Get fast, custom help from our academic experts, any time of day.
Place your order now for a similar assignment and have exceptional work written by our team of experts.
Secure Original On Schedule
As with most social problems that we have covered during this semester, they have been around for a long time. What makes something a social issue and not just an individual problem is the whole point of this text. I believe that in order to understand most things, it requires us to be objective and try to “walk in someone else’s shoes.” This is very challenging.
As you know, sexual orientation is not about our physical bodies or how we identify as male, female, or a non-binary gender. It is about who we are attracted to. That is why this week’s song is called Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Be sure to listen to the lyrics. For this essay you will first view a couple videos about the history of the Gay Rights movement here in the United States. It will help you see how and why there has been such a problem with inequality for people that do not conform to the heteronormative society we live in. History of Gay Rights Movement (Links to an external site.)
Stonewall PBS (Links to an external site.)
Stonewall Forever (Links to an external site.)21 mins
Next I would like you to view this Timeline of Events: Link (Links to an external site.)
https://www.infoplease.com/history/pride-month/the-american-gay-rights-movement-a-timeline
In the 1980s HIV became a terrible problem and the first victims to be seen in the US were homosexual men. This created even more misunderstanding, fear, and hatred of gay people. But the positive thing that came out of this situation is how the “gay community” responded to the AIDS epidemic. They banded together and became politically active.
A group called ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) staged sit-ins and many other interesting actions to bring attention to how many people were dying of AIDS and yet the government wasn’t doing anything about it. They also forced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to speed up the approval process for life-saving drugs. The film called How To Survive A Plague chronicles this group and is a wonderful documentary, using actual footage of events at the time. Its a very good history lesson and helps puts things into context. I find it very interesting that this galvinized gays and lesbians into a powerful political movement that propelled other issues of gay rights into the national spotlight and laid the groundwork for recent developments. A few years back there was a huge ruling by the Supreme Court saying that the federal government would now recognize marriages of same-sex couples. This was a landmark decision and caused much discussion on both sides, for and against. Please read about it below: Read Supreme Court Ruling: Link (Links to an external site.)
Questions to answer:
While you were reading this chapter did any of these topics make you uncomfortable? Sexual orientation is often difficult for people to truly understand. It requires us to do some introspection into our own thoughts and feelings about our own sexuality and why we are the way we are. Being able to understand your own feelings about sex and sexuality will also help you understand others. It can help you communicate with whomever you need to, parents, children, friends, intimate partners about important issues. How might this week’s information help you in your every day life?
Do you see the connection between how a society views some people as “normal” and therefore “valued” while others who do not fit into specific boxes are labeled as deviant and therefore not valued as much? This means that one group has privilege. Give at least two examples from the video and timeline materials.
Can you also see these same intersections when we bring in gender, race, socio-economic status, and religion into the discussion? People exist within many different categories that society defines and all of these labels have very real consequences in people’s lives. I hope that you also understand by this point in the semester that these concepts of RACE, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, are socially constructed. Please explain what this means and how these biases impact individuals and cause inequality and discrimination. Lastly, describe a situation that you have witnessed personally regarding sexual orientation and discrimination. Essay must answer all questions posed above and is due on August 3rd.
Get fast, custom help from our academic experts, any time of day.
Secure Original On Schedule