The long fight of LGBT groups - Term Paper Example

?The Long Fight Of LGBT Groups Introduction The way LGBT people are treated in the modern society is strictly condemnable in many instances. In spiteof all the claims about being a civilized and tolerant, the western society is very conservative when it comes to accepting same gender marriages. They consider it a great sin against religion as well as societal norms. The way the society treats the gay people who are quite normal other than their sexual orientation is very brutal and insulting in many instances. The common hatred of LGBT groups The US Supreme Court declared a significant judgement eliminating the DOMA or Defense of Marriage Act paving way for thousands of gay couples to get their marriage legalized and receive the federal benefits. The LGBT groups celebrated the ruling with utmost happiness as it legalizes the same gender marriages in California. The LGBT community is looked upon as a taboo by most of the conservative groups as well as normal people in the US society, though the country boasts about having the largest number of LGBT activists in the world. It is often believed the people in the LGBT community lacks social conscience and will not respect the social norms like the usual people. It is a proven factor that animals which live in communities have to put back their personal interests and necessities for the collective well being of the society (Baumeister, 2010). Though it has been proven that homosexual activities have been common among humans since historical times, marriage between the opposite gender was encouraged for the sake of better reproduction and an evolutionary requirement. People who did not adhere to the societies rule were often looked upon as selfish and outcasts. History of the LGBT Communities struggle Just like most of the other psychological theories, Sigmund Freud has done extensive work in the field of homosexuality and same gender marriage. Magnus Hirschfield was another notable person to contribute psychological theories to this concept. They never considered homosexuality as a crime. Hirschfield himself was highly condemned by the Nazi's for carrying out work on this forbidden topic and his library was burnt in 1933 (Cory, 1951). A few groups started to fetch legal rights about homosexuality after the World War II as the prewar period and the Harlem Renaissance age saw several people coming out to admit they were gay and explore their sexuality in a more open manner. The first political demands to get jobs for the gays in the US started during Senator Joseph McCarthy's time. Several groups like the Daughters of the Bilitis and the One. Inc started to appear around this time. It was only in 1973 homosexuality was removed from the 'illness' list of the psychiatric institution. The 60's and 70's saw the birth of the civil rights movement and the 'pride marches' conducted every June in the US. This was a significant step for the gays all over the world as they were given a chance to express themselves in front of the world. The gay community was the first target when the HIV AIDS reached its prime campaign. Gays all over the country were targeted for having multiple partners and several of them were proved to be HIV infected. This created a very negative image about them among the public. The religious groups kept pressing going against the natures law will lead to such disastrous diseases making the gay men appear like agents of satan. The 90's and the 2000 saw a surprisingly high number of gay artists like singers, actors and dancers come and declare their sexuality. The Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer made popular through the TV movie "Service in silence" broke all myths about strong men being immune to same sex attraction. The origin of the internet and social media networks created a new haven for the LGBT community people as the world wide web offered them the freedom to express their views and find people with similar interests from the solace of their homes. Vermont recognized the same-sex civil unions in 2000 followed by Massachusettes recognizing the same-sex marriages in 2003 (Morris, 2013). Several other countries like Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium followed the US example and legalized same sex marriage. The LGBT community people are no longer considered as ill or criminals. The recent ruling out of the DOMA celebrated as 'death of doma' by the LGBT's has removed the last straw in their path to be recognized as legal couples at least in the US. First Encounter about LGBT Community The first encounter about the LGBT community occurred when the movie King Kong was released. A movie named ‘Brokeback Mountain’ was released simultaneously. Visiting the theatre with the family and failing to get a ticket for the blockbuster King Kong, my brother insisted we at least spend the evening viewing the later movie which was screened in the same block of the mall. My parents refused to let us watch the movie. They explained the movie was promoting ‘bad habits’ and gave a hint about gay life, stating it was strictly forbidden by the Bible and only satan worshipers will live such a life. The Stereotypical View on LGBT community Discussing about the topic in the class fetched a strong warning from the class teacher that talking about such taboo activities in the second grade will fetch a TC right away. It was evident that people shrunk to talk about such activities and most elders never brought up that topic even if they were broad-minded enough to teach their children about good touch, bad touch, kissing etc. They changed the topic whenever it came up in the media or TV. There was absolutely no way this topic could be discussed in the friends or peer group as no one had real knowledge about it. It is now evident that most of the world is having a similar view about the LGBT people and refrain to talk or think about them as they are considered complete outcasts. There is very little awareness that there might be medical conditions for their choice and all the exaggerated clips shown in the media are not really true. The gay couple is given equal rights when it comes to marriage in terms of staying in the country, getting federal assistance and parental benefits from the workplace. But, the gay community continues to maintain their secrecy as most of the families rooted in deep traditional values still view their gay sons and daughters as highly disgracable human beings and shrink to introduce them in front of their community. Most of the LGBT members have suffered emotional and physical punishment from their parents who tried to correct them and make them live according to the societal norms. Negative Impact created by the media and real life experience Watching NatGeo has become a habit by the sixth grade. The channel forecast several shows regarding the transvestites, cross dressers and the third gender post prime time. Though the documentaries were well researched ones taken without supporting or prohibiting such activities all that registered in the mind was their ghastly appearance. Most of the gay people shown there were drag queens and men dressed as women in an ugly way. Else, men acting strangely with odd mannerisms and colored hair were shown. Being too small to understand the real meaning of the documentary films, what registered in the mind was that gay people are odd, ugly and strange. Taking a tour with the family in India that summer further strengthened the views registered about the LGBT community. It is a common aspect to see the third gender people begging in traffic there and doing odd gestures displaying their body parts if a person refuses to give them money. It was a shock to see a person degrade themselves to this extent for the sake of begging or rather grabbing money. The Eye-opener incident In high school, one of the most loved teachers of the students was Rob Doyle. He was handling 8th grade science. His immense talent will make the most boring physics classes a breeze to attend. He always used simple day to incidents in life to explain the complex scientific concepts in a unique and humorous way. Several students were fans of his teaching style and handsome looks. He was dragged out of the class one fine day in the middle of an important lecture, beaten, stamped and insulted brutally by the final year students, claiming he was a gay. They forced him to accept it through his own words. Mr. Doyle was terminated from the school immediately and none of us heard about him after that. The most shocking thing in the whole scenario was that Mr. Doyle's favorite students ceased to react or protect him in spite of his repeated cry for helps unable to believe he was a gay. Even the fellow teachers did not show any sign of controlling the unruly student mob. This incident created an unexplainable fear in several children's minds and the reaction of the adults made them believe treating gay people in such a way is acceptable. Mr. Doyle was the first person to reinforce there are various types of LGBT people other than the drag queens the ghostly cross-dressed men shown in the media. He was an eye opener who leads many to believe LGBT people are perfectly normal human-being just like us and sexual orientation is just a matter of taste. The NatGeo documentaries which featured the transvestites and cross-dressers suddenly seemed to have a completely different meaning altogether as it showed the world from the victim's point of view. Plato’s Crowd Mind Analyzing the reaction of the class students towards their gay science teacher, we can see even the students who liked the science teacher did not react in favor of him. The 'Bystander effect' theory can be best suited here as most of the respondents to the incident kept numb because there was no reaction from others (Solomon, 1978). If a single person had tried to support the teacher, it would have triggered a wave of support from others. The audience failed to intervene and help the victim because of the ambiguous situation. Such reactions are common when a group of people witness a murder or an injustice meted out to others. (Darley, 1969). Plato referred to this as the ‘crowd mind’. Growing up, the researcher understands it is not uncommon to have bizarre needs and LGBT groups are certainly not punishable. But, contacting the school about the teacher, records say he was terminated without following any legal procedure or having to submit a notice. He was not allowed to enter the school premises thereafter and was not given any proper benefits or certification he should have legally received for working in the school for more than five years. No one even cared to take his contact address so that they might mail him the money he is due to receive. It was also evident, there were no laws at that time, to protect Mr. Doyle. He could not even complain against the school or the students who hurt him as it was considered common to beat up gay men if they tried to mingle with the normal society. Mr. Doyle never mentioned anything other than the subject in the class which might potentially harm the mindset of the students. Most of the students felt sorry for him, but were too scared to react as they secretly feared they too might be picked upon if they support him. Five steps to change the Stereotypical View Changing the outlook of an entire community is not possible within a short time. But, throughout history, great minds have proved challenging the collective beliefs is possible. The birth of democracy, equal rights to women, abolition of slavery and many other concepts evolved challenging the well established norms of the older societies. The leaders who made these changes happen, empowered the victims, made the wider public understand their plight and showed them a glimpse of how comfortable a changed society would be. It is possible to change the public opinion regarding the LGBT communities using the same methods. 1. First, common people should be made to understand the feeling of the LGBT people. Empowering the LGBT community is very important to achieve the same. Giving them equal chances in education and work if necessary through reservation is important. A person who ceases to listen to the feeling of a lesbian secretary cannot refuse to listen to their boss bragging that he too is a homosexual. The value of societal morals changes when it is reinforced through people in power. 2. Second, it is important to make the normal people understand the sense of loneliness the LGBT community people feel. Incidents like the suicide of the Ryan Halligan who was subjected to immense bullying because a rumor spread he was homosexual should be highlighted in the media. The public should be made to understand the hardships they face. It will prevent them from making the same mistake themselves and prevent their kith and kin from doing the same. 3. Third, legal protection should be given to such human diverse groups paving way for them to fight for their rights. The groups fighting for the rights of the LGBT community should try and involve as many straight people as possible in their campaigns to get a wider reach. 4. Fourth, steps should be taken to create tolerance about human diversity groups among students. Campaigns aiming at children aged 6 to 13 and teenagers should be conducted frequently explaining them that it is a common factor to feel attracted to the same gender. This is an important step to make the future generation understanding and tolerable to various diverse cultures. 5. Last but not the least, the LGBT people should come forward to express themselves without feeling shameful and fight within their family and friends to treat them as normal. Domestic recognition is an important step in feeling adequate for any human being. Support groups which help them do it should be established. Conclusion Accepting something new is not that easy for the human community owing to its deliberate fait on certain morals and principles. The world has seen many major wars and revolutions not for the sake of money or the love, but for the sake of principles. The new ideologies clash with the centuries old beliefs from time to time proving the older philosophies wrong and forcing them to evolute for the sake of the human progress. The ladies came out on the streets to fight for their rights before a century and the slaves came out protesting the unfair treatment meted on them before two centuries. The LGBT community is in a stage where it has to fight for its rights and make the common people accept their idea about love and partnership is also normal. The path they have to travel might be very crucial. But, comparing the changing mentality among the public regarding such issues, we can soon expect, all the talk about homosexuality and heterosexuality will vanish and the world will start treating the LGBT community people fairly. References 1. Baumeister, F. Roy & Bushma, J. Brad. (2010). Social Psychology & Human Nature. Cengage Learning. P. 47. 2. Cory, D. W. (1951). The homosexual in America: A subjective approach. New York: Greenberg. 3. Darley, J. M. & Latane, B. (1969). Bystander “apathy.” American Scientist, Vol. 57, pp. 244-268. 4. Morris, J. Bonnie. (2013). History of Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Social Movements. Retrieved 28th June 2013 from http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.aspx 5. Soloman, L.Z, Solomon, H., & Stone, R. (1978). Helping as a function of number of bystanders and ambiguity of emergency. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 4, pp. 318-321. Read More