ISSUES." African American Almanac. Ed. Brigham Narins. 10th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Student Resources in Context. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. Grossman, Andrew. "Gay Studies." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 866-870. Student Resources in Context. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. ProCon.org. "16 States with Legal Gay Marriage and 33 States with Same-Sex Marriage Bans." ProCon.org. 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
Jamie Nabozny is gay. Today the fact causes him few, if any, difficulties in life, however, throughout middle and high school Nabozny was both physically and verbally harassed; he was beaten, kicked, urinated on, called hurtful terms and abused to the point of hospitalization. However, the worst part of this innocent victim’s abuse was the role that his administration played, or rather refused to play; no action was taken to protect Nabozny despite the fact that school officials knew what was going on and had been repeatedly confronted about his abuse. In time the abuse Nabozny suffered led to doleful moods, severe depression, attempts of suicide, endeavors to run away from home, and other drastic consequences. Eventually, this young vigilante decided to fight back in order to prevent others from experiencing what he had gone through. Nabozny took legal action and, with the help of Lambda Legal Law firm, sued his former school officials for their failure to do their job of keeping him safe in school, eventually winning nearly a million dollars in a monetary settlement. Jamie Nabozny’s case has inspired the response of countless others and forced schools to take responsibility for their actions in bullying cases, because of this role model’s singular determination and readiness to stand up for himself, he has affected and inspired millions. Proving, once and for all, that one person can make a difference.
Various controversies have arisen from the LGBT community since it stepped into the limelight during the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the events known as the beginning of the LGBT movement. One of these dilemmas is the faith identity of LGBT youth and how their sexuality might be handled as teenagers. Reparative therapies, also known as conversion therapies, have become popular ideas on how to fix teenagers’ sexual orientations. “My Take: Let’s Protect Religious Counselors Amid ‘Conversion Therapy’ Dance-Off”, authored by Gabe Lyons and published in the CNN Belief Blog, offers a subjective view on why religious freedom should be protected through conversion camps. “Five Christian Pastors in Illinois are Challenging a State Law Banning ‘Conversion
Suicide and suicide attempt rates in LGBT youth and young adults are a staggering three times the normal amount, with heterosexual teens being nearly five times less likely to attempt suicide than LGBT teens. This is due to an extreme rate of unfair treatment and rude words towards LGBT folk. LGBT, standing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, is a community of people that do not identify as heterosexual or as their sex assigned at birth. Bullying and harassment is common in this community, simply because others do not understand them. Despite the continuation of discrimination and bullying of teens and adults who identify under the LGBT spectrum, Daniel Savage is an important activist working towards getting rid of harsh opinions about
In the late twentieth century, the story of the heinous hate crime of Matthew Shepard spiraled throughout many news outlets and eventually became world wide news. Hate crimes have become one of the most known violent acts towards the LGBTQ community. Ranging in actions such as vandalism, beatings, and even in some cases, death Although many cases as such have occurred, the realistic theatrical portrayal of Matthew Shepard in The Laramie Project, Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine, and From Hate Crimes to Human Rights: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard, display evidence and an oath to Matthew and his life.
This writer remembers watching Mathew Sheppard’s story unfold on the news one early morning. One could not believe that this young man was treated so inhumane for being gay. Listening as the news reporter reported that Sheppard was beat, and tied to a fence and left to die was unrealistic at the time. Why would anyone treat another human this way is baffling? Even though, Sheppard eventually did pass away from his injuries, he was not forgotten. As a result of his death, the Department of Justice (2015) “create[d] a new federal criminal law which criminalizes [when someone] willfully cause[s] bodily injury” to another human based in their “race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability” (Department
Gay bashing is the verbal of physical abuse towards someone who is thought to be homosexual. This form of bullying has become strikingly common in the United States and has only increased. While the frequency of hate crimes towards gays (20.8% in 2011) is less than half that of racial biased hate crimes (46.9%) it is still the second most common source for a hate crime in America, among other such as religious or gender bias. That percentage is still an increase from the previous year at 18.6%, meanwhile the overall count of hate crimes decreased. The types of hate crimes ranged from property crimes, intimidation...
Hate crimes against homosexuals has a high rate, from 1995-2008 there were 15,351 hate crimes against the LGBT community. Homosexuals are expected to be victimized at 8.3 times the expected rate. Research also has shown that homosexuals are like to suffer the abuse of hate crimes than anyone else. Hate crimes against homosexuals have been brutal and gruesome, lives have been ruined and lost. Emotional, physical, and mental scars will be with these victims for the rest of their lives. The problem is there are really no laws protecting individuals who are homosexual from getting abused by people who hate them due to their sexuality. The worse part is that this hatred is spreading to our youth, today’s generation and tomorrow’s future. What kind of example are we setting when we don’t want to allow people to be their selves and to express their uniqueness? Hate crimes against homosexuals are deteriorating the progress we have made in our nation to celebrate diversity and individuality.
“What’s the big whoop?” asks a cute, blonde, elementary school aged boy when his teacher discusses homosexuality. He didn’t understand why people cared who other people loved. Little kids are perfect examples of how society’s negativity towards homosexuality creates homophobia. Children don’t understand why it matters who you love because they don’t see it as a problem and their opinions aren’t clouded by stereotypes. If LGBT issues were taught to these innocent, uninvolved children in elementary school, it would be more likely they would be accepting as they grew up. It is important to present LGBT in a positive light before parents, classmates, and media influence their perceptions.
If schools are to function as protective and secure learning environments for sexual minorities, the onus will be on the adults to step up and create an infrastructure that safeguards all students at the community level (Varjas, 2008). The author writes that “it is imperative that counselors, psychologists, policy makers and educators fight to improve the physical and mental health for sexual minority youth by combating the persistent rejection and victimization they endure in schools” (Varjas, 2008, p. 80). To do so will require active monitoring of bullying and a willingness to step in and intervene. If teachers are going to be that proactive, they need to know that their school district will protect their views rather than persecute them
A major problem is discrimination against LGBT youth (Cray, 3 Barriers) . They are constantly harassed both verbally - as shown by Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council claiming it’s appalling to tell LGBT youths that they’re not shameful (as done by the “It Gets Better” project) and comparing homosexuality to drug abuse (Hooper, The War) , by the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni calling gays “disgusting” after signing a strict anti-gay law and telling CNN reporters that he does, in fact, have prejudice against homosexuals (LGBTQnation, Uganda President) , by my own father comparing homosexuality as a whole to beastiality, and by both parents refusing to use a transgendered friend’s PGPs (Prefered Gender Pronouns) - and physically, shown in many public places: Schools, by 15 year old freshman Zach King’s beating (Ludlow, Gay Student’s Beating) , parties, by the assault and murder of Dwayne Jones, 16, of Ja...
We believe that Violence and hate against homosexuality need to diminish severely. Gay bashing, gay bullying, and hate crime is very popular when it comes to hating on homosexual people. LGBT people of all ages die every year, whether caused by suicide, injury or homicide. From 1999-2010, the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program says that suicide is the 3rd leading cause (4,600 deaths) of death among young people ages 15 to 24. In 2011 there were 1,572 victims that received hate crimes based on sexual orientation. In an article on PBS, written by a woman named Karen Franklin, a description of an interview with a man called Brian states that him and his ...
Homosexuality in Today's Society. In today's society, there exists a mixture of issues which tend to raise arguments with people all over. There are a handful of topics that always seem to escalate these differences between people to the point where one who earnestly participates in discussion, debate and argument can direct their anger towards their feelings on the person themselves. Some examples of such delicate subjects are the death penalty, abortion, and euthanasia.
Baker, Jean M. How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community. New York: Harrington Park, 2002. Print.
Throughout the years, bullying has become a significant reason for teenagers to become depressed or even suicidal. It does not matter what the teen is being discriminated against, whether it be their race, what they believe in, or who they love. When it comes to homosexuality, “one in three are under 18 who commit hate crimes” (D...
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.