The Scapegoating of Homosexuals as Threats to Society

Politics of Exclusion - The Scapegoating of Homosexuals as Threats to Society

It is hard to believe that this bill is anything other than a thinly veiled attempt to score political debating points by scapegoating gay and lesbian Americans.-John F. Kerry

The monster lulls reason into a night of unknowing in which sleeping leviathans do not lie.-Timothy K. Beal

Introduction

The scapegoating of homosexuals as monstrous threats to the order of society allows for their exclusion from institutions such as marriage, legal adoption, and The Boy Scouts of America. To reverse this discrimination, we must learn to make room for the chaotic queer monster, to perceive its presence not as threatening, but rather as inevitable, necessary, and vital to the dynamism of our culture. With this shift, we will have the means to create a politics of inclusion.

In spite of the pluralistic and egalitarian principles that lie at the foundation of our nation, we live in a culture with little tolerance for deviation from what is considered to be the “norm.” We have created, and strive to maintain, an illusion of a uniform, ordered, and righteous American lifestyle. From this narrow conception of America, we gain a sense of solidarity and security. Consequently, those who pose a challenge to this ideal are pushed into the margins of society and excluded; they become second-class citizens.

As a result of the threat they pose to this limited model of conventional order, gays and lesbians are chief among the subclass of secondary citizens. Unlike other marginalized minority groups, homosexuals are explicitly denied access to institutions central to American life and character, namely, the legal family unit and The Boy Scouts. For, if...

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...26 February 2004 <http:web.lexix-nexis.com>.

[36] “Gay Men Lose Fight on Adoption Ban” New York Times On the Web 29 January 2004, 26 February 2004 <http://www.nytimes.com>.

[37] Rebecca Walsh, “For the Family; Lesbian Couple Challenging Gay Adoption Ban in Utah” The Salt Lake Tribune 7 July 2003, 29 February 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>.

[38] Bruce Alpert, “Debate Grows Over Ban on Adoption by Gays” Newhouse New Service 1 April 2002, 29 February 2004 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com>.

[39] Alpert.

[40] Alpert.

[41] Alpert.

[42] Alpert.

[43] Walsh.

[44] Walsh.

[45] Linda Nicholson and Steven Seidman, ed. Social Postmodernism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995) 118.

[46] Laura Benkov Reinventing the Family (New York: Crown Publishers, 1994) 145.

[47] Beal 196

[48] Kantor 5.

[49] Beal 10.

[50] Beal 196.