LGBTQ+ Acceptance in the United States of America: Analytical Essay

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Introduction

In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of open members of the LGBTQ+ community throughout the United States. Through news broadcasting, social media, and public displays, we can see how large and proud this community is. However, it has not always been this way. Throughout history, the LGBTQ+ community has been silenced and mistreated. This led them to be quiet about their lifestyles and hideaway up until present day. Although the change is inspiring and uplifting, it leaves people like me to wonder: what has changed that allow members of this community feel comfortable to be open about their lifestyles? I believe the answer to this question can be found in application with historical refinement in culture, applicable concepts and theories derived from sociology, and in relation to my interpretations of norms concerning sexuality; also known as socialization.

History

The refined culture around the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community has been a great step forward for our country! However, the overall opinion about the LGBTQ+ community was not always as positive. Throughout history, you can see how mistreated this community was. Going all the way back to 1624, we look at the hanging of Richard Cornish. Cornish was an English sea captain that lived in the Virginia Colony of the original 13 colonies. In 1624, Cornish was accused and trialed against sodomy. Sodomy is sexual misconduct involving anal or oral intercourse. Sodomy laws originated in England and were intended to discriminate against homosexuals. This case was the first case in which an individual was hung in the United States for sodomy. The controversy behind this case came from how little evidence appeared in the trial. Cornish was hung because of unproven sodomy allegations and because of his allegeded homeosexuality. In 1779, one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jeffereson, made it so women and men could be mutilated if found guilty of sodomy charges. This meant that instead of being hung, guilty parties could be tortured before being killed. Not only was this horrifying for members of the homosexual community, but also helped contribute to the silencing of the community all together. Laws like Thomas Jefferson’s were eventually reformed; however, LGBTQ+ groups were still shut down and unjustifiable crimes and arrests were still happening to the members of the community (LGBTQ History). It wasn’t until 1925 that the thought of the LGBTQ+ community became public talk. It was from here and on that great strides and cultural change started to appear in the United States (Hudson, D. L., 2009). In 1950, the first lasting gay organization was formed in Los Angelas. Known as the Mattachine Society, they fought for gay rights and protected homosexuals (Watson, S, 2014). In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexaulity off of official list of phyciatric disorders (LGBTQ History). This resolution aided in widespread acceptance of homosexuals that we see today. More recently, we see the legality of same sex marriage enforced by the Supreme Court and we also see cites allowing gender neutral bathrooms. Even though both events happened back in 2015, one can only see how far we have come as a society. Overall, the culture surrounding LGBTQ+ acceptance in the United States has been refined in major ways from the 1600’s and up to the present day.

Concepts and Theories

Sociology allows us to explain why society has cultural changes such as the opinion towards LGBTQ+ acceptance. One explanation for this cultural change comes from a rise in internet interaction. The rise in internet usage has tremendously helped the LGBTQ efforts. Social media has allowed members of this community to express their beliefs more effectively by reaching a larger audience. In the education world, it is a popular misconception that the internet is a bad place to be different; however, I do not agree entirely. In fact, there has been a rise in support from friends and family due to the fact that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender isn’t as uncommon as previously thought. In addition, members of this community find comfort in knowing that they are not alone due to online applications that allow them to know other people’s stories (Kapp, J. (2013, May 1). A second reason why this community is more open to society is because of less shackling conformity. Conformity is the compliance with cultural values and “rules” set by society. (Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr. 2013, pg. 137). Before recently, it was a popular for older generations to believe that being any part of the LGBTQ+ community meant you were breaking the beliefs of Christianity (Gay Marriage). It was easy for these older generations to discriminate against what they were taught; however, revolutionized cultural standards now make these types of diversities a celebratable aspect of one’s personality. Conformity has a way of leaving individuals out and makes discrination easy. It wasn’t until the 21st Century that we see society’s values change and comformity with it (Homosexuality in the 21st Century). Another aspect can be applied with symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism focuses on the relationships individuals have with society (Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr. 2013, pg. 19 and 559-561). Symbolic interactionism deals with communication and symbols that help people associate their own interpretations of society. In the 1990’s, it was easy for people to associate symbols such as the pride flag and the pink triangle as something to be afraid of. People in the early eras lacked understanding and inspiration for acceptance. Therefore, symbols like those angered and drove wedges in between society and true equality. It wasn’t until recent years that society celebrated these symbols for what they were intended to be; symbols of pride and equality (Watson, S. (2014). Gay Rights Movement). A final and most recognizable aspect to acceptance came from the development of tolerance toward different sexualities in Western culture. As mentioned before, older generations demonstrated great amounts of discrimination toward memebers of the LGBTQ+ community because they thought it risked ruining the Christian beliefs. At this point in time, people had very little tolerance for individuals of this community because they believed it was not natural or not morally right. Today, you can see far this has changed because of different values and perspectives on tolerance. For tolerance to be effective, it needs to be a universal tolerance that a society follows (What You Should Know About ‘LGBTQ’). With that being said, it is almost seen as wrong to discriminate against anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. This is due to a change in society’s shared tolerance. In summary, concepts like internet interaction, changed conformity, symbolic interactionism, and revolutionized tolerance have all led to the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States.

Socialization

Socialization is the process that an individual goes through to help develop their understanding of social norms, their behavior, and their own sense of self. Socialization occurs through experience that is observed (Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr. 2013, pg. 85). I developed my understanding of social norms through how I was taught by my parents and other adults in my community. From my experience in my family, I learned that diversity is something to be celebrated. I live in a Christian household, but our family doesn’t hold the same old-fashioned Christian values that my grandparents have. As a member of this religion, we are taught to treat everyone the way we want to be treated. With that concept in mind, I find myself practicing that in everything I do: including in LGBTQ+ acceptance. From members in my community, I learned tolerance. Being tolerant is an important aspect of life that everyone needs to have skills for. You may not agree with everyone’s beliefs or lifestyles; however, people can live their life as they want to. Therefore, tolerance allows people to keep to themselves, and allows people to live their lives as they want to. Tolerance is important to me because I’m not a member of the LGBTQ+ community; however, I keep an open mind and enjoy when people can live their lives without scrutiny. In brief, I developed values such as treating others how I want to be treated and the importance of tolerance through socialization with my family and members of my community.

Conclusion

The United States of America has come a long way in the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. Historically, this community was widely mistreated by our citizens and our government. However, recent changes in the 20th and 21st century has led us to the closest we’ve been to true equality and for LGBTQ+ acceptance. In part, these changes derived from applicable concepts and theories of sociology. Concepts around internet interaction helped spread awareness and allowed members of this community to interact with one another, society’s change in conformity values allowed members to feel safe and welcome in the present day, new understandings of symbols have helped individuals understand and develop new values toward the LGBTQ+ movements, and new perspectives of tolerance have allowed members to feel less scrutiny. On a personal level, I own revolutionized values that I follow based on the concept of socialization. Through socialization, I have learned that being diverse is a great thing and is nothing to be ashamed of. In conclusion, society in the United States is far more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community because of changes in history from applicable sociological concepts and through socialization.

Bibliography

Friedman, L. S. (2010). Gay Marriage. Greenhaven Press, Incorporated. (BOOK)
Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell, Duneier, Appelbaum, and Carr. 2013. Introduction to Sociology. W W Norton & Company Incorporated. (BOOK)
Homosexuality in the 21st Century. Retrieved September 23, 2019, from Psychology Today website:
Hudson, D. L. (2009). Gay Rights. Infobase Publishing. (BOOK)
Kapp, J. (2013, May 1). Technology: The LGBT Community’s Unsung Hero. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from www.huffpost.com/entry/technology-the-lgbt-communitys-unsung-hero_b_3179844
LGBTQ History. Retrieved from www.glsen.org/lgbtq-history
Watson, S. (2014). Gay Rights Movement. ABDO (BOOK)
What You Should Know About ‘LGBTQ.’ Retrieved September 24, 2019, from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-you-should-know-about-lgbtq/

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LGBTQ+ Acceptance in the United States of America: Analytical Essay

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