BLM

It's Okay To Be Gay

Ms. Berns' statistics
Americans' view of LGBT

• 26% of LGBT have been physically assaulted in their lifetime
• 44% have been threatened
• 80% have been verbally harrassed
• 79% of Americans approve of openly gay college professors

Definition

“Whom we are sexually attracted to and whom we have the potential to love”

Difficulty in determining numbers/best estimates

• Some people still don't feel comfortable saying they are LGBT (location or family) 
• There is difficulty defining terms 
• Numbers consistently show more gays exist than lesbians or bisexuals
• Most of recorded history shows homosexuality persisting across time
• Probably 2% of men are exclusively homosexual
• 1% of women are exclusively lesbian

Past research

• Before the 20th century, homosexuality was considered a sin
• After the 20th century, homosexuality was considered an illness
• The first research done came from gays who sought therapy and the conclusion was all gays are neurotic [Janessa's note: the sample was obviously skewered because healthy, functioning gays were not included]
• Studies are now based on why we love the way we do; not why are some people homosexual

Conversion Therapy

• Existed for several hundred years; stems from religious groups
• Tries to change person from homosexual to heterosexual
• Incredibly cruel
• Doesn't work & makes person feel guilty

Biological Theories

• **Genetic theory: sexual orientation is inherited
• **Prenatal theory: something happens to fetus and molds orientation
• Birth order theory: the more males a woman births, the more her antibodies affect the children (males only) 
• Brain factors: anatomical structure influences orientation (some studies are totally flawed, however)
• Hormone imbalances

**most evidence

Learning Theory:

• Rewards and punishment shape our behavior
• Born without sexual orientation
• Experience pushes us one way 
• Example: If a woman is raped or abused by a male, she might not find comfort and love in them
• Mixed support 

Interactionist Theory

• Daryl Bem: exotic [different] becomes erotic [sexually interested]
• Males have higher levels of both aggression and activity levels than females
• As children, rowdy boys tend to play together while the doll-loving girls play together
• Since boys interact with boys, the girl is exotic to them and likewise
• Similarly, the sensitive, doll-loving boy who spends time playing with girls will find boys as exotic
• Some support this theory, some criticize it

 Sociological Theory

• We become what we are labeled
• Negative pathway to sexual orientation
• Example: the sensitive, doll-loving boy will be bullied by peers and called a “fag”, causing him to accept the role society has given him

“What is the bottom line? Which theory is correct? The answer is, we don't know yet. We do not know what causes sexual orientation. Several theories have strong evidence supporting them, but no one theory accounts for all cases.”

“In sum, when we consider sexual orientation from a multicultural perspective, two main points emerge: (1) The very definition of homosexuality is set by culture... (2) Some ethnic groups are even more disapproving of homosexuality than are U.S. whites.”

“Sex refers to sexual behavior; gender is being male or female, gender identity is the psychological sense of maleness or femaleness, sexual orientation is being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual [or asexual]; sexual identity is one's self-label or self-identification as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual [or asexual].”

“There may be contradictions between people's sexual identity (which is subjective) and their actual choice of sexual partners viewed objectively.”

“Not everyone may reach their sexual orientation in the same way.”

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Major Project 2

Homosexuality from Historical Viewpoint

• “Sexual orientation and gender identity are integral aspects of our selves and should never lead to discrimination or abuse.” (6)

• Ancient Greek attitudes: “In parts of Ionia there were general strictures against same-sex [while in Thebes] it was approved of and even celebrated.” (8)

• “In Justinian’s Code, promulgated in 529, persons who engaged in homosexual sex were to be executed, although those who were repentant could be spared. Historians agree that the late Roman Empire saw a rise in intolerance towards sexuality, although there were again important regional variations.” (8)

• “People around the world face violence and inequality—and sometimes torture, even execution— because of who they love…” (6)

• Evelyn Hooker, PhD, conducted major research in 1953 and deduced there “was no association between homosexuality and psychological maladjustment.” (5)

• Homosexuality was considered a mental illness well into the 20th century. “A variety of medical and psychological treatments to ‘cure’ homosexuality were employed, including ice pick lobotomies, electroshock, chemical castration with hormonal treatment or aversive conditioning.” It was removed from the DSM (diagnostic manual) in 1973. (5)

• Stonewall Riots: “The uprising began at 1:30 in the morning on June 28th, 1969, when New York City police officers raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, located on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. As the police began dragging some of the patrons out, members of the gay community fought back, sparking three days of rioting.” (1)

• A Stonewall protestor reflects on the era explaining: “Being gay before Stonewall was a very difficult proposition, because we felt that in order to survive, we had to try to look and act as rugged and manly as possible to get by in a society that was really much against us.” (1)

• A year after the Stonewall Riots, the first gay pride march was organized and carried out. Its success led to an annual June tradition. Denver’s PrideFest is one of the biggest in the nation with 300,000 attendants.

• In the 1980s United States, HIV and AIDS became a pandemic in the homosexual community. “By the end of [1981], there were 270 reported cases of severe immune deficiency among gay men—121 of them had died.” (4)

• “In 2010, young gay and bisexual men (aged 13-24 years) accounted for 72% of new HIV infections among all persons aged 13 to 24, and 30% of new infections among all gay and bisexual men. At the end of 2011, an estimated 500,000 (57%) persons living with an HIV diagnosis in the United States were gay and bisexual men, or gay and bisexual men who also inject drugs.” (3)

• “On October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally attacked and tied to a fence in a field outside of Laramie, Wyo, and left to die…” Matthew’s story would “become one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in American history and spawned an activist movement that, more than a decade later, would result in passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a federal law against bias crimes directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.” It was signed on October 28, 2009, by President Barack Obama.

• “Corrective rape is a hate crime wielded to convert lesbians to heterosexuality—an attempt to ‘cure’ them of being gay. The term was first coined in South Africa in the early 2000s where charity workers first noticed an influx of such attacks.” (10)

• The United States Supreme Court voted for the legalization of same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015, with a 5-4 win. 

References

1.)    Carter, D. (2009, June 26). Stonewall Riots 40th Anniversary: A Look Back at the Uprising that Launched the Modern Gay Rights Movement. Retrieved November 9, 2015.

2.)    Chappell, B. (2015, June 26). Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex Marriage Legal In All 50 States. Retrieved November 9, 2015.

3.)    HIV Among Gay and Bisexual Men. (2015, August 12). Retrieved November 9, 2015.

4.)    History of HIV and AIDS Overview. (2015, May 1). Retrieved November 9, 2015.

5.)    Katharine, M. (2011, February 1). The Myth Buster. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

6.)    LGBT Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2015.

7.)    Matthew's Story. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2015.

8.)    Pickett, B. (2002, August 6). Homosexuality. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

9.)    Sargeant, F. (2010, June 20). 1970: A First-Person Account of the First Gay Pride March. Retrieved November 9, 2015.

  10.)   Strudwick, P. (2014, January 6). Crisis in South Africa: The shocking practice of 'corrective rape' - aimed at 'curing' lesbians. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

11.) Hyde, J., & DeLamater, J. (2011). Understanding Human Sexuality (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill