Since the inception of human creation, sexual orientation has been a controversial topic amongst us. Rather one is considered the “norm” dealing with sexual orientation, which signifies that one is attracted to the opposite sex or if one “chooses” to stray off from path most traveled and be attracted to the opposite sex, is it justified to be judged because of this? While there are many terms to describe what a person is called to describe their sexual orientation, there is a common theme that is seen amongst most aspects of life and that is the word “different”. Being different is common in the world we live in today. From various races,heights,weights and other various characteristics, no one is genetically or physically similar and that …show more content…
In this area, if you are different, you are morally degraded and in some cases treated unfairly because one is different. To broaden my knowledge and understanding of this subject, I embarked on a journey of enlightenment that changed my views forever. There are a multitude of words that can be found to describe variations of sexual orientation. Some of those words are technical terms while the others are “slang” words or nicknames. To begin with, some of those technical terms includes transsexual, pansexual, homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual and asexual. Some of the “slang” words or nicknames includes fag, gay and lesbian. A transexual is a person who identifies psychologically as a gender/sex other than the one to which they were assigned with at birth (Killerman). A pansexual is a person who experiences sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction for members of all gender …show more content…
The word “gay” comes from the French word gay which means “merry” or “exuberantly joyful” which popped up around the eighteenth century (Norton). The use of the word “lesbian” can be traced back to the year of 1732, in the satire “The Toast” which used the word to classify women who love women the same amount as men do (Norton). The word “faggot” can be traced back to the 1920’s and 1930’s in the African-American neighborhoods of Harlem (Norton). Homosexual activity can even be traced to ancient civilizations. In ancient Greece, an older male would become the mentor to that of a younger male and they would participate in homosexual activity (Houston). The difference between now and then is the perception of those activities. Back then it was common for those activities to take place, but now it is looked down upon as an
Sexual orientation is a term used to describe a person’s physical, sexual, and romantic attraction to another person, whether they be Male or Female. The term is relatively new and the idea of having a homosexual identity has only been around for one-hundred years at the most (APA).
One group of people for whom the question of respect for diversity and individual freedoms comes into stark relief are those belonging to so-called sexual minorities. The struggle for acceptance by sexual minorities is almost universally undertaken in the face of strong and often even violent prejudice and misunderstanding.
Homosexuality is not a new trend, sexual orientation, or identity, in fact homosexuality is believed to date back over 5,000 years ago (Adams, 2011). Same sex couples have existed for thousands of years and research will show how the social and political stigmas that are known today, have stemmed from religious point of views and political opinions.
Cisgender, for example, is the word that describes when your gender identity aligns with your sex. It is the reverse of transgender. Most people identify as cisgender or 'cis' without even recognizing it, but it is a gender identity, too.
Currently, while sexual orientation and gender identity may overlap, these two classifications are distinctly different from one another. Sexual orientation focusses on whom a person is attracted to; as gender identity focusses on how one identifies oneself with the gender traditionally associated with one’s sex at birth. These categories are easily to be confused due to the traditional beliefs of society. People tend to confuse them, perhaps people pretend to be ignorant to this situation. As if anyone were to agree Katha Pollitt’s argument, they will say that a person who dresses and acts in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex must also be a member of a sexual alternative, but that is not always
However, an umbrella term, or a word that covers more than one specific topic, such as transgender, does not only describe people who identify as the opposite sex; it also describes people who identify with both male and female genders, people who identify as genderless, or people who fluctuate between two or more genders. Many transgender people often refer to themselves simply as “trans.” Transgender does not define one’s sexual orientation, however; gender is considered a social construct while sexuality is not.
I want you to become aware of what we have done and take action to stop people to be happy, to respect their way of thinking, acting, and living. My purpose in writing this paper is to present my points of view on how society has changed as the years go by. Also how homosexuals have fought for many years and all the different struggles they have managed to get the rights they deserve and one day had which were then taken away because they became themselves and also because of the ignorance of some people.
Sexuality is a fundamental part of our self-discovery, involving much more than just being genetically or anatomically male and female and it is not defined solely by one 's sexual acts (Ministry of Education 1989, p.79 cited in Gourlay, P 1995). The notion that sexuality is fixed and innate disregards the social aspects that impact ones’ sexualities. Gagnon and Simon (1973) further commented that sexuality is a feature of social
Many of us have been reflecting on questions about intersex and what it actually is. I’ll be explaining the definition of intersex, how common it is the conditions of intersex and what is basically considered to be intersex. Intersex is when a person is born with a sexual anatomy or reproductive system that doesn’t quite fit the description of male or female. Some examples are, a person could be born with an outer appearance as a female but could have male anatomy on the inside. Also a person can be born with what looks to be as both male and female genitals, such as, a boy can be born with a small penis or a scrotum that’s divided forming what can look like a labia or a girl can be born with a very large clitoris or even not having a vaginal opening. Then there’s the gene mix up. A person can be born with mosaic genetics which means that some of her cells have xx chromosomes and some have XY chromosomes.
Just like Alfred Kinsey said “The world is not divided into sheep and goats. Not all things are black nor all things white.” The world is divided into people that want many different things in life, everyone has a different opinion and mind set on what they want. Some people have other beliefs and values than other people, so we cannot judge them for being themselves. I believe that sexuality is the way that you express yourself through sex, or sexual actions. There are many factors that go into sexuality. I mainly learned about how sex worked through my health and child development classes. There were other things that contributed to my knowledge on sex, those were media, talking with friends or people at school, and my family values. How I think about sex is greatly impacted by these factors, some factors impacted me more than others but all of them still have an impact on my beliefs today.
The treatment of the LGBT community in American Society is a social injustice. What most people think is that they just want to be able to marry one another and be happy but that’s not it. They want to be treated like humans and not some weird creatures that no one has ever seen before. They want to be accepted for who them are and not what people want them to be and they deserve the right to be who they are just the same as any other human being. After all the discrimination they have endured they should be allowed to be who they are and be accepted as equals just like people of different skin color did in the times of segregation. We have a long way to go as a country but being the greatest country in the world in the eyes of many great America will make big steps to make things fair.
Why do people have cognitive sexual orientations and how can this affect the mind. What are the reasons for sexual orientation? And is it normal? Many people make decisions regarding sexual orientation based on their mental patterns of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction. The most common forms of human sexuality would include heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality. Furthermore, a lot of research has been focused on the reasons behind these different types of sexuality with the consideration and fascination with the opposite and with the same sex. Since bi-sexuality is lightly considered a variant of homosexuality in popular culture. Several research studies have found there are natural' reasons behind sexual
Our world is constantly changing and people are constantly facing many new experiences. Throughout society, there are many different people and different opinions to match. One matter that has a lot of different opinions is the matter of homosexuality. Depending on what a person believes or how accepting they are, will reflect on their opinion on this topic. With the world constantly, we have very old styles of thinking versus more modern opinions. This essay will show the ways that homosexuals are sometimes looked down upon in society (with older views) and the way that the world is changing.
Sexual attraction is an everyday part of life that has different effects on each person. In the following paper I am going to discuss the different types of sexual attraction for adolescences ages 12-20, early adulthood ages 20-30, mature adulthood 30-65, and older adults age 65 and older.
Gender And Sexuality: Productive and Non Productive Aspects Gender carries a more social tone. It refers to socially constructed differences between the sexes and to the social relationships between women and men. These differences between the sexes are shaped over the history of social relations and change over time and across cultures. Gender identity depends on the circumstances in which women and men live and includes economic, cultural, historical, ideological, and religious factors. Gender relations also vary according to the economic and social conditions of the society and differ between social and ethnic groups. The definition of sexuality can encompass many things. This can mean the feelings we have about ourselves as sexual beings, the ways in which we choose to express these feelings with ourselves and others, and the physical capability each of us has to give and experience sexual pleasure. Sex is the total sum of physical characteristics that distinguish males and females from each other. The most distinctive difference in characteristics is that man and women have different reproductive organs. This is pretty obvious and so are other traits like facial hair, deep voices, and muscular builds. Current Scenario: If you are questioning your sexual orientation or gender identity, you probably have already figured out that society is telling you what it wants you to be. Families, religions, and different cultural and ethnic institutions communicate expectations to us, both in direct and indirect ways, about how to be. Often as children queer people get a sense that they don't fit with society's codes. It may not be completely clear to some individuals at first in what way they don't fit; instead they feel a vague sense o...