A man ostracized by society for his sexual preference, discriminated against and victimized, because he is straight. This world where heterophobia runs rampant and homosexuality is stigmatized is from a story called The Crooked Man, which was written by Charles Beamont and published in Playboy magazine. That world is one that many would fear and think of unjust, but is that not what happening right now in the world in the other spectrum. According to the Advocate, Hugh Hefner, create of Playboy, wrote that, “If it was wrong to persecute heterosexuals in a homosexual society, then the reverse was wrong too.” in response to the harsh backlash that the article garnered over half a decade ago.
Americans have come a long way since the mid-20th century in acceptance and understanding of other human beings. Just over the past 10 years the support for marriage equality has grown from one third to almost one half of Americans in favorable views. At this current trend, it is inevitable that equality for homosexuals will be reached at the level it is available for heterosexuals within the next two decades. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center between 2003 and 2013 studied the views of the American people on homosexuality and marriage equality over the past 10 years. In 2003, 58% of Americans were against same-sex marriage, while only 33% were in favor. The newest study in 2013 determined that the number Americans in favor for marriage equality for same-sex couples rose to 49%, while the opposition dropped to 44%.
The sub-group with the largest increase in favorable views toward marriage equality was the millennial generation (born in 1980-2000), with an increase of 19% in favor from 51% in 2003 to 70% in 2013. This also constitu...
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Levay, S. "A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure between Heterosexual and Homosexual Men." Science 253.5023 (1991): 1034-037. Print.
Marcus, Eric. Is It a Choice?: Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Gay and Lesbian People. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2005. Print.
Mondimore, Francis Mark. A Natural History of Homosexuality. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1996. Print.
"U.S. Acceptance of Gay/Lesbian Relations Is the New Normal." U.S. Acceptance of Gay/Lesbian Relations Is the New Normal. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
Wolfson, Evan. Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.
The constitutional right of gay marriage is a hot topic for debate in the United States. Currently, 37 states have legal gay marriage, while 13 states have banned gay marriage. The two essays, "What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage?" by Katha Pollitt and "Gay "Marriage": Societal Suicide" by Charles Colson provide a compare and contrast view of why gay marriage should be legal or not. Pollitt argues that gay marriage is a constitutional human right and that it should be legal, while Colson believes that gay marriage is sacrilegious act that should not be legal in the United States and that “it provides a backdrop for broken families and increases crime rates” (Colson, pg535). Both authors provide examples to support their thesis. Katha Pollitt provides more relevant data to support that gay marriage is a constitutional right and should be enacted as law in our entire country, she has a true libertarian mindset.
The United States of America, as a whole, has pushed for rights and equality for any and all people. Gay rights and racial equality have received an ample amount of support as well as opposition. Even bringing up the other side’s argument may cause a debate in almost any environment. Today, Americans are easily offended by things that don’t agree with what they believe. America is full of passionate people who always have a cause to fight for or against. Gay marriage has been opposed countless times on local, state, and national levels. “Almost two- thirds of Republicans oppose the Supreme Court’s backing of gay marriage, according to Reuters/Ipsos Poll ” (Reuters). Even though another online survey stated that “more than half of Americans support it,” they still
As generations proceeded, institutions such as the American Psychiatric Society began to classify homosexuality as a disease, which was later retracted in the 1970’s and was no longer considered a mental disorder. At this time many homosexuals decided to start “coming out”, a process in which people talk freely about their sexual orientation to family and friends. Then in the1980’s new adversary for the gay community became the forefront of debates worldwide. The AIDS crisis, which seemed to be only contracted in the gay male population, paved the way for brutalizing words such as “queer” that was used to describe all sexual minorities. In the 1990’s where the gay rights movement saw more victories with the United States military instituting the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy.” This policy gave homosexuals the right to serve within the military. Then in the year 2000, Vermont became the first state to allow same sex civil unions (Pitas).
I chose this topic because there is an issue of homophobia around the world. I find it interesting as to why people are homosexual, and if there is a gene responsible for this or if it can be developed later in life. This area of research directly relates to the age old question of “nature Vs. nurture”.
Jenkins, William J. "Can Anyone Tell Me Why I'm Gay? What Research Suggests Regarding The Origins Of Sexual Orientation." North American Journal of Psychology 12.2 (2010): 279-295. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 May 2014.
Note: This paper has a very long Annotated Bibliography. In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms.
In just the last 50 years, gay marriage and more specifically, homosexuality, has made great strides in social reform. For example, as of May 2014, 18 states in the United States have legalized same-sex marriage with some other states allowing same-sex unions. The main issue during these last 50 years is the debate between fundamentalists and scientists who argue the controversial debate of nature vs. nurture. Some fundamentalists argue that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. Conversely, some scientists argue that homosexuality is biologically-determined in the womb due to genes or hormones. Moreover, research conducted by the journal Science and other sources will be examined within this paper that denotes that homosexuality is biologically-determined. This paper will argue that homosexuality is natural. The crux of the issue is that homosexuality is natural due its biological roots and ancestry in humans and animals.
Genetics, biology, and upbringing are all key aspects in determining one’s sexual orientation. Many of the factors are combined to make up how a person feels or who he or she is attracted to. There is no definite answer to why someone has a particular orientation, but there are studies that sugge...
Gender is a socially constructed phenomenon, and how acceptable one’s relationship is determined by society’s view of gender roles. Because the majority of the population is characterized as heterosexual, those who deviate from that path are ...
Halwani, Raja, Gary Jaeger, James Stramel, Richard Nunan, William Wilkerson, and Timothy Murphy. What Is Gay and Lesbian Philosophy? 2008. MS. Oxford, UK. San Diego Mesa College Academic Databases. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. .
The United States has experienced constant heterosexual change in acceptable social behaviors that evoke sexual relations. These changes expanding from the past half-century, which includes drastic shifts in premarital attitudes and behaviors. Shift changes in heterosexual courtship are seen from 1950’s and early 1960’s, where the standard for sexual interactions was abstinence, and intercourse was only acceptable in marriage (Perlman & Sprecher, in press), to the 1970’s. Whereas, in the 1970’s there’s a witnessed shift to a more lenient social standard, ”permissiveness with affection,” where engaging in sexual behavior was acceptable as long as the partners were fully committed to each other (Perlman & Sprecher, in press; Sprecher 1989). Sexual standards within the 21st century first decade are p...
An issue that has, in recent years, begun to increase in arguments, is the acceptability of homosexuality in society. Until recently, homosexuality was considered strictly taboo. If an individual was homosexual, it was considered a secret to be kept from all family, friends, and society. However, it seems that society has begun to accept this lifestyle by allowing same sex couples. The idea of coming out of the closet has moved to the head of homosexual individuals when it used to be the exception.
The homosexual community faced, and still faces many hardships. Homosexuals are constantly being judged based on their feelings and beliefs. Many homosexuals and supporters believe this is not fair, especially the ones in Ame...
Vrangalova, Z., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2012). Mostly heterosexual and mostly gay/lesbian: Evidence for new sexual orientation identities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 85-101. doi: 10.1007/s10505- 012-9921-y.
The sexual orientation of a person has been a critical debate over the past several centuries. For several...