Gay Rights - Will Gays Ever Be Treated Equally?

Will Gays Ever Be Treated Equally?

Columbia College

Abstract

Gay Rights have been an issue faced for several years and continues to be a problem. Gays are no different then anyone else and they should be treated with the same respect and laws as everyone else. By researching web resources and book references Sara was able to find the history of gay rights and the movement that started the fight for gay rights. Gay rights have been going on longer than Sara thought and always have been an issue since the 19th century. There are laws now that protect gays from discrimination, hate crime and family rights as well. Gay rights will always be an issue as long as people have stereotypes and prejudgments about gay persons. People need to be educated about gay people instead of making false assumptions.

Will Gays Ever be Treated Equally?

Sexual orientation is fixed from birth and cannot be treated but should be respected and treated as a person’s identity. “Born this way is about being yourself and loving who you are and being proud” (Lady Gaga). For many gay persons this statement is not the case, gays have experience stereotypes, antigay prejudice, harassment, and abuse for many years. Gays have been experiencing discrimination since the 19th century and have been fighting an on going battle for their rights.  There have been several movements in gay rights but the fight is not over for gay equal rights. Gay persons should have the same rights as everyone else. They are no different or less than anyone else, they are just being who they are. Gays want to be themselves and have the same rights without lying about whom they are. History has shown that gays have not been treated fairly. Although, there has been improvements since the 19th century gay rights is still an issues that we need to address. Will gays ever be treated equally? Sara believes that gay rights will always be an issue that we have to fight in society but gay persons are equal and should be respected with the same rights as everyone else.

When did gay rights become a problem?

The first organized gay rights movement took place in the late 19th century in Germany. According to Robert Beachy author of “Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity”, modern conceptions of homosexuality began with an anti-sodomy law that criminalizes gay sex. On August 29, 1867, a forty-two-year-old lawyer named Karl Heinrich Ulrichs went before the Sixth Congress of German Jurists, in Munich, to urge the repeal of laws forbidding sex between men. There was an audience of more than five hundred distinguished legal figures. In 1871, Germany Empire made a law that prohibiting sexual penetration of one man by another that was included in the Imperial Criminal Code. In the 1920s, Magnus Hirschfeld was one of the most distinguished spokespeople for gay rights. He founded the Institute for Sexual Science in 1919 in Berlin and is responsible for the World League for Sexual Reform (WLSR).  When the Nazi party came to power in 1933, the Nazi ransacked and destroyed Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Science, where many prominent Nazis had been treated for sexual problems. The Nazis launched a campaign in February 1933 that shut down GLB clubs, banned gay rights organizations and outlawed sex publications. The fight for gay rights is a battle that we are still fighting in present day.  

What has change since the 19th Century?

Gays have come a long way from gays being mentally ill to having the right to express who they are. In 1950, A Senate report titled "Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in Government" stated since homosexuality is a mental illness, homosexuals "constitute security risks" to the nation because "those who engage in overt acts of perversion lack the emotional stability of normal persons."(PBS.org). Over the few years more than 4,380 gay men and woman had been discharged from the military and about 500 employees were fired from government jobs. In 1952 American Psychological Association (APA) classified gayness as a mental illness. Gays were looked as sexual perverts and depraved. In the next several years there have been a lot of positive outcome as well. In 1969 Stonewall riots and first Gay Power meeting was hold in New York and for gay persons, this event marks the birth of modern gay political movement (Norma Carr-Ruffino 469). The next year over 10,000 gay persons came together for Gay pride in New York. Gays were coming together and showing support for each other. They were getting their voices heard and making changes that needed to happen. In 1973, APA announced that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness. APA states that gay persons cannot change their sexual orientation; they can choose to suppress it but pay a high price emotionally and psychologically. In 1992 President Clinton issued an executive order ending “gay security risk” removing the military ban on gay persons. In present day, there are 37 states with legal gay marriage and gay persons are in media in a positive light. There are still issues and discrimination that gays face because people are not educated and have many stereotypes of gay persons.

What are stereotypes of gay persons?

Many people believe they can tell if someone is gay base on their looks, dress, behaviors, or even their “gaydar”. There are many stereotypes about gay persons in the media or what we’ve heard that we believe is true about gay persons. The first stereotype is that many people believe that gay men are flamboyant or act feminine. Some people refer to gay man as queens. Not all gay males act feminine and flamboyant. In fact, gays come in all sharps and forms. Just because you are gay, you don’t have to be into fashion and performance art. It’s about being who you are and accepting who you are as a person. Another stereotype is all lesbians are butch and tomboyish. Lesbians do not have to have short hair and wear plaid lumberjack shirts. They can look and dress the way they feel comfortable wearing. There is no rule or law stating, if you are gay you must dress and look like this. Another stereotype is that gay people don’t have a normal lasting relationship. Gay people jump from partner to partner. The stereotype is false as well. About half of men and two thirds of females are in a steady relationship (Norma Carr-Ruffino 469). In a gay relationship there doesn’t have to be the women or men in the relationship. Most of the relationships are dual-earner relationships that do not have a role of traditional husband and wife. There are many stereotypes about gays occupation. People believe gays should be hair stylist, designers, dancers, and similar creative feminine jobs. Not all male dancers or hair stylist are gay and not all gay males should be dancers or hair stylist. There are more gay men and woman in science and engineering than in social services. There are forty percent more in finance and insurance than in the entertainment and art business (Norma Carr-Ruffino 467). Most gay persons feel comfortable in jobs like hair and fashion because they feel safe. Another stereotype about gays occupation is that gays are sensitive or high-level jobs are a risk. Gays are no more sensitive then the average person. They have feeling and express themselves just like everyone else. Gays may have a harder time hiding their emotion because they are faced with discrimination throughout their life but doesn’t make the more or less sensitive then the average person.