Homosexuality is not a 20th century situation but has been in history from the age of ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, and even China. The attitude toward homosexuality always has been a variable, depending on the social, cultural and morality, or even the political development (Barnecka et al., 2005). Back in Greek history the concept of relations between two men was seen as the highest form of love, whereas the Judaic view always was against and frowned upon these relations considering it immoral and illegal. However, when the Roman rule was destroyed and the Christians took over Europe, homosexuality was seen as perverse (Woodward, 1997).
This ideology continued until the first gay activist called Karl Ulrich started the decriminalization of homosexuals. He claimed that homosexuality was biologically based in which the embryo’s body and mind developed in different directions. However, today this characteristic is called transsexual in which the female or male mind is trapped in the opposite-sex’s body (Barnecka et al., 2005). Another explanation that was given for homosexuality was that the mind was degenerative. This was proposed by Richard Kraft, where the degeneration affected the opinions on sexual orientation, his theory made homosexuality to be removed from the sin category in most European countries at the beginning of the 20th century (Gallagher & Baker, 2006).
In the process homosexuality was treated as a mental disorder that needed treatment. In the process many were treated using medial means that often left them physically injured and with emotional trauma (Barnecka et al., 2005). This was the era that saw psychiatric treatment for homosexuality as homosexuals sort the help of psychologists. The sexual then follow...
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...hol, engage in un-natural sex, increase the spread of STDs, HIV/AIDS, increase in pedophile activity and child abuse, intestinal parasites, suicide cases, murder and hate crimes, and domestic violence, masochism, and accidental deaths.
Works Cited
Barnecka, J., Karp, K., & Lollike, M. (2005). Homosexuality. Berlin: Roskilde University.
Gallagher, M., & Baker, J.K. (2006). Demand for Same-Sex Marriage: Evidence from the United States, Canada, and Europe. New York: Institute for marriage and Public Policy, vol.3, no.1.
Grigolo, M. (2003). Sexuality and the ECHR: Introducing the Universal Sexual Legal Subject. EJIL, 14:5, 1023-1044.
Joseph, F. (2009). Everyone should know these Statistics on Homosexuality. Sydney: International Organization of Heterosexual Rights.
Woodward, K. (1997). Identity and Difference: Sexualities. Boston: IBID.
Homosexuality existed since ancient times, for example in Ancient Greece, where it was evident through many literary and artistic works claiming that “pederasty” which means homoerotic relations between adult men and adolescent boys were very common. The adult male was called “Erastes” which means the “older lover” who was usually the role mode...
The background of homosexuality in the 1940’s and 50’s was harsh, but people started to be opened toward the rights. There were criticisms toward homosexuality in the early days of Milk. Gay men carried the labels of mentally ill or psychopathic. Often times, gay men committed suicide from harsh judgement and criticism that always followed them. Even though population of homosexuality grew and had jobs, they were harassed and beaten by the police. There were a lot of disapproval and hostility of homosexuality. Anita Bryant, a singer, made a campaign to oppose the rights of homosexuals. Christian forces and activists withdrew gay-right legislation which lead to Proposition 6. The harshness from background of homosexuality back in the 1940’s and 50’s took the freedom away from the homosexuals. After the harshness, there came a little bit of hope for the homosexuals in San Francisco. Castro, a city in San Francisco, became the center of gay neighborhood. In 1964, gay men formed Society of Individual Right (SIR), and 1,200 members joined. Homosexuals started having good views when Sipple who was gay saved the president from a gunshot. Finally in 1972, Board of Supervisor banned the discrimination law for homosexuals. Even though in 1940...
Homosexuality is a sensitive topic and often avoided in conversation. For centuries the human race has oppressed and persecuted others strictly because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual etc. Although it is disturbing to most of us, these actions still occur in our society today, as many believe that homosexuality is abnormal and disgraceful. One supporter of this belief is Michael Levin, who strongly believes that homosexuality is highly abnormal and thus, undesirable. Although his beliefs and theories supporting this claim are subjective, there is evidence that can support his stance on this topic; we will analyze this claim in further detail and how it relates to his other views mentioned in this essay.
In most cultures, lesbianism occurs prior to heterosexual marriages. These facts were gathered by Faderman in 1981. Female-female romantic relationships were found in European communities since the 17th century through the early 20th century after studying the fiction and poetry written during this period (Burn, 2004). Today, many societies view bisexuality and homosexuality as a sickness. The societies deny their existence entirely. However, biologists and psychologists believe that both are mere instances of many human variations. After successful lobbying by gay and lesbian political organizations in 1974, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) eliminated homosexuality from its list of mental disorder. The APA now takes the position that homos...
Halperin, David. "Is There a History of Sexuality?." The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed. Henry
Approximately 300 million people live in the United States, and of the 300 million people, nine million people have identified themselves as homosexual. This number could be even higher since not every individual has identified themselves as homosexual. At least nine million people are subject to prejudice, hatred, or discrimination because of stereotypes society has placed on them. Stereotyping has led to discrimination, hatred, and prejudice of homosexuals. This extreme and irrational aversion toward homosexuality or homosexuals is called homophobia and is a major social problem.
Wolf, Richard. “Timeline: Same-Sex marriage through the years.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 26 June 2015,
Homosexuality was once considered a mental illness which lead to attempts to “cure” it. One of the main theories of homosexuality is that it stems from deviant behavior experienced in childhood. Some men develop homosexual attractions due to a bad relationship with a distant father or in response to childhood molestation (Shapio 5). While some homosexual attractions have been caused by these issues, most homosexuals have not been exposed to molestation or family issues. One of the methods to cure homosexuality is conversion therapy. Conversion therapy consists of a variety of methods, both physical and psychological. Some of these methods include praying away the gay, electroconvulsive therapy, hypnosis, and drugs (“11 Ridiculous” 1). There are many camps which are designed for conversion therapy but many of their practices remain secret. There is little information to be found online regarding these camps because they realize that they are behaving inappropriately so they hide their acts. In the 1980s, homosexuality was determined to have a biological cause; this created two sides – supporters of conversion therapy and its detractors (Friedman 1).
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.
The earliest western documents depicting homosexuality came from ancient Greece and Rome where same sex relationships were a societal norm and very common. These relationships did not replace marriage between a man and a woman; rather, they occurred before and alongside marriage. They were based on emotional connections or physical attractions and valued as a means of population control (The Homosexual Theme, 2005). Shortly after, beautiful odes began to be written in Persia and Arab lands to wine boys who served men in taverns and shared their beds in the evening.
Jonathan Katz talks about the initial creation of the term “heterosexuality” and how it was used to classify certain groups of people’s way of practicing sex. Along with the negative ideology the term reflected upon society. The author talks about the early definition of the term “heterosexuality”. Katz closely examines the different cultures and what sex meant to them prior to the term and over all labeling of “heterosexual” and what become of them after the fact. Katz illustrates the many faces of the term “heterosexual” starting with the early definition of the word, which was at the
Oosterhuis, H., ‘Richard Von Krafft-Ebing’s “Step-Children of Nature”: Psychiatry and the Making of Homosexual Identity’, in K. M. Phillips and B. Reay, eds, Sexualities in History: A Reader, New York, 2002
Since the 1800's, psychiatrists and psychologists have concluded that homosexuality is a mental disorder. They have believed it is brought about by misguided upbringing and their social environments. For instance, it was believed that if the child was lacking a male - figure in the home, he would most likely be gay. Or that child abuse can lead to lesbianism when the special needs of a little girl are denied, ignored, or exploited and the future womanhood of the child is in risk. However, inconsistencies in the research subjects' abuse records ruled these theories out. And if this were the case, then why is homosexuality present in different cultures? Some believed homosexuality was caused by a difference in brain structure. In 1991, Simon LeVay published research stating that sexual orientation may be the result of differing brain structures. The hypothalamus, a region in the brain that governs sexual behavior, was the structure that LeVay was pointing as the structure at fault. In his studies of the hypothalamus, he found that in homosexual men, the hypothalamus was smaller than that of heterosexual men. Instead, it was the size of the female hypothalamus, consequently explaining their sexual tendencies.
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.
There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exist all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of males regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it is different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much change has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed.