The Forgotten Prejudice
Prejudice is defined surely as the mistreatment of a person or people due to a preconceived bias. In Britain today there is an obsession with not being racist, and to a lesser extent, not being sexist. However rampant homophobia still exists and noone sees fit to criticise. So here we go.....
Homophobia; the word itself is a simbol of the difference between the opinions of society on the mistreatment of gay people compared to the mistreatment of women or ethnic minority groups. The word suggests an irrational fear, rather than a crime or prejudice as racism sexism and ageism do.
Being gay is a natural thing. Having observed the disgusting prejudices that seem to go hand in hand with homosexuality in our society, i imagine that noone would CHOOSE to be gay. You cannot choose who you fall in love with. When you hit puberty, you find yourself attracted to people. You do not consciously decide to be straight. Therefore i conclude that you do not consciously decide to be gay. Finally, many species of wild animals (including giraffes, monkeys and birds) have displayed homosexual behaviour.
Therefore homosexuality does occur in nature.Some people claim that being gay is unnatural. Clearly they are wrong.
Many people base their assertions that being gay is wrong or in some way deviant on their religious beliefs. This i find incredable. God makes man in his image, he has a purpose for each of us etc. Why then would he make some people gay if being gay is intolerable to him. If homosexuality is a sin, and God makes some people gay, what kind of mean trick is that? (i know that that is a very simplistic way of saying it). God supposedly loves everyone. Would he want the ostracision of some of his children because of their sexual preferance? Some people claim that there is something 'wrong' with the minds of gay people, in other words suggesting that they are mentally disturbed or abnormal. If this was true, would it be an excuse for their mistreatment? It may be true that the brain of a gay person may be different in some way from the mind of a straight person (i dont know) But the mind of a man is different to that of a woman. As i hope we all see, different does not mean inferior. And wouldnt it be God that is responsible for those differences?
“Dracula, in one aspect, is a novel about the types of Victorian women and the representation of them in Victorian English society” (Humphrey). Through Mina, Lucy and the daughters of Dracula, Stoker symbolizes three different types of woman: the pure, the tempted and the impure. “Although Mina and Lucy possess similar qualities there is striking difference between the two” (Humphrey). Mina is the ideal 19th century Victorian woman; she is chaste, loyal and intelligent. On the other hand, Lucy’s ideal Victorian characteristics began to fade as she transformed from human to vampire and eventually those characteristics disappeared altogether. Lucy no longer embodied the Victorian woman and instead, “the swe...
In society, the significance of social status and role is observable with both genders. This includes the acceptable behaviors and responsibilities for both men and women within one’s culture. It is a constant struggle to follow these established guidelines in order to preserve a good reputation and not possess a low social status. In Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, the different characters each represent a different stand in the transformation from “True Woman” to the “New Woman” that surfaced in the late nineteenth century. This new idea made women more independent, with their lives no longer revolving around their husbands, and most importantly created a big change in social expectations. The characters Lucy, Mina, and the three brides of Dracula play a part in revealing Stoker’s belief that social status is changed for the worse with this change in women’s roles.
In Dracula, Bram Stoker portrays a clear battle between the “traditional woman” of the time and the “new woman.”. Stoker uses the contrasting characters of Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray to depict this evolution in women and, also, to paint an image of the reaction to this advance, expressed by both men and women.
Natural law theorists claim that actions are deemed right just because they are looked at as natural and something that is unnatural is immoral. However, there are different understandings of what is natural and what is not, which can make support for this theory hard. Examples such as homosexuality, give a strong argument against the natural law theory. We will look at the work of John Corvino as he explains the arguments for the immorality of homosexuality, but also the reasons why these arguments are not strong evidence. With these examples in mind, the fact that something is unnatural is not a good enough reason to claim something immoral.
The idea of Victorian womanhood is extremely sacred, especially to a woman like Mina, who primarily wishes to be of use to her husband. Dracula’s penetrating the West and his actions are threats to female purity, and so they are threats to Victorian culture and order of England (Western world). Dracula is penetrating the entire nature of Vi...
During the Victorian era women were expected to be either a mother and a wife, or a pure, innocent girl. Any other deviation from the set path resulted in punishment, both physically and socially. Deviation can vary as women being over sexual to resembling men in their actions. Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, is no exception in its representation of Victorian ideals. For his purposes, Stoker uses symbolism, tone, and diction throughout to convey the standard Victorian British perception of themselves. Through this conveyed standard to express his belief that gender roles are essential and relevant to Victorian society and that there are consequences if strayed from.
Scientists have asked the question of whether homosexuality is a choice or something the individual has no control over. The search for the ‘gay gene’ is a relatively new study. According to Pease and Bull (2000) the physical sex of an organism is determined by the gonad type, testes or ovaries, as well as secondary sexual traits. An organisms sexual preference is determined by its preferred sexual partner, if the organism prefers to have sex with its own sex, it is classed as homosexual, however if it prefers to have sex with the opposite sex, it is classed as heterosexual. Gender identity is a separate topic that is very pertinent. G-+ender identity is how an organism sees itself, is it male or is it female. The gender identity of an organism can be separated from the sexual preferences, for example, a male who sees himself as female may still have a sexual preference for woman.
The first article by Bhugra (2010) is a compilation of many different articles and describes homophobia as an irrational fear or intolerance of homosexuality and is socially determined prejudice. Homophobia can also be defined as a socially determined prejudice as opposed to a medically diagnosed fear. Homophobic attitudes are intolerant mainly toward males most likely due to the fact that male homosexuals are more visible. Homop...
The issue of homosexuality has been hotly debated since 1960 and scientific discipline, biology, has begun to ask the fundamental question about homosexuality. However, a few years ago, the issue was discussed mostly by people in the social sciences. Psychologists, such as Freud, studied homosexuals extensively and were coming up with an explanation for their "abnormal" behavior. All of the explanations that these people created linked homosexuality to experiences that homosexual have while growing up. Generally speaking, people in the world of psychology believed that homosexuality could be explained by a person's environment. However, in the past four or five years, the subject of homosexuality has gradually moved into the world of biology. Studies have been done recently are coming up with a genetic explanation for sexual preference. The fact that many of the scientists involved into researches of this sort are gays and Chandler Burr, scientist of genetics and biology as well, which explains a lot about the issue, that homosexual people are interested and curious about their “abnormal” nature themselves. It may also serve as an evidence that homosexuality is not the personal choice and also says about the moral competence of sexual minority people. The very term "sexual orientation," which in the 1980s replaced "sexual preference," asserts the deeply rooted nature of sexual desire and love. It implies biology again.
Contemporary, as well as older, Gospel music originated from the “Spirituals.” The spirituals, also known as the “Negro Spirituals or African-American folk songs,” were religious songs sung by the African Americans slaves in Southern America. The spirituals spawned from teachings of Christianity from slave owners, the church and even hymns. The songs were usually about love, hope, peace, oppression, freedom and even used as a secret code. The African American slaves would sing while working so much so that slave o...
The manifestation of roots music from African immigrants developed into American musical genres such as spirituals, blues, and gospel music. As the centuries progressed, spirituals and work songs extended to comprise distinctive song genres, particularly the blues of southern blacks. Work songs and spirituals from African Americans are regarded as a window into their cultural life, their songs interconnect the optimisms, burdens, and beliefs of slavery. Music was imbedded into life, songs were hummed on front porches, chanted in churches, and caroled in the fields. Melodies were passed down from parent to child and through connotations they mirrored the changing times.
From the moment people born, there are certain basic functions that will be with them throughout their lives. The abilities to eat, breathe, sleep, or to have the capacity to learn are a natural occurrence for most people. There are, however, traits that are specific to each individual. They are traits that set them apart from everyone else. The traits such as eye color, ones dominate hand, or susceptibility to a specific disease are a few traits that aren’t easily changed. However, there are some that are controversially questioned as to whether or not one is born with the trait or if it is a learned behavior. One of the biggest of these controversies is the question of whether sexual orientation is a choice or something that is beyond the individual’s influence. Although the evidence is commonly disregarded because of personal beliefs or opinions, sexual orientation is not a choice.
In another online article titled "Feminism: What is it?", it explains what feminism is. According to the article, feminism i...
There are individuals that live in fear of showing their true identity to the world because they simply fear that society won’t accept them for having a different sexual orientation. Society advocates that individuals should be able to be proud of who they are, but yet they judge homosexuals for being different. People are taught not to judge others based on their race or religion, so why do they still discriminate against homosexuals? The homosexual subculture is not accepted by society, looked down upon, and misjudged; however, they are human beings and deserve to be treated equally.