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Essay on definition of homophobia
Homophobia in today's society
Homophobia in today's society
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Love is described to be one of the greatest emotions that the human body can feel, yet for centuries many people were told to essentially hide it. Homosexuals were shunned and ridiculed for falling in love when it was described as something that cannot be controlled. However, for the past twenty years the world has become a more accepting environment for the LGBTQ community. One person who plays a major role in particular, is Ellen Degeneres. Her coming out to the world sparked a new generation in Hollywood. Because Ellen Degeneres exists, the world is a better place. Ellen Degeneres is notoriously known for her huge impact in the world of comedic entertainment. The 59 year old has always found a passion in making people laugh. At the age of 23 Ellen got …show more content…
During the fifth season of Ellen there was a subtle kiss between Degeneres and her co-star Fisher. However, ABC labeled the episode with parental discretion, which caused Degeneres to speak out on the issue. Ever since then she has been known to stand up for what she believes in. She talks constantly about how all she wants in the world is for people to be more accepting of themselves and others. For example, during an episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show in 2015 she addresses a article written about her. A Pastor attacks Degeneres by stating that she glorifies her gayness between guest appearances. However, she simply responded with, “Attention youth of the world, I want you to live your lives. Be exactly who you are, be true to yourself”(TheBiggStevee). While being such a major figure in the world of activism, she never used her platform as a political stance. Degeneres only mentions how all she wants in the world is for people to accept and embrace their sexuality. Her push towards acceptance and equality is what led her to win the Presidential Medal of Freedom in
Oprah Winfrey is an outstanding & determined bright woman. Winfrey is a very advocate person. She has encouraged and inspired many people, but when she was growing up it was rough for her, but after her courageous and outstanding work, she is now a billionaire and helps a lot of charities.
In Vicki L. Eaklor’s Queer America, the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in the years since the 1970s gay liberation movement are described as a time of transformation and growth. The antigay movement, threatened, now more than ever, created numerous challenges and obstacles that are still prevalent today. Many of the important changes made associated with the movement were introduced through queer and queer allied individuals and groups involved in politics. Small victories such as the revision of the anti discrimination statement to include “sexual orientation”, new propositions regarding the Equal Rights Amendment and legalized abortion, were met in turn with growing animosity and resistance from individuals and groups opposed to liberal and
The celebrity selected for this analysis is Ellen DeGeneres. Emmy-winning talk-show host Ellen Lee DeGeneres is born on 26th January 1958 and she is an American comedian, television host, actress, producer and a writer. With her own talk show, she is one of America's most well-known television hosts.
The majority of families were once considered perfect. The father went to work everyday, while the mother stayed at home and cared for her two children, “Henry” and “Sue”. The children never fought and the parents were involved in all the community events. Our society has grown to accept that there is no such thing as a perfect family. Eleven-year-old Ellen from the book Ellen Foster, by Kaye Gibbons, grows up in a household where her father is an abusive alcoholic and her mother is too sick to complete everyday tasks. By using her positive assets, and learning from her negative assets, Ellen was able to overcome a lot of challenges throughout the book.
About a month ago, a rather unique woman became the topic of discussion in millions of homes and social network accounts across the world. Rachel Dolezal, a former chapter president of the NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), now claims to be a “transracial” woman that was recently exposed for pretending to be black for so many years. While she has gained many supporters, the naysayers were the ones that have really made her story a controversial one. What really seems to be the concern is why her story is such a big deal. Every day, we see people of different social and cultural backgrounds trying to pass off as a member of a community that they were not born into. This paper will be addressing why the media
Despite being successful women, Oprah and Ellen were not always as well known as they are today. Oprah Winfrey grew up in Milwaukee, Mississippi, whereas Ellen DeGeneres was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. At a young age, Winfrey was sexually abused by various men. She eventually escaped the toxic environment she was exposed to when she went to live with her father. When Ellen was younger, her family moved around quite a bit and she learned to use comedy as a way to fit in with the new peers she encountered. When she was a teenager, her parents got a divorce; she used
Lena is often described as the “voice of her generation” when it comes to women’s rights; but often times, Lena receives backlash from writers, social media goers, and interviewers. Many “aren’t [as] critical of the structure of society and aren’t necessarily thinking about other ways things could be” like Dunham is (Hamad et. al). Oftentimes people, especially men, feel threatened when Dunham uses her fame to boldly speak out of issues that many ignore; for example, Lena carries a “devotion to questioning sexual norms and norms of representation,” especially when looking at the “heteropatriarchal uses of female nudity and sexuality” in society today (Filippo 2016). Lena believes that porn oftentimes “[conceals] and [denies] women’s humanity” (Filippo 2016). Lena also spoke out on how Hillary Clinton’s political campaign was slashed using the patriarchal ideal, stating that “The way that Hillary Clinton’s been talked about in the media [was] so gendered and rabidly sexist in every single portrayal” (Staff 2016). Lena, being a woman, and also being a bold woman who speaks out about feminist issues that many ignore, receives large amounts of
Center stage in Kaye Gibbons’ inspiring bildungsroman, Ellen Foster, is the spunky heroine Ellen Foster. At the start of the novel, Ellen is a fiery nine-year old girl. Her whole life, especially the three years depicted in Ellen Foster, Ellen is exposed to death, neglect, hunger and emotional and physical abuse. Despite the atrocities surrounding her, Ellen asks for nothing more than to find a “new mama” to love her. She avoids facing the harsh reality of strangers and her own family’s cruelty towards her by using different forms of escapism. Thrice Ellen is exposed to death (Gibbons 27). Each time, Ellen has a conversation with a magician to cope with the trauma (Gibbons 22-145). Many times Ellen’s actions and words cause it to be difficult to tell that she is still a child. However, in order to distract herself, Ellen will play meaningful games (Gibbons 26). These games become a fulcrum for Ellen’s inner child to express itself. Frequently, Ellen will lapse into a daydream (Gibbons 67). Usually, these daydreams are meant to protect herself from the harsh reality around her. Ellen Foster’s unique use of escapism resounds as the theme of Kaye Gibbon’s Ellen Foster.
In the essay by Judith Butler, Besides Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy, she describes the social norms of society slowly changing and designing new social norms of society by the awareness of Gays, Lesbians, and Transgender preference people. She is also describing the struggles of everyday life for gays, lesbians, and transgender people. Butler states a question that makes a good point for this way of thought, “what makes for a livable world?”(Page 240). This question is asked to understand what a livable life is first. A livable life is life that is accepted by society. If society does not accept certain individuals because of the choices they choose to make or the way they are brought up, then society chooses to stay ignorant and uneducated on these types of situations. Individuals who are not accepted by society receive less treatment than that of some who is accepted by society. This does not only extend to gays, lesbians, and transgender, but extends to people who are less fortunate than others. People judge people. This is human life. People are influenced by other people and want they have. The media is a big part of what people strive to be like or accomplish. People watch th...
...nted the world to know. But, the public was not that comfortable with DeGeneres’s new confession and ceased to view her sitcom and respect her as a comedian.. This loss of an audience caused a downward spiral of cancellations of her shows and the discontinuation of jobs for DeGeneres. In this slump of her life she did not shut down. Instead, she got back on her feet and showed the world that it is okay to be gay; she held true to her personality and values and people started to watch her again. Her popularity began to skyrocket and her personality became her signature she left wherever she went. So why is Ellen DeGeneres so popular among the people? Based on the information provided above it is undeniable that the life and values of Ellen DeGeneres have shaped her into to the inspiring and influential person she is and will continue to be. Ellen DeGeneres will
When television first appeared back in the 1940's, times were very different. What we would consider completely normal today would have seemed quite taboo just a few decades ago. For example, in 1953, Lucille Ball was not allowed to say the word "pregnant" while she was expecting baby Ricky and it wasn't until the 1960's show Bewitched, that we saw a married couple actually sharing the same bed. Considering how conservative the television networks were back then, it is not hard to deduce that something as controversial as homosexuality would be far from discussed or portrayed at any level. It was only in 1973 that television premiered its first homosexual character. Over the next three decades the emergence of gay and lesbian characters in television has increased and decreased as the times have changed. Due to the resurgence of conservatism that came back in the early 1980's, homosexual topics were again reduced to a minimum. Since that time though, as many people can see, there has been a rise of gay and lesbian characters on television. One might think after a first glance at the previous sentence that there has been progress among gay and lesbian communities to have a fair representation in the media. However, if one looks hard at the circumstances surrounding their portrayal, many people may start to believe that if there has been any progress then it has been quite minimal.
To begin with, one of the things that makes Ellen DeGeneres really appreciated in today’s society is her huge support with gay’s equality. Since Ellen is lesbian herself, she knows all the difficulties that come along with first of all, accepting yourself and being confident, then trying to not get affected by society’s way of portraying gays . Today’s society has taught us that being gay is a threat and a huge sin, but Ellen DeGeneres is one of the few people whom have changed that. Since Ellen is a well-known celebrity because of the various shows and movies she has starred in, many people look up to her. One way it is clear that Ellen supports homosexuals are through her novels. The novels “The Funny Thing is...”, “My Point and I Do Have One” or “Seriously...I’m Kidding”, are all personally written and narrated by Ellen DeGeneres . All ...
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.
The 1990s saw a surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek
For example, the representation of women on television was for a long time restricted to roles of “loving wives, dutiful daughters, gossiping girlfriends, fashion plates, and the occasional dowdy maid, nanny, or granny” (Zeisler 2008, p. 9), which is a reflection on the roles it was considered ‘acceptable’ for women to take on in real life. Often going against the hegemonic gender ideal is used as shorthand for comedy within popular culture, such as men dressed femininely being played for laughs on countless sitcoms. Popular culture that genuinely challenges hegemonic ideology often faces backlash, as was the case when Ellen DeGeneres’ character coming out on Ellen (1997), as did the actress in real life, resulted in the show being cancelled after only one more season. This is reflective of what was the pervasive belief, that heterosexuality is the only acceptable option, though the changing attitudes about this can be seen through the increased inclusion of gay and bisexual characters in pop culture over the past two decades. Looking at the relationship between gender and popular culture consequently becomes important to the field of gender studies as it provides a way to study not only what is considered to be the gender norms in a society, but how these norms have