Homosexuality In America

The issue of gays in the military has been controversial in the United States for many decades. Over these decades there have been many different proposals as to what approach to take in order to handle the situation of homosexuals in the military. However, in 1992 when Bill Clinton was running for President of the United States, he made a promise to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military if he was elected (Washington Post). Bill Clinton followed through with his promise, and in December 1993 he instituted “a defense directive that military applicants should not to be asked about their sexual orientation” (Washington Post). This is now known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was the result

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer community also referred to as LGBTQQ is no stranger to oppression. “In 1600-1800, colonists discovered buggery (sex between men or between women) among Native Americans. In 1869, Dr. Karoly Benkert coined the term “homosexuality” to describe same-sex acts. In 1870-1910, homosexuals

Lately, there has been an outbreak of people of the LGBT community coming out in the military. Historically the United States has had a policy of discharging gays in the military. There has been an act called the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, it is basically saying that as long as somebody does not ask about your gender preferences, you do not have to tell. Even though the ban has been lifted, many militaries still say they cannot accept anyone from the LGBT inside. They do not care about how well you can perform or your strengths and that mindset is going to come back and hit them in the long run. Militaries that are judging these kids are taking them away from somewhere they feel safe and a place where they can finally belong. Members of the LGBT community find refuge in the military. It was one of the only places where they can prove their worth, where people aren’t focusing on their sexuality. They shouldn’t be judged based on their sexual preferences. Instead, they should be judged on their personality, performance, and their ability to get the job done precisely and correctly.

The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy is a major policy of the armed forces of the United States, and allows a number of people to serve their country. This policy restricts the United States armed forces from discovering gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy has, in a way, limited homosexuals from completely fulfilling their military duties by forcing them to serve in the military silent about their personal lives. The policy is a violation of equal rights, forces homosexuals to violate the military code of honor, and causes disputes among fellow soldiers and should be repealed.

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy was one of the most influential procedures enacted by the United States Military during the 1990’s, and it continued to shape the Military until its repeal almost two decades after its passing. While allowing homosexuals to serve in the military, DADT also prevented those gay soldiers from revealing their sexuality, and forbid members of Armed Forces from inquiring about the sexuality of other soldiers. It had a massive influence on service members; by 2008, DADT had caused the discharge of over 12,000 officers who did not hide their sexual preference (“Don’t Ask, Don’t…”). After the policy had been in place for almost twenty years, Congress proposed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act in 2010. Despite

In 1993 President Bill Clinton signed a law that set the policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue, and don’t harass” when dealing with homosexuals serving in the Armed Services. The policy was a compromise to allow homosexuals to legally serve in the military as long as they did not declare their lifestyle or engage in conduct that was in violation of military good order and discipline. Supporters viewed the law as a step forward in achieving equal rights for homosexuals. Opponents remained concerned that the policy could jeopardize morale and unit effectiveness. “The Joint Chiefs, including the chairman, had all came out against the president on gays serving in the military” (Gates 440). Over time the military was able to adapt to the new policy and restore force readiness. In 2010 the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was repealed and homosexuals were given the opportunity to openly serve in the military. The Joint Chiefs once again objected and questioned the timing of the change. Many believe the repeal was politically motivated and a bad idea that would add additional disruption to an already strained fighting force.

Sexual assault in the military has been an ongoing problem for centuries. In the United States Armed Forces sexual assault is a crime that has just recently drawn a great deal of public attention and has placed pressure on the government to put a stop to the abuse. The department of defense under pressure and supervision from the government is going to great measures to address this ongoing problem. Although measures are in place to educate, protect the victims, and punish the offenders, the problem still exists and there has been little improvement to show the measures are working. It could be argued that repealing the don’t ask don’t tell policy has contributed significantly the sexual assault problem in the military.

A relationship is defined as a way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected. “Mariam Webstar 11/01/16” Webstar also states that a relationship can also be a romantic or sexual friendship between two people. In many states under public view, a relationship is supposed to between a man and a woman, however, the era of a relationship being between a man and a woman is over. Now a days, the publics eye has ben more accepting of homosexuality in America. A recent article posted on www. Gallup.com, stated “Over the last few decades, landmark legal cases, medical discoveries, and movies and TV shows have done much to increase acceptance toward homosexuality in American culture {.}”

Is the day coming when business owners in America will have the ability to refuse to serve someone with whom they disagree? Imagine seeing a sign that says “We Don’t Serve Gays” in the window of a coffee shop. Most people would voice their outrage; they would demand an explanation of the owner, wondering what could have spurred the idea for such a discriminatory sign. Should the owner keep his or her sign up only because homosexuality is against their moral beliefs?

The next topic is sexuality. Of course America will be used for my example because we are definitely making progression with almost every step we take. Homosexuality has definitely been a touchy subject when linking it to a specific religion. Many Christian followers I know believe that homosexuality is a sin and those who are homosexual will be punished in the afterlife by going to hell; some, however believe the complete opposite! On a social media site, I saw a Hindu girl from India being stoned to death. Although there are these types of extremists, America has legalized gay marriage in all 50 states, which is a huge milestone! Religion has definitely changed in “allowing” more people to be their selves and making them realize that no matter

In American society it is considered to be extremely rude to ask about one's sexual orientation. A person's sexual orientation is personal and it is not something that people openly share with strangers. At UCLA, I broke the social norm of asking students about their sexual orientation, where a male student felt antagonized and became hostile, however if I were a white male wearing a suit and tie, he would have probably reacted in a more subtle manner.

The issue of sexuality and human sexual orientation is an increasingly hot topic in the American society today. Although this topic has made an upward spiral in society today, there seems to be little talk about the history of sexuality. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer community has been oppressed throughout history, making it difficult for them to feel safe in the public sphere where heterosexuality is the norm. However, pieces by George Chauncey and Ruth Hubbard have discussed ways in which the LGBTQ world was forgotten about in early society, and how it has evolved to be where it is now.

This policy turned out to be a flop and wasn’t taken very seriously, as the higher ranked officers did not punish violators of the rule and some didn’t abide by it themselves. So later on, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was modified to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy, to try and cut down on violators of this law. This has been working to a point, but needs to be changed to teach and inform all members of the army about gays and lesbians, and to also discipline quickly and severely the members of the military that would be considered harassment, including verbal abuse, sometimes known as gay bashing.

Throughout centuries of generations, there have been many changes that have influenced sexual tolerance. Sexual tolerance is defined as “the acceptance of multiple sexual orientations and lifestyles, generally accompanied by the appropriate legal and civil rights” (Urban Dictionary, 2009). Though there have been improvements in tolerance, there are still many different views on the recent policies, laws or social trends occurring towards sexual and gender orientation. Every aspect of society, from the Department of Defense to local school departments, are beginning to adapt to this growth in gender identity and orientation. An article published by the New York Times (Rosenberg, 2016) addresses an uprising policy on the acceptance of

As a society, we feed off of each other for what a proper response to something may be. As children, we first look to see our mother’s reaction after falling down; if she is calm, I should also be. We look to each other for what a definition of things should be, as well. In the 1950’s, it was generally obscene for a woman on television to show her belly button, whereas today we will show nude breasts on primetime programming. This follows the sociological theory of symbolic interactionism, where society and individual social interaction provides a subjective meaning to deviant behavior. Many social definitions change for the better, however some change for the worse. One such example was once viewed as normal, with no second thoughts given