Deviant Then, Revered Now - Coursework Example

Deviant then, Revered Now United s of America was a different society until mid 20th Century. Homosexuality was looked down on and the citizensof U.S.A. were not very compassionate towards homosexuals. It was “dangerous and illegal to register any pro gay organization.” Consensual gay sex was considered a crime (Head). Even under such circumstances, Harvey Milk (May 22, 1930-November 27, 1978) became the first openly homosexual person to be elected to the public office in California (“Wikipedia”).

Harvey Milk turned into a gay activist in the later part of his life, when, he could not tolerate the injustice against homosexuals any further. For his work, he was posthumously awarded with ‘President’s Medal of Freedom.’ Talking of the eight people, who received this award, President Obama said, “Each of them was an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way.” (“cbs5”). This tremendous change in perception of people of U.S.A.

towards Harvey Milk was brought about by a series of events. What triggered this change was the acceptance of homosexuality by American Psychiatric Association. The same association had earlier considered homosexuality to be a ‘mental illness’. Some political issues also contributed to the cause. In an attempt to gain the votes of LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) society, democratic leaders refused to discriminate based on sexual orientation and supported gay rights. Clinton, during his tenure, authored an executive order banning discrimination based on sex.

All the hard work of gay activists has paid off and citizens of United States of America have realized that the sexual orientation of a person is a private, and not public, issue; that looking down on a person because he/she is homosexual is unjust. Most of the provinces have legalized same sex marriage. (Head) .All this began with a man who was unabashed of his homosexuality and refused to be treated like criminal for being so. Harvey Milk was offered a tribute in the form of the movie ‘Milk’ that was released in 2008.

In my opinion, the events mentioned above did not lead to a change in the perception of American citizens towards Harvey Milk. Rather, it was Mr. Milk’s work for gay rights and his acceptance of himself that led to the above events and finally, towards the freedom of homosexuals.Works Cited“Harvey Milk to Receive Posthumous Medal of Freedom”. Cbs5. CBS Broadcasting Inc. 30 July, 2009. Web. http://cbs5.com/local/harvey.milk.medal.2.1107735.html. 26 March, 2010. “Harvey Milk”. Wikipedia.

Wikimedia. 24 May, 2009. Web. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_MLA_ Style_Manual. 26 March, 2010.Head, T. “The American Gay Rights Movement”. About.com: Civil Liberties. The New York Times Company. Web. http://civilliberty.about.com/od/gendersexuality/tp/History-Gay-Rights- Movement.htm. 26 March, 2010.