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Rights for LGBT
Portrayal of gays in media
Gay civil rights movement
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Recommended: Rights for LGBT
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Oppression
Generations ago, the United States was a country of the male wardrobe. Today's movements for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community are leveraging the existence of more globalized and open systems. Besides, the promotion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population have been acknowledged through smart partnerships within conventional, political and economic scene, while the males and heterosexuals are still pervasive.
Beyond the simple justice to give this element of equal rights to lesbians and gays, the legalization of gay marriage in selected states reflects a change in attitudes in society towards LGBT people and is a positive factor in driving major changes. In some ways, from the church to the laws, we are told in this society, whether young or elderly, there is something morally wrong in being in that type of relationship. This causes pain and horrible and unnecessary damage by giving a green light to anti-gay violence, social ostracism and alienation. The fight against discrimination for LGBT people occurs in the context of great changes in society: culture, economics and attitudes. An important factor has been made through the development of gay pride events. The emergence of new bad-boy behavior among gay and lesbian political protests helped to resolve some unjust attitudes, as the March on Washington in October 2009, reached tens of thousands of demonstrators, who were pro gay rights. In recent years a majority of U.S. states have passed laws or constitutional amendments against gay marriage, often using openly religious justification and funding of religious organizations.
The Lesbian and gay and bisexual men in p...
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... the counterfeit: A case for traditional marriage.
Ellsworth, E. (1989), “Why doesn't this feel empowering? Working through the repressive myths of critical pedagogy”, Harvard Educational Review, vol. 59 no. (3). pp. 297–324.
Evans, K. (2005). “Negotiating the self: Identity, sexuality, and emotion in learning to teach”, New York: Routledge.
Miller, A. V. (2000). “Our own voices: a directory of lesbian and gay periodicals, 1890s-2000s”, Canadian Gay and Lesbian Archives: http:/ / www.clga.ca One, Inc. v. Olesen, 355 U.S. 371
Rasmussen, M. and Kenway, J. (2004), “Queering the youthful cyberflaneur Globalizing identities, consuming queers: Issues in education and globalization”, Journal of Gay and Lesbian Issues in Education vol. 2 no. (1). pp. 47–63.
Streitmatter, R. (1995). “Unspeakable: The rise of the gay and lesbian press in America”, Boston: Faber & Faber
Life for most homosexuals during the first half of the Twentieth century was one of hiding, being ever so careful to not give away their true feelings and predilections. Although the 1920s saw a brief moment of openness in American society, that was quickly destroyed with the progress of the Cold War, and by default, that of McCarthyism. The homosexuals of the 50s “felt the heavy weight of medical prejudice, police harassment and church condemnation … [and] were not able to challenge these authorities.” They were constantly battered, both physically and emotionally, by the society that surrounded them. The very mention or rumor of one’s homosexuality could lead to the loss of their family, their livelihood and, in some cases, their lives. Geanne Harwood, interviewed on an National Public Radio Broadcast commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, said that “being gay before Stonewall was a very difficult proposition … we felt that in order to survive we had to try to look and act as rugged and as manly as possibly to get by in a society that was really very much against us.” The age of communist threats, and of Joseph McCarthy’s insistence that homosexuals were treacherous, gave credence to the feeling of most society members that homosexuality was a perversion, and that one inflicted was one to not be trusted.
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
According to Sherrie A. Inness, “The Captive was hauled by critics as the first play on the American stage to deal openly with what one reviewer called a “repulsive abnormality.” Ten years prior, God of Vengeance was scorned for offending rabbis, Jewish men and women’s religion and abusing the significance of the Torah. Critics and reviews failed to deliver their remarks on the intimate lesbian love, but in The Captive, the lesbian undertones are concealed and carried out in a strategic fashion, yet these moments were censored and triggered. Due to these moments where the acts of lesbianism were not apparent, it was deemed with obscurity, causing the play to fall short overall. Similar to God of Vengeance, The Captive was confronted with “obscenity charges in the United States, and after a run of less than five months, the play was raided and closed down by police” (Inness 304). With this framework in mind, my case study is not diminished by the greater public opinion, rather Edouard Bourdet’s strategic approach to lesbianism and the way in which is portrayed in society juxtaposed the emergence of lesbianism in the United States in the early part of the twentieth
Kuhn, Betsy. Gay Power!: The Stonewall Riots and the Gay Rights Movement, 1969. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century, 2011. Print.
. Gianoulis, Tina. "Gay Liberation Movement." In St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture., edited by Thomas Riggs, 438-43. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: St. James, 2013. Gale Virtual Reference Library (GALE|CX2735801056).
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals people make up more than ten percent of the population; that means if you are sitting in a classroom of thirty, then more than three of those people are LGBT individuals. However, this overwhelmingly large minority group continues to be one of the least protected by the government as well as most heavily targeted by discrimination and hate crimes. Regardless of the powerful shift in public opinion concerning LGBT individuals during the last twenty years, the laws concerning hate crimes have remained invariable.
Jodie Medd’s The Cambridge Companion to Lesbian Literature (2015) will function as the key text, since the book includes chapters on the origin of lesbian literature, its development over the decades, and mentions various examples on contemporary literature and how the lesbian identity is portrayed in this canon. The different chapters in The Cambridge Companion to Lesbian Literature are written by several different authors which will give a much wider view on the different matters within lesbian literature. Aside from the Cambridge Companion, I will also look at Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949), to reinforce my research with one other feminist perspective on lesbian identity and stereotypes. De Beauvoir, for example, sees “choosing to be a lesbian” as a convenience for women that want to benefit from their masculine tendencies to gain more power. Other texts will function as insight from different backgrounds and perspectives to either strengthen the stereotyping of the lesbian identity, or will shed a light on contrasts between the manner in which lesbian women are depicted in historical works and contemporary
the beginning the text has an exciting tone since the authors describe the overwhelming emotions of individuals as well as the celebrations that took place after the law allowing same sex marriage was approved. By starting the article in this manner the writers are trying to provoke feelings of excitement from their readers in order to make them think that this event is a positive aspect of our society. Also, by mentioning the gay movement’s multiple efforts over the past “forty-two years to ensure the marital as well as civil rights of homosexuals” (Virtanen, Hill, and Zraick 1), the writers motivate their audience to be sympathetic towards these individuals. Moreover, the authors try to make people become more suppo...
Halperin, David. "Is There a History of Sexuality?." The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed. Henry
Katz, Jonathon. “The Invention of Heterosexuality: The Debut of the Heterosexual.” The Invention of Heterosexuality. New York: Dutton, 1995. 21-35. iLearn
According to several national surveys, approximately 25.6 million Americans have reported experiencing same sex attraction (H). At least 700,000 people in the US identify as transgender or genderqueer (H). Most of these people do not have the basic legal rights that are given to heterosexual and cisgender people. Legal protection should be extended to all members of the LGBT community.
“[Queer culture is] a creative energy reflecting a consciousness that is different from the mainstream; a heightened sense of certain human complications of feeling that spring from...social oppression” (Padva 61). American culture prides itself on liberty, equality, and many other freedoms no other country has. Queers have the same freedoms, yet they are continually looking down upon and labeled as social outcasts. Less than 50 years ago, homosexuality was considered a mental illness and today children get sent to conversion therapy. Embracing and celebrating queer culture will further American’s acceptance of LGBT and make everywhere a safe place for them to
Somerville, Siobhan. "Scientific Racism and the Invention of the Homosexual Body." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 284-99. Print.
Bawer, Bruce. A Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society. New York: Poseidon, 1993. Print.
Adam Sharpiro, Megan Schultz, Christina Roush, Cassandra Schofar, Emily Shilling, Tawnia Simpson, Natalie Sampiller. Portrayal of Homosexuality in Media. 26 March 2014 .