Symbolic Interactionism : Homosexuality As A Society

In the essay by Judith Butler, Besides Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy, she describes the social norms of society slowly changing and designing new social norms of society by the awareness of Gays,

In modern society, the media and trending topics are widely used to determine what’s considered normal. But having only two things telling the community what to think or believe is wrong. Often the community’s social norms are manipulated by expectations and beliefs. If anyone tries to defy the norms, they will receive severe punishments. The short story Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx shows us two characters, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, who both become rejected by society. Because Ennis and Jack share an intense homosexual love affair, they are abnormal cowboys that struggle against social norms.

There are various perceptions of gay and lesbian couples that they represent a more egalitarian relationship. (Civettini 2015:1) However, when same-sex couples are observed there is still a tendency to believe that the relationship contains a masculine and feminine figure following the heterosexual model. So, it is necessary to address both how these couples deviate from society’s norms as gay individuals but might still be reproducing the same behaviors as heterosexual couples because the ideologies are so deeply rooted in social institutions. The stereotypical connotations of masculinity and femininity influence all aspects of American society and gender display relies heavily on meeting those given expectations. So, in the case of this article, the author Civettini views a connection between sex, gender, and sexual orientation when it comes to displaying

​Steven Seidman is a current American sociologist who takes a keen interest in sexual politics. His book, Difference Troubles, examines the many sexual and social issues relating to homosexuality and gender. Difference Troubles traces the failures of modern social thinking to conceive of social differences, namely sexuality and gender identity. Seidman believes that this failure is due to modern thinking imagining many social differences as inferior, thus creating rigid categories and social structures that society must adhere to or face the risk of discrimination (Seidman, 1997, p. 13). Seidman believes that society creates such social stratification because individuality threatens social solidarity (Seidman, 1997, p. 21). Other than Difference

With changing norms in response to deviance, the deviant behaviour can contribute to long-term social stability. This provides the key to understanding the disruption and recalibration of society that occurs over time. Some traits that could cause social disruption will be stigmatized. As traits become more mainstreamed, society will gradually adjust to incorporate the formerly stigmatized traits. Take, for example, homosexuality. In urban America 50 years ago, homosexual behaviour was considered deviant. On the one hand, this fractured society into those marked as homosexuals and those unmarked as normative heterosexuals. While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was nevertheless an overarching social schism.

even though sexuality can be considered universal, the sexual behaviors affiliated with it offer different attitudes in various communities. Sexuality is aligned to sexual attraction where individuals can identify themselves with a broad range of sexuality that is bisexual, gay or being lesbian. Sexuality can change over time in a person depending on the circumstances surrounding him or her. It may be affected by the social circle and emotional imbalances that may occur in an individual. Interestingly there exists sexual inequality among many societies in the world. As observed, many societies encourage men to have multiple sex partners but forbid it in women. Moreover, pre-marital sex is promoted in men, but women are flaunted if they participate in pre-marital sex. Across the globe, Western Europe has embraced certain norms in sexuality such as homosexuality whereas African society embraces a negative attitude towards the same.

This paper will continue on, researching the societal change/acceptance in the gay and lesbian community as no longer being unorthodox and with the stigma coming from the gay community itself.

For example, some people believe that lesbians are not a real sex experience because there is no phallus involved. This translates to the idea that there needs to be a man and a woman, or aka, the dominant and the submissive. Therefore, women cannot emulate masculinity- only a man can assume that role. Not even butch lesbian women could mirror that aspect, and if a woman were to claim that feature then they were pretending to be man. Therefore, a stigma gets attached to lesbian relationships, and renders the butch as a less desirable being. While in the 19th century Butch-Femme was a more prominent trend in lesbian relationships, it does not translate to today’s times (Smith and Stillman). In itself, this occurrence may be a revolt, and may be one of the main contributions to the lightening of homosexual views as ‘revolting’. On the one hand, common lesbians are stereotypically viewed as obese, short haired, and ‘ugly’ women. On the other hand, with the rise of online dating apps, especially for the homosexuals, more attractive women are gradually coming out to shed the image of the stereotypical lesbian. Consequently, lesbian women are demeaned as only something physically appealing to look at by others, as observed by the considerable porn websites like Pornhub categorizing lesbian porn under a ‘straight’ category. Likewise, while female body issues are in general more prominent in the media than men, males are experiencing increasing pressures to attain a certain

In every corner of the world, the topic of homosexuality sparks controversy from both supporters and opponents of the sexual orientation. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines a homosexual as “being sexually attracted to people of the same sex.” The underlying influence from historical, sociological, and health disciplines are just a few reasons such a large gap exists on the spectrum between supporters and opponents of homosexuality. This paper serves as an analysis of the previously mentioned disciplines with gathered data from a variety of scholarly journals. Based on the grounds of historical, sociological, and health disciplines, it would be far too ethnocentric, discriminatory, and physically unhealthy for society to reject homosexuality as an individual’s choice in a way of life.

Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.

Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, aunts, uncles, grandparents, pimps, prostitutes, straight people, gay people, lesbian people, Europeans, Asians, Indians, and Africans all have once thing in common: they are products of sexuality. Sexuality is the most common activity in the world, yet is considered taboo and “out of the norm” in modern society. Throughout history, people have been harassed, discriminated against, and shunned for their “sexuality”. One person who knows this all too well is activist and author, Angela Davis. From her experiences, Davis has analyzed the weakness of global society in order to propose intellectual theories on how to change the perspective of sexuality. This research paper will explore the discussions of

The realization of the homosexuality in the modern western world as a cultural, sexual and a social category has been a result of complex power relations that surround sexuality and gender. The acceptance of homosexuality in the society has met its fair share of resistance and skepticism. The view that homosexuality can be in the same league as heterosexual has led it to be viewed as a normal behavioral and moral standard (Gallagher & Baker, 2006). Inasmuch as the skeptics may not want to accept the existence of homosexuality studies show that the habit is rampant today with many gay people coming out in the open. Of interest is the political acceptance of homosexuality with passing gay rights so that it can be recognized by law. This move has given homosexuals the ability to engage in legal entities like marriage (Gallagher & Baker, 2006).

For many years, psychologists described homosexuality as a disorder or a treatable complex. Recently, homosexuality was removed from the DSM and is no longer considered a disorder. The gay population is no longer treated as sick but accepted as a diverse set of individuals. The many distinguishing attributes and characteristics of a gay or lesbian individual are considered to be personality attributes.

The Sociological Imagination was a term that was first coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills. It could be said that definition of The Sociological Imagination is having the ability to look beyond personal experience and realise that society is shaped by the cross over between biography and history. Mills thought that everyone in society had the capability to think sociologically and that this was essential to gain a deeper understanding of both their society, and their current circumstance. This approach contradicts a more readily adopted approach by the public that sociologists call “The common sense approach”. The common sense approach is a collection of knowledge that has been acquired through little scientific merit, such as: personal experience, gossip or anecdotal evidence. This essay will discuss and explain the difference between the Sociological Imagination and Common-Sense explanations through the use of examples to explain the topic of sexuality.

Homosexuality is genetic! How can this statement be true? It is indeed true in the precise fact that Romans 3:23 points out, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Humanity has been cursed with being genetically embedded with sin and a sinful nature. The current worldview is that homosexuality and multiple sexual orientations come from nature, and not nurture. This viewpoint is correct in that it is human nature to sin and seek out one’s own selfish desire. However, No one is prescribing a remedy for this sin. “Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34) What the world has done is celebrated this sin and deceive youth through their much-wanted desire for acceptance and identity. There is a copious amount of research out there, along with world definitions of each orientation, and a call for acceptance of others’ orientations. There is also the other side of the argument and the fundamental truths that come from the word of God. Various resources are available to help youth leaders, teachers, parents and pastors to have a higher understanding of this cultural issue and the solutions and treatments available for youth struggling in this area. Spiritual leaders in the home, church, and schools ought to be prepared to teach on these topics readily, since this world, in which many youth are daily immersed, will readily present its own point of view with utter