Discussions about LGBT rights, civil liberties have been ongoing since the dawn of the 20th century. From the initial period where LGBT people were looked down upon or shunned from regular life and activities, to today, where there is more awareness and recognition about civil liberty and LGBT rights; the nation has come a long way.
As time progressed and with the end of WW II, there was more awareness and sensitivity towards homosexuals and discussions and policies to provide fair treatment and employment began to emerge. These discussions, as we notice from the NYT articles are still holding dominant positions in today’s public discourse. Although, acceptance of gay men and women in the social fabric of the nation has improved over the years, we do see a predominance of issues regarding Transgender and others.
During the course of the 1950s and 60s, many organizations were formed which supported gay rights. The Mattachine Society was one such organization followed by One, Inc., which was in the West, and supported lesbians. It was due to these and other organizations that people started giving support to the cause. Many famous sociologists and psychologists then began to discuss these social issues and recognized the new minority of gay and lesbians. This was the time when the government and social scientists brought the issue to the fore and began their involvement for framing rules and policies towards the rights of gay people. For a long time, people’s behavior towards gay and lesbian people was one of questioning and ridicule.
For the most part, even today, it is evident from NYT Article 1, that social stigmas associated with being LGBT are still being felt. The same goes for people in the military.
Till recently, most people in the forces were oblivious to the fact that there were gay men and women serving the nation. It is evident from the article in NYT, when Senator John McCain spoke about the rights of LGBT in the military. As we are now aware, there were gay men and women who were contributing to the cause of the army even during WWII.
It just proves, that the speed of reform and transformative ideas regarding LGBT Rights, have indeed been slow. Many politicians and statutes in states like N. Carolina, make it more difficult to implement sweeping changes to simplify the lives of the LGBT community and recognize them as one of the pillars of the community. Imagine that only in the 1970s did the American Psychiatric Association declassify homosexuality as a disease. That is indeed telling and the impact of such stigmas is still visible in 21st century USA.
The fight against racial discrimination in the 1960s also led to the gay rights movement. Gay pride marches are held in June in the United States and in many parts of the world. However, there is a need for increased acceptance, tolerance and recognition of these minorities in society. The last decade of the 20th century has seen much progress with many celebrities and media personalities coming out and celebrating their gay and lesbian lifestyle and rights.
Though there is increased recognition among government and the judiciary on the rights of these minorities, there is more to be done in terms of increasing awareness.
As we see in NYT article 1, the fact that Rodrigo actually wrote a letter to his parents about his new gender identity and left it on the bed, shows that we are a long way of addressing issues and stigmas around gender identity and freedom. Though Rodrigo felt different and was afraid to come out, it is heartening to note the reactions of the parents and family. Though the parents and grandparents were supportive, there was a sliver of fear about how Amanda would face the new world. Just like in the 20th century, fears around bullying and violence still continue.
The whole debate about transgender and the use of bathrooms in N. Carolina and other states, has led to strong reactions from people like Congresswoman Ms. Ros-Lehtinen to move and become an open advocate for LGBT rights. More like in the 1960s, when the gay and lesbian people were the underdogs and did not openly declare their identity, even today, we have families which do reject and treat them unfairly. The prevalence and implementation of laws and statutes which prohibit people from using any bathroom they desire, lead to a mockery of our civil rights process and cause unnecessary harm to a community which has been ostracized in some form or another, over the years.
Issues around equality and rights are being used in politics and more so in an openly vitriolic election atmosphere in 2016. Many people and parties like the Republicans do not have a clear policy on the issues regarding LGBT rights. It is clear that more needs to be done to bring in awareness, recognition and framing of policies to help societies and communities to embrace the LGBT community as an important pillar of modern 21st century USA.
Article 2 clearly brings about the differences between Federal and State laws pertaining to rights. The United States has reached a point of debate that relates to the very basic policies on rights which were a point of discussion in the 20th century. The rights of transgender people are in the fore now, capturing media and government attention. This is similar to the 20th century debates on gay and lesbian rights.The force of the law as applied by the Federal government also comes into question in this case. Many believe that the holding back of monetary incentives to schools that do not implement the regulation, is going to be detrimental to the effort, as evidenced by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s statement on being blackmailed by the President of the United States.The debates over the rights of LGBT and transgender to use bathrooms have ignited new thoughts, ideas and fights between the Federal government, Justice Department and the State laws. As mentioned by James Esseks, the issue with transgender has gained prominence in mainstream media and discussions but has been politicized. The arguments are strong on both the sides and the issue is more likely to be resolved with the intervention of the Supreme Court.Article 3 of the NYT brings to light the differences between how LGB is being perceived as different from T in the army. Contrary to the 20th century norms where gays and lesbians were hidden and then came out, the same situation is being faced by the T community. Though there is open acceptance of gay and lesbian members in the military, the Pentagon has not yet approved admission of Transgender in to the military. The same debate about gays in the military of the 60s is being re-visited now with the discussions around Transgender rights. The Pentagon is still debating on how to implement such policies. As the article mentions, there are many who are opposed to the policy, although they steer clear of grounds of morality and give it a cloak of professionalism by citing military readiness and unit cohesion. Article 4 talks about the lack of inclusivity that is usually endemic in Hollywood movies right from the early 20th century till date. Hollywood movies, known to suitably reflect societal mores and behavior have been traditionally wary of even providing pivotal roles to women actors. It is also a fact that women traditionally are paid lesser than their male Hollywood counterparts – whether they are actors, producers, writers or directors.The data by GLAAD shows that the inclusivity index is lower for the year 2015 than before. So in that sense Hollywood is regressing. Though the nature of the US demographic has changed over the years, Hollywood still is not seen as inclusive – not only from a LGBT point of view but even including black actors, Hispanics, Asians or women. Out of 126 films that were identified in the survey, only 22 had some representation from the LGBT community. In addition it is seen that the inclusion of the LGBT character is done cursorily, with not much importance and is sometimes done to add a touch of comedy. Even the movie Stonewall which covers the gay bar riot from 1969 which fueled the gay rights movement, does not have any transgender character. Hollywood is thus helping propagate the stigma and prejudices associated with being LGBT which is continuing since centuries.In Article 5, we see that discussions on LGBT rights are in the mainstream media with the Presidential elections in 2016 and the N. Carolina judgment on bathrooms in schools and public places for transgender. There is new tension between the business minded and the religious right wing in the G.O.P. The controversial H.B.2 law is taking away business and tourism from the state, resulting in huge losses. The debates regarding transgender should gain more rapidity and ground to ensure that they receive the same rights and treatment as given to all genders and citizens in the United States.
Bibliography
B. J. Morris. “History of Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Social Movements” http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.aspx
