Sexuality is a sensitive topic for many to talk about yet an important one in the world we live in. Many are familiar with the term “Coming Out” and how it relates to sexuality as a whole but few also understand the lesbian continuum and what both have to do with the Sexual Revolution. The concept of “Coming Out” for Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender individuals and the lesbian continuum are deeply intertwined and both both relate directly to the Sexual Revolution.
“Coming Out” refers to members of the LGBT community declaring who they are publicly or to those closest to them. For a very long time, the concept of coming out did not exist. If you were lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender you either kept your sexuality and/or gender identity
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However, those ideas can vary from male to female. If two male men are sleeping in the same bed together and hold hands in public, society will instantly label those men as gay. Yet, if two women sleep in the same bed or hold hands in public, society is more hesitant to label those women as lesbians. This is what is called the lesbian continuum. The lesbian continuum is the range of behaviors accepted by women; behaviors that women can do but if men did them, they would be perceived as …show more content…
Yes, society has created other stereotypes for what it means to be a lesbian; the way you style your hair, the clothes you wear, etc. However, stereotypes are not often representative of large groups of people. Sexuality is fluid. Two people can experiment with members of the same sex and not be homosexual; A woman can cut her hair super short, wear male-designated clothes and not be a lesbian, just like two women holding hands are not necessarily lesbian. Nonetheless, if a woman comes out and states her sexuality publicly, it clears up a lot of the grey area surrounding the lesbian
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
For my interview portion of this response I interviewed a friend of mine named Nicole who is a bisexual. When I asked her about her fears of coming out her she said that her only fear was being seen as some kind of pervert or sexual predator.” I came out to my friends first, some were shocked but soon it just became something that people just knew and after awhile it became just as relevant as my hair color”. She also stated that after she came out to her friends some of those friends came out to her soon after. She admitted she was treated differently by people because of the discrimination bisexuals get by both hetrosexuals and homosexuals.“People tolerate bisexuals but they are not respected” She said that many people treated her as if she was confused or like she was only pretending to like girls because they believe that would attract men. She explained that most people tend to believe that bisexuality doesn’t exist.
They mention the transition of “the closet,” as being a place in which people could not see you, to becoming a metaphor over the last two decades of the twentieth century used for queers who face a lack of sexual identity. Shneer and Aviv bring together two conflicting ideas of the American view of queerness: the ideas of the past, and the present. They state as queerness became more visible, people finally had the choice of living multiple lives, or integrating one’s lives and spaces (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 245). They highlight another change in the past twenty years as the clash between being queer and studying queerness (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 246-7). They argue that the active and visible contests over power among American queers show that queers now occupy an important place in our culture. They expand on the fact that queerness, real, and performed, is everywhere (Shneer and Aviv 2006: 248). This source shows the transformation in American culture of the acceptance of queerness. It makes an extremely critical resource by providing evidence of the changes in culture throughout the last two decades. Having the information that queerness is becoming more accepted in culture links to a higher percentage of LGBTQ youths becoming comfortable with their sexual identity. However, compared to the other sources, this
For years homosexuality in the United States of America has been looked down upon by citizens, religions, and even politicians. The homosexual culture, or the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender), has been demoralized and stuck out and lashed against by the Heterosexual community time and time again. To better understand the LGBT community we must first grasp the concept of Sexual Orientation.
However, depending on their environment or the quality of one’s relationship to another person; the individual’s sexuality can be discussed with those closest to them. When their sexual orientation is revealed or “outed”, the individual has both opportunities such as accepted by families and peer groups and problems such as dealing with homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in their homes, schools and the communities in the presence of others and their opinions; making them feel let down, abandoned and dejected. According to Kathryn Dindia’s article “Going Into and Coming Out of the Closet: The Dialectics of Stigma and Disclosure” those who identify as bisexual, lesbian, gay or transgender are subject to stigma of AIDS or mental illness because “...the stigma is difficult or impossible to conceal, whether to reveal or conceal is an issue for the discreditable…”(85). Stating the individuals who came out as the “discreditable”, as have noted when the individual decided to reveal their sexual orientation they have ordeals such stereotypes, hatred, microaggressions and stigma. The chapter speaks into social sense unlike the next reading “Out of the Closets and Into the Courts”, Ellen Andersen narrates coming out in a more legal manner. During the Counterculture Movement and the 1970’s, Andersen pointed out and stressed “...gay men and lesbians needed legal representation…”(17) as well as protection by law enforcement, although earlier said the Stone wall Riots was provoked by acts of police brutality and the court system. Especially in American society, the book additionally states that the Gay Rights
To understand and add historical to the opinion the public felt towards homosexual women in the 1950s it is imperative to understand the popular view held by much of the public towards lesbians as early as the mid-nineteenth century. In 1843 William Bryant wrote an essay that was published in the Evening Post that described a portion of his trip to Ver...
Although most lesbian and gay adults acknowledge their sexual orientation to themselves during adolescence, most have not “came out” by the time they enter their college or university (D’Augelli, 1991 pg. 247). Although several studies involving college students in their samples (e.g., Savin-Williams, 1990 pg. 247) no reliable estimate of the number of college students is available.
Gender roles in a small, rural community are specific as to what a woman “is” and what a man “is”, and these norms are strictly enforced by the rural society. Cooper says that in childhood, “Rejection of the traditional feminity appeared in three ways:1) taking the role of the male, 2) being a tomboy, and 3) avoiding feminine dress and play” (Cooper, pg. 168). This rejection of the traditional roles as a child creates a stigma, or label, attached by society to these individuals. The punishment from society is greater than the punishment of an unfulfilled self. The lessened ability to obtain health insurance, health information on the partner, and other benefits also plays a key role in coming out. The rural lesbian society is so small a...
Lesbianism is a real sexuality which is studied heavily, mainly because when something is not fully understood, the idea is looked into and conceptualized rigorously. Since the formation of religion, lesbianism has been looked upon as a sin; as technology has advanced and time has passed, people have slowly become more accepting. Heterosexuals often misunderstand lesbians, as do lesbians who judge others of the same sexual identity. Most people think all lesbians are the same, masculine women. However, that is not the case, sexuality is more fluid and lesbians, like the rest of us, are individuals. The lesbian community is diverse, and stereotypical misunderstandings, much like the ones that exist in the straight community about lesbians, exist among lesbians themselves.
Many stereotypes such as these continued until the early nineties. In 1991, on LA Law, two women share the first same sex kiss on prime time television. A few years later, NBC’s hit show FRIENDS featured Ross Gellar’s ex wife as a lesbian, raising a child with her female partner. At the same time, the FOX network censored a gay same sex kiss on Melrose Place, a show known for pushing limits. Around the same time, censors and right-wing groups were up in arms over a kiss shared by Roseanne and Mariel Hemmingway.
In conclusion, people should focus on their own life instead of others. We need to stop judging and discriminating each other’s lives. However, as humans they cannot make society exultant if either they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or straight society will still judge that person, because they are different. Humans are born to love and to be loved. We as people should not judge another person, because we are not all perfect. The only person that can judge and decide what is right or wrong, will be
Gender has been around throughout history; however, within recent years, gender has separated itself from the traditional view of sex, e.i., male or female, and has become centered on ones masculinity or femininity. Of course gender is more than just ones masculinity or femininity, gender has become a way for one to describe, he or she, in a way in which they are different from everyone else. Gender has turned into a sense of identity, a way for one to feel different and fulfilled among all of those around them. Of course gender’s sense of freedom would seem outside of structure and only affected by one’s own agency, however, structure is a key component in establishing gender. We can look into both ethnic Mexican’s culture practices regarding sexuality, children songs and games, and see that cultural traditions still heavily influence gender, creating what is masculine and what is feminine and what is the role of each gender, as well as challenging the notions that gender is solely based on agency.
While sexual difference may not exist between lesbians all other forms of difference do. These include differences of identity: race, class origins, employment status, age, religion, physical abilities - and while we may struggle against these differences within our individual ‘spaces’ they have a material and institutional reality that cannot be wished away
Gender and sexuality can be comprehended through social science. Social science is “the study of human society and of individual relationships in and to society” (free dictionary, 2009). The study of social science deals with different aspects of society such as politics, economics, and the social aspects of society. Gender identity is closely interlinked with social science as it is based on an identity of an individual in the society. Sexuality is “the condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex” (free dictionary, 2009). There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exists all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of a male regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it 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 a traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much changes has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed. In general a traditional society is more conservative where as a modern society is fundamentally liberal. This is to say that a traditional society lists certain roles depending on the gender and there are stereotypes that are connected with the genders. One must obey the one that is dominant and make decisions. On the other hand, a modern society is lenient, It accepts the individual’s identity and sexuality. There is no inequality and everyone in the society is to be seen as individuals not a part of a family unit...
... decades ago. This book is one that will allow the reader to view many aspects of sexuality from a social standpoint, and apply it to certain social attitudes in our society today, these attitudes can range from the acceptance of lesbian and gays, and the common sight of sex before marriage and women equality. The new era of sexuality has taken a definite "transformation" as Giddens puts it, and as a society we are living in the world of change in which we must adapt, by accepting our society as a changing society, and not be naive and think all the rules of sexuality from our parents time our still in existence now.