It was not too long ago that I was walking on Jamaica Avenue (that is in Jamaica Queens) and I heard someone say, “So wat if I’m a lesbian, I’m F*****ing proud of it!” In my inquisitive nature I turned around to take a glance and saw this girl looking not more than 15 years old repeating those words to another girl. One could not imagine the amount of thoughts that ran through my mind. I turned to my friends and they told me with a smile that they are all over now and it’s now a way of life that isn’t that serious. After that day the greater picture of the world became know to me. It was in my naïveté that I didn’t see that there was a growing trend: being homosexual.
In my life I have never understood the essence of homosexuality. In the Caribbean these things are often only jokes told to spice up a party and not a way of life. One could only imagine the culture shock I went through when I came to the United Sates and found the blatant representation of homosexuality; it is even more so when I went to Germany. As a matter of fact, parents always tend to teach their children that it is against natural law as well as God’s to be attracted to the same sex. Could it be that these values are not being taught in our homes? Actually that is not so. It is because of society’s growing acceptance of homosexuality that gives children the availability of homosexuality as an acceptable option in life. As the days go by homosexuality, is not characterized as a growing trend but a growing acceptance by society.
A trend is something that is in style. Before exploring the trend, we must understand what is meant by homosexuality. Homosexuality, according to the New Internationalist is sex between people of the same gender. Homosexuality is found in the higher mammals. It has been observed that both homosexual relationship and courtship was found in lions, porpoises, porcupines, monkeys and others. Therefore it is unfair to think that we humans are alone in our thinking. It makes you wonder if it is possible that these animals have the same behavior patterns that we have. If it is accepted in most of the mammal world, why not the Homo sapiens? We think that we are so very in intelligence but yet we are the last ones to accept those that are different. Homosexuality cannot be a growing trend since it was around for some odd number of years. It is not that more and more people are doing it. It is that more and more people are revealing it. The difference between homosexuality, being a trend and a movement of acceptance is that if it were a trend more and more people would be doing it. However that is not the case because people are just revealing their sexual preferences as a result of their kind being accepted.
Although homosexuality was prevalent in earlier years its acceptance was never as extensive as today. In Judeo Christianity sacred sodomy was practiced up until the time of exile from Babylon and rabbis were often homosexual. There is evidence of the toleration of homosexuality between early Christian churchmen before 1150. Pre-Nazi Berlin was one of the most active gay cultures in Europe. In some Polynesian tribes homosexuality is considered to be normality. Homosexuality was also prevalent in Confucian China in the middle ages and was tolerated up until the ninetieth century. Hindu writers regarded homosexuality as quite common and not a perversion. The growth of Buddhist monasticism made the sexual relationship between master and disciple common. Indeed homosexuality has been around for ages. Therefore it is not something that was just started, but yet something that is now being accepted as a norm. It is now a behavior that people are being more tolerant of.
The reason why it seems to be a growing trend is that so many people are coming out and admitting their sexuality without fear of persecution. The prosecutions of gays were always prevalent. A large scale persecuting gay people began in the 12th century Christian Europe. Apparently it coincided with the Inquisitions and the attacks on all religious non-conformity. Thousands of “sodomites” were burned at the stake from 1150 to 1250. The basis of antigay laws were laid and lasted for centuries to come. Gays were deemed criminals. Henry VIII of England made sodomy punishable by death in 1533. In sixteenth century Switzerland, the women were drowned for lesbianism. Both men and women in Venice were stripped, nailed by their genitals and burned to death. It wasn’t until 1829 that British Navy sailors were not hanged for homosexual acts. It was found that is some years more men were hanged for buggery rather than for murder. During the ages of enlightenment, homosexuals were no longer persecuted by death but were looked away in a lunatic asylum.
Attitudes toward homosexual behavior have varied with time and place. In ancient Greece, homosexual relations were accepted and, in some cases, expected activity in certain segments of society. Later attitudes toward homosexuality in the Western world were determined largely by prevailing Judeo-Christian moral codes, which treat homosexuality as immoral or sinful. But like many other sins, homosexual relations were seen as expressions of the weakness inherent in all human beings, and not as a mental disorder or as the behavior of a specific type of person. This latter view, which regarded homosexuality as a pathology, developed in the late 19th century. By the beginning of the 20th century, psychoanalysts viewed homosexuals as the victims of faulty development. Austrian physician Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, considered homosexuality a deviant condition. More recently, scientists have searched for a biological explanation of sexual orientation. A study published in 1993 sought to identify a genetic marker for sexual orientation. The research, which did not include a cross section of the population, was inconclusive.
During the first half of the 20th century, attitudes toward homosexuality were devastatingly negative. Homosexual activities were hidden and spoken of only in murmurs, and homosexual behavior, even among consenting adults, was a criminal offense in most of the United States. Homosexuals were subject to stereotypes and prejudice. Gay men were viewed as effeminate, lesbians were portrayed as manly, and both were seen as being obsessed with sex, with little self-control or morality. Homosexuals frequently were thought to be potential child molesters. In the 1930s and during World War II (1939-1945), homosexuals were targets of persecution in Nazi Germany.Prejudices against homosexuals in Western societies have only recently begun to change. The first major shift followed the publication of two famous reports, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1952), by American biologist Alfred Charles Kinsey. Although these works contained inflated estimates of the homosexual population and the incidence of behavior, they provided a more realistic picture of homosexuality and helped demystify it. Unlike earlier studies which focused on homosexuals who had sought medical or psychological help, the Kinsey reports described homosexuals outside of clinical settings. Kinsey found homosexuals in all walks of life, growing up in all kinds of families, practicing many different religions. As a result of the ensuing scientific discussion, the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 eliminated homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses and, in 1980, dropped it from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
There was a misconception that homosexuality was a condition rather than a behavior. .It was in that time that society was meant to believe that homosexuality was a condition than a behavior. It has long been discussed that a homosexual person was born that way. In the article “Biological Theory For Sexual Preference”:The idea that people are born into one type pf sexual behavior is entirely foolish,” says John DeCecco editor of the Journal of Homosexuality…Homosexuality is a behavior not a condition and something that people can and do change. (pg. 4D)
Therefore homosexuality is not something that is given to someone at birth, but develops as they grow, dependant on the society of that child. If this statement stands true, then the growing amount of gays and lesbians are a result of the society. One must never doubt the power society has. It can make or break someone. People often want to identify themselves as part of a particular society. Consequently, as more people identify with that particular society they more accepted that society becomes. However with the growing knowledge of this behavior society has begun to change to suit homosexuality.
In any case it has been found that there is a growing amount of homosexuals in the world today. The 2000 census revealed that out of the 105.5 million households in America, 5.5 million consisted of unmarried partners and of the 595,000 homes consisted of same sex partners. This can be interpreted as 1.2 million gay people living with a same sex partner in the United States. It must be noted that in the 1990 census only 145,000 cases of such were reported. Could it be that there are more gays being born or it is just that they were always there and they are now coming out. According the article written by Jeremy Iggers:
Nobody knows how many gays and lesbians there are in the United States. The figure commonly given is 10 percent of the population, but that’s little more than a guess based on statistics gathered. In the 1950s by sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. The percentages are higher in urban areas and, lower in rural areas. In the Twin cities, gays and lesbians may well be the largest minority group. Nobody knows, because most gays and lesbians keep their orientation a well-guarded secret. But that is rapidly changing. All across the United States, at an accelerating pace gays and lesbians… are coming out of the closet. (pg. 1EX+)
The fact that more and more people are coming out of the closet about their sexuality is merely as a result of society’s acceptance of what was thought to be immoral. In the recent years there has been an increase in the acknowledgement of the civil rights of homosexuals. In the United States the defining moment for homosexual activism was the Stonewall Riot. This was the protesting of a police raid on a gay bar in New York City in 1969. This protest was the first public one of many to soon follow. Since then groups have been formed to establish and protect gay rights. Theses groups include National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a civil rights organization that promotes equality and freedom from prejudice and discrimination for gays and lesbians; Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which provides legal representation for gays and lesbians; and the Human Rights Campaign Fund, which lobbies state and national legislators. In Canada, Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (EGALE) has worked to secure equal rights for gays and lesbians and to influence federal legislation on gay rights. Canadian gay-rights groups helped bring about the amendment in 1996 of the Canadian Human Rights Act to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Other countries that have specifically outlawed discrimination against homosexuals and bisexuals include The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In the 1990s and 2000s homosexual right groups addressed a number of issues, including the rights of gay and lesbian families. The Netherlands in 2001 became the first country to legalize same sex marriages, and then followed Belgium. This gave same sex couples the same rights as the heterosexual couples in areas such as inheritance, divorces, taxes and pension. These unions, called registered partnership rather than marriage, are recognized by several other European countries.
In 2002 and 2003 there were several rulings in Canada of which paved the way for same sex marriages in that country. In 2002 the Quebec Superior Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to prohibit same sex marriage. The next year the British Columbia Court of Appeal arrives at the same conclusion. Those two rulings ultimately gave the government until mid 2004 to change the federal law so as to give the same sex couples the right to marry. In June 2003 the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that that federal government’s definition of marriage which was the union of a man and a woman was in violation of the equal rights provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Making same sex marriages legal in Ontario of June 2003. Since the public opinion favored the ruling, therefore the legislation was expected to be passed.
One may ask how come the public opinion favored homosexuality as such. It is not that they are all immoral as some may think, but is that they have learnt to accept those things that are different. The gay and lesbian has a lot o contribute to this world, and if they are ostracize one may never know how well they fit in this world. Also since Canada does not have residency requirements, same sex couples from around the world are able to marry legally in Canada. The fact that Canada is one step ahead of the U.S. in terms of acceptance, puts pressure on the U.S. to change its legislature to accept homosexuality. Homosexual marriages are only acknowledged in one state in the United Sates, Massachusetts. Vermont recognizes civil unions, which extend some of the legal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. In November 2003 the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the state’s highest court, ruled that gays have the right to marry under the state’s constitution. In February 2004 the state clarified its ruling, and said that civil unions were not adequate and that only marriage met its criteria for equal rights for gays. The court ruled that “the history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal,” in affirming that homosexuals are entitled to the same rights of marriage as heterosexuals. The court imposed a deadline of May 2004 for gay marriages to be allowed in the state. The ruling generated considerable controversy. State legislators convened a constitutional convention to consider a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage but allow civil unions. However, the earliest such an amendment could go into force would be 2006. It is very interesting to think that since United States was always known to be very accepting of all things different, yet still we are behind in the acceptance of the homosexual community. This is as a result of the US referring to homosexuality as a trend rather than realizing it is a growing acceptance.
As of early 2004, 38 states had passed laws forbidding same-sex marriages and denying recognition of same-sex marriages obtained elsewhere. A growing number of local governments and private corporations have implemented domestic partnership laws or policies that extend some of the legal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. Generally, however, homosexual couples in long-term relationships do not have the same legal protection as people in heterosexual marriages. Under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, for example, many federal marriage benefits, such as tax breaks and Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid provisions, are denied to gay couples. Adopting children is also problematic for homosexuals. One state, Florida, has laws that explicitly prohibit homosexuals from adopting children. Other states, such as Utah, have administrative rules that prohibit adoptions by unmarried couples, which would preclude gays. Other states allow a same-sex partner to adopt the biological child of the other partner. The vast majority of states do not explicitly prohibit gays from adopting. New Hampshire is one of the few states that explicitly allow gay couples to adopt. Apart form making same sex marriage legal, another area of activism is in the military. Before the Clinton Administration, military officers filled out a form that asked question on their sexual orientation. In 1993 formed a policy of ‘don’t ask don’t tell.’ This policy pushed to allow homosexuals to serve in the military.
As activist fight for the rights of homosexuals, the homosexual community has become more visible. This gives the impression of homosexuality being a trend. As homosexual communities became more visible, large numbers of homosexuals—including some prominent people—have openly declared their identity as homosexuals and demanded their right to equal and respectful treatment. There are now openly gay representatives in the Congress of the United States. Across the country openly gay officials have pursued and often won office at both state and local levels of government. Gay and lesbian activists are found in both liberal and conservative political organizations. In 2003 the Episcopal Church USA confirmed an openly gay man as the bishop of New Hampshire, the first gay bishop in an American church. We can say that it is the activists that are fueling the acceptance of homosexuals in society. However, it seems more true to say that it is television is our accelerating agent. It seems that our society characterized as a monkey see monkey do society. Since the media has accepted homosexuality so had the community? For instance the show ‘Queer Eye For The Straight Guy” which is a prime time show, “Will and Grace.”, “The L word.”, “Boy Meets Boy.” It is interesting how the media has promoted homosexuality in such a positive manner that it has affected the views of those who watch these shows as a form of entertainment. Homosexuality ranked fifth in the topics covered on the three major prime-time week night’s news shows. There is not a night that goes by that there is not reference to homosexuality in television.
It could very well be that as a new age dawns that we have fallen into the acceptance of homosexuals. It is not that they are not people but they are just like us; they just like something different. As we become older we see that the world is always scared of something different. In that we see the prosecution of anyone and anything that does not fit the ‘normalcy code’ of society. The growing acceptance of the gay and lesbian community teaches us that we are not the ones who define normality. The definition of normalcy will forever change and can never apply to all. We are all like a puzzle; no two pieces are alike. The world will never be complete if we do not come to the realization that we need the other piece to finish the puzzle. Acceptance of homosexuality is one piece that is yet to be accepted. It is funny how false we can be with ourselves. We knew that is was forever around us. Yet still we found excuses to make it seem as though it is a new thing. The media refers to our acceptance of the gay and lesbian community as being a trend, without realizing that it has been here for some time and that it is not a trend but a growing acknowledgement of this way of life. This is one of those times that ignorance is not bliss. As the days go by we realize that society is being redefined. What was thought to be normal is not and vice versa. It is as more gays and lesbians come out that we realize that they are accepted into society as a foreigner is accepted into the United States.
