It is a mere fact that the world has been on its way to generally accept the presence of the third sexes with no further discrimination or any other form of isolation. It has come to a point that most countries are being liberated while few remain conservatives. With that, it is recognizable how most of the countries and states in this world have been adapting to the changes in our environment including the existence of the homosexuals.
The word homosexual is first used in 1892 as per the records of Merriam Webster Dictionary. Meaning, there have been tendencies that there have been people, at that point in time, that are shifting towards being homosexual. Since it is also mentioned that homosexual is being involved in any sexual intercourse with the same sex especially a male, therefore, there used to be a stereotyping that males are the first gender who showed interest to the same sex (Poore).
Different attitudes towards homosexuals can actually be branched out to two systems—it is either people have strong disgust with homosexuals or people have been freely and generally accepting the existence of homosexuals in different areas in the world (Sex Based Discrimination). Then, this research paper will be guided by two questions—what are the attitudes of the people who discriminates homosexuals and what are the attitudes of those people who undeniably accepts homosexuals?
Homosexuals are also known to be part of the LGBT Community—Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender Community (Yanis). Homosexuals, nowadays, have been experiencing different forms of discrimination, isolation, torture and also, they were killed because to other people, their sexual orientation is a form of deviant act.
Discrimination is of many kinds. In the case of the LGBT sector or community, social discrimination can be considered to be the one relatable to the concern. Social discrimination can still be narrowed down to more specific forms of discrimination and gender-based discrimination is the most specific form which caters the whole LGBT population (Levine).
Why do people discriminate the LGBT? What do they feel towards these homosexuals? What are their specific attitudes towards LGBT? Of course, there are three basic reasons why people engage in gender-based discrimination. The first one is because of religion which hinders people to accept LGBT; second includes the culture and upbringing; and the third falls under the emotional aspect of the people who discriminates towards the discriminated.
Religious people, taking Islam for example, are not into accepting homosexuals. They are standing firm with what their religious doctrines and documents say—there are only two sexes which must strive in the world and these are the males and the females. In their religion, anyone who would not follow their rules is meant to be killed. Therefore, homosexuals are killed because Muslims believe that it is a sin to change sexual orientation as well as to have intimate and sexual relations with the same sex (Kohlberg).
Conservative people, same with the religious, do not agree that LGBT should be accepted. Conservatives are those who do not want change to occur; all they want is to retain what their tradition taught them and basically, they are advocating conformity and ignorance. To them, homosexuality is a deviant act. They do not believe that it should be added to their culture because their ancestors have never told them that it should be accepted.
The third reason why gender based discrimination continues to persist can be related to emotional aspects. Some people hold grudges to homosexuals because they consider them undesirable to the community (Levine). Taking into consideration utopic countries, perfection includes only the two sexes—the males and the females. Existence of any homosexual may cause imbalance and negative changes. Therefore, they refrain from accepting and rather they continue isolating homosexuals from the commoners.
However, opposing the set of people who do not accept the existence of the homosexuals, liberals are those who accept and fully understand why there is a need for the homosexuals to have absolute freedom. It is given that once a specific community has been isolated and discriminated, they feel like they are living in a box with limited opportunities.
Liberated people are the set of people who have deep understanding on why LGBT has to be accepted and treated normally like how males and females used to be treated (Kirkpatrick et al.). They understand how these members of the LGBT community get depressed knowing how people sue them that what they are doing are demonic acts. They think that there is really nothing bad in being a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. To them, they are also people—people who must be treated normally and people who must be given the same level of opportunities provided for the males and the females.
Different commissions in human rights, agencies and organizations who are not totally liberals are also with the homosexuals in their fight against the people who discriminated (Sex Based Discrimination). For instance, United Nations has been annually celebrating the international day against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia along with the different national human rights institutions in different countries to prevent further discrimination and isolation of homosexuals in the workplaces, in school and in the community as a whole. Discrimination should be stopped as soon as possible because it hinders internal progress to a person as he or she feels psychologically unwanted by the society. Worst case scenario—homosexuals have started engaging with drugs to cure depression, and they even commit suicide when they think that there is no any more chance that the society will welcome them and accept them as who they really want to be. Do you think the religious, conservatives and those who have personal reasons on why they hate and discriminate the homosexuals know what the consequences of their selfish acts are?
Homosexuals recognize the present of the liberals and at some point they even think that these people turns out to be their support group. They are thankful that there are people who willingly and undeniably accept them and their sexual orientation. At some point, they would like and they actually prefer to live with the people who understand their situation that to stay with their families who force them to be closeted gays, transgender, bisexual or lesbians (Slattery).
But, aside from their recognition to the liberated ones, through collective action, they are still campaigning for a worldwide acceptance of the homosexuals. It is their goal to eliminate all cases of gender based discrimination, killings and tortures which includes homosexuals (Harrison). Every year, they would collect supports in order for the legislatives to pass or to have a bill which could support them and which could ensure that there would be no any discrimination and that they would be living in a safe environment. Every year, they would talk to different authority figures to have compromises. Every year, they continue to fight for their rights as they hold on to their principle that LGBT rights are human rights.
Having different attitudes towards homosexuality is inevitable given the differences and gaps in religion, upbringing or culture and personal reasons. However, it should always be considered that before we discriminate persons with different sexual orientation, we have to try to put our feet on their shoes. Would we still do these harsh things if our friends have been members of such community? Or rather, would we ask other people to support homosexual community because we understand how hard it is to be discriminated and isolated from a system? Attitudes are inevitable but it could and can be changed. Let us not be jailed by our tradition. Let us start adapting to the changes in the environment. Let us not discriminate. Let us support them because they need us. Someday, we will need them, too.
Works Cited:
Harrison, Rebecca. "South African gangs use rape to "cure" lesbians". Reuters. 2009.
Levine, Bertram. "Not All Black and White". J. Cropp (Ed.), Resolving Racial Conflict, 193-218. London: University of Missouri Press. 2005. Print.
Kirkpatrick, George R.; Katsiaficas, George N.; Kirkpatrick, Robert George; Mary Lou Emery. Introduction to critical sociology. Ardent Media. p. 261. 1987. Print.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. "The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest Stage of Moral Judgment". Journal of Philosophy. 1973. Print.
Poore, Grace. Hitting Close to Home: Homophobia and Transphobia In Asia: Family Violence New Report on Violence against LBT People in Asia Reveals High Levels of Violence by Family Members. International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. 2014. Print.
Sex Based Discrimination. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 2014. Print.
Slattery, M. Key Ideas in Sociology. Nelson Thornes. pp. 134–137. 2002. Print.
Yanis Varoufakis "Chapter 11: Evolving domination in the laboratory". Economic Indeterminacy: A personal encounter with the economists' peculiar nemesis. Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy. 2013. Print.
