Homosexual Continuum Analysis

Heterosexism, according to Warren J. Blumenfeld, is the system of advantages given to heterosexuals based on the social construct of gender roles and heterosexual norms, while marginalizing and oppressing homosexuals and others who do not fit into the heterosexual culture (373). The enforcement of this system is known as heteronormality. This is seen in the binary system, which is a social construct that divides people into different strictly bordered categories organized by “social roles, values, stereotypes, and behavioral and attitudinal imperatives, expressions, and expectations” (Blumenfeld 373). Those who stick to the binary system, maintain power and privilege. People who may live in the binary system, but also intentionally

As a society, we feed off of each other for what a proper response to something may be. As children, we first look to see our mother’s reaction after falling down; if she is calm, I should also be. We look to each other for what a definition of things should be, as well. In the 1950’s, it was generally obscene for a woman on television to show her belly button, whereas today we will show nude breasts on primetime programming. This follows the sociological theory of symbolic interactionism, where society and individual social interaction provides a subjective meaning to deviant behavior. Many social definitions change for the better, however some change for the worse. One such example was once viewed as normal, with no second thoughts given to it, but now is seen as an actual social problem affecting some groups aversely. This is the topic of homosexuality, a subject that has been on the receiving end of both accepting and discriminating cultures for thousands of years.

Laramie consisted of many other religions that presented the views of many of their citizens towards homosexuality. Reverend Fred Phelps, a minister from Kansas, negatively impacted the gay community as he protested against homosexuals. He believed gays were determined to go to hell because of God’s hatred for them. Reverend Phelps like McKinney was a homophobe, which upset many citizens when he ranted about gays going to hell right after the murder of Matthew Shepard. Many citizens including Romaine Patterson decided to take a stance against such hatred to “show the differences. And [to] think at times like this when we’re talking about hatred as much as the nation is right now, that someone needs to show . . . that there is a better way of

In Pepper Schwartz article titled “ The Social Construction of Heterosexuality”, Schwartz writes about what she believe Americans define as Heterosexuality. Schwartz writes about the so-called body standard that movies and television show set for us about how we should look and dress. Schwartz writes about what she believes straight men have to look like in order to define their masculinity. Schwartz’s main argument is about all the gender stereotypes we have in our society. Stereotypes like in order to be straight or even gay you have to look, dress, and talk a certain way. Schwartz is trying to say that you do not have to meet the so-called standards we have set for sexuality. Schwartz does make some valid

Through the intersectionality theory and social learning theory, one can see how and why the generalizations of Muslims and homosexuals have impact my life and how they are perpetuated in today’s society. Being a black, Muslim, lesbian woman in this country represent one of the minorities that is being affected by the negative stereotypes. These stereotypes are observed behavior that is being adopted by many places or individuals, who believes they know the perceptions of those other individuals that are different from

Heterosexism is a term used to describe people who discriminate against gays and lesbians. Throughout history, an intimate relationship between members of the opposite sex was considered the norm, and breaking this norm would make a person deviant. From birth, children are taught certain characteristics on how boys and girls are suppose to behave. Children learn these things from their parents, the schools they attend, and society that they live in. The characteristics that they learn shapes them into what they become when they’re adults. According to Barrie Thorne, “the sociological significance of children’s play is that boys and girls are helping to socialize one another into primary adult gender roles, girls being more concerned with

Have you ever thought about whether homosexuality is a choice or if it is biologically based? To most people, homosexuality is a choice that the person themselves chooses to like the same sex instead of being born that way. However, some people also like to bring religion into the topic saying it is wrong and what not, but I believe it should be the person’s choice to like and date whichever sex they want to. I mean as long as it is not being forced on them they should not really care what that person does with their life. Also, another question to think about as you read this paper is, do you think people are born this way or they choose to like the same sex? I mean look at it this way, do you think someone would choose to like the same sex

Homosexuality has been around for centuries, maybe even since the beginning of human existence. Many individuals question why some people are gay and why others are not. Those that question humanity ask what exactly makes a person become attracted to the same sex and whether or not it is nature or nurture. There are three points to argue that homosexuality is natural and not by choice. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can alter the unborn child’s sexual preference even before delivery. Some professionals believe brain physicality also has a role to play in homosexuality. With a look even further into the brain, DNA was also found to potentially play a factor in sexual orientation due to the alteration in epi-markers which result in homosexuality.

Homosexuality has become accepted by many in our culture today. PBS estimates that there are 9 million members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community (Greve, Joan. “LGBT America: By the Numbers.”). This makes up 3.8% of the US population. Some of these members identify as Christians. So this poses a couple of questions: does the Bible really condemn homosexuality, can you be a gay Christian, and can two people of the same sex be legitimately married? These are important questions for churches to have answers to as the LGBT movement is becoming very popular.

In every corner of the world, the topic of homosexuality sparks controversy from both supporters and opponents of the sexual orientation. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines a homosexual as “being sexually attracted to people of the same sex.” The underlying influence from historical, sociological, and health disciplines are just a few reasons such a large gap exists on the spectrum between supporters and opponents of homosexuality. This paper serves as an analysis of the previously mentioned disciplines with gathered data from a variety of scholarly journals. Based on the grounds of historical, sociological, and health disciplines, it would be far too ethnocentric, discriminatory, and physically unhealthy for society to reject homosexuality as an individual’s choice in a way of life.

In his published 1968 article printed by the Village Voice, Seymour Krim’s, Revolt of the Homosexual, converses with a fictitious ‘straight guy’ to reduce the preconceived notions of the life of homosexuals, and insisted that it is a natural behavior. This was a bold action considering that homosexuality at the time was considered an aberration or a disease. He challenged the theory that being gay is a sickness, and he desired a right for all homosexuals to not be criminalized, as long as it does not conflict actual harm on another person. Basically, he demands a ‘simple human right’, and believes that if the oppression continues then homosexuals will gradually start to stand against it because they are tired of having to hide- just like how

In the above image, nine men dressed in identical striped shirts seem to march or walk in a line. Beside them a men in uniform gives the back to the photographer. The expression on the men’s faces says much about what they might be thinking in this specific situation. They seem sad, scared, cold, and hungry. On their striped shirts, there is a white triangular badge and below it a white rectangular badge with four digits numbers. The image is in black and white. The title of the image says, “Gay prisoners at Sachsenhausen, 1938.”

Other studies conducted suggest that homosexuality might be base on difference in the brain structure of homosexual and heterosexual males. In 1991, Simon LeVay, a researcher at salks institute for biological studies in San Diego, found that an area of the brain called INAH-3 was larger in heterosexual men as in homosexual men [6]. INAH-3 is a small cell cluster in the hypothalamus that is involve regulating male sex behavior. LeVay’s finding provided clues that prove that sexual attraction to some extent might be biological. Other studies following levay’s study suggest that homosexuality might be base on genetic. It is believe that “gay gene” is passed from mother tho son.

even though sexuality can be considered universal, the sexual behaviors affiliated with it offer different attitudes in various communities. Sexuality is aligned to sexual attraction where individuals can identify themselves with a broad range of sexuality that is bisexual, gay or being lesbian. Sexuality can change over time in a person depending on the circumstances surrounding him or her. It may be affected by the social circle and emotional imbalances that may occur in an individual. Interestingly there exists sexual inequality among many societies in the world. As observed, many societies encourage men to have multiple sex partners but forbid it in women. Moreover, pre-marital sex is promoted in men, but women are flaunted if they participate in pre-marital sex. Across the globe, Western Europe has embraced certain norms in sexuality such as homosexuality whereas African society embraces a negative attitude towards the same.

However, I must acknowledge that I have some difficulties with accepting some aspects of homosexual sexual orientation. In fact, there are times that I find myself avoiding conversations with homosexual people because I am concerned that I would say something to inadvertently offend them, because I personally find the idea of homosexual intercourse to be very distasteful. I would say that my source of uneasiness about homosexuality comes from my own experience; I have a visceral negative reaction to seeing physical affection between homosexual people. Moreover, I recognize that I am not as open-minded about this as I would like to be. I would like to think that I am sufficiently open-minded to think that a gay couple holding hands is sweet and affectionate, just as I feel about heterosexual couples