Discrimination Against Homosexuality

Running Head: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY

Discrimination Against Homosexuality Koraliz D. Martínez Colón Carib Christian School

Running Head: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY Discrimination is the unfair treatment of a person based on certain personal characteristics they possess. According to the Equality Act of 2010, it is strictly unlawful to judge someone because of the following 9 characteristics: age, gender, race, disability, religion, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, or marriage and civil partnership. Nevertheless, people still get hateful feedback from society based on the previously mentioned features. One of those characteristics, that still stirs controversy today, is sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is also known as sexuality, which is determined by the gender one is attracted to. Heterosexuality, which is when one is attracted to the opposite sex, is very common and expected; yet, homosexuality, which is when one is attracted to the same sex, is commonly seen, but highly controversial.

Because homosexuality was very uncommon in the 1900’s, people were closed to the idea of accepting that sort of behavior in their society. Not only that, but another factor that caused turmoil was religion. People at that time were very conservative and practiced various religions that opposed to homosexuality. Therefore, the 1900’s were times of significant discrimination against homosexuals. However, this judicious attitude taken by the vast majority of the American society would morph shortly.

Soon, in the 1920’s, the Gay Rights Movement began, through a German immigrant named Henry Gerber. Gerber founded the Society for Human Rights, a gay rights organization in Chicago that was the first ever documented in the United States. Even though the movement was mentioned substantially, it remained on low grounds and was ineffective for quite a long time.

In the 1940’s, homosexuality was considered a to be a sexual or psychological illness that could surely be cured. It was not strange to see homosexuals being sent involuntarily, by their families, to psychiatric centers where they would be tortured brutally, in hopes of curing them

Running Head: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY from their “disease”. They were often submitted to cruel punishments such as castrations, torture drugs, shock therapy, and lobotomies. Shock therapy was one of the most common methods used to cure people from homosexuality because it did not require the presence of a therapist, only for counseling sessions. Psychiatrists even came up with shocking therapy equipment that could be used by willing patients themselves. (Scot, 2017) It was in the 1960’s that the Gay Rights Movement finally began to progress. Illinois, in 1961, became the first state to ban their anti-sodomy laws, meaning that homosexuals could no longer be discriminated. Also, later on, in 1973, the APA (American Psychiatric Association) finally declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder, and the brutal tendencies used to reverse this “illness” began to die down (Scot, 2017). Nonetheless, this didn’t mean that discrimination against homosexuality was over for good.

Still, in the 21st century, homosexuality is a topic that causes disturbance amongst members of society, and still at this time, homosexuals are being thrown in into the fire. A great example of this is Sam Brinton. Sam Brinton, the head of advocacy and government affairs for the Trevor Project, was submitted to gay conversion therapy as a teen. His family, being Southern Baptist missionaries, believed that conversion therapy would cure their son’s illness and change his sexuality. Brinton would endure emotionally abusive conversations with a counselor, who told him that he was an abomination against his own faith and that he would inevitably get STD’s. Not only that, but he was submitted to physical punishments that would allegdly reverse his homosexuality. The therapist would bind Sam to a table, where he would have cold, heat and electricity applied to his body whilst he watched gay men having sex or displaying affection to one another. Through this, Brinton would assimilate the pain he was feeling to these images and would turn into a straight teen. The reason why Sam Brinton shared

Running Head: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY his story is because he does not want other young homosexuals to endure the same tortures as he did. One would think that these methods do not even exist now a days, but not only do they still exist, these measures are still legal in 41 states. (Brinton, 2018) Homosexuality is not a new trend in society, it is a preference that has risen amid society for years and years. Nevertheless, many people consider this to be unnatural or simply wrong.

Even today, in the 21st century, where people are much more liberal than in the 1900’s, and have become very open-minded, homosexuality is tremendously disputed. It is sad to see that many fail to be understanding, and decide to throw hate towards people who have different preferences.

Homosexuality will forever cause fuss among society, and homosexuals will continue to be discriminated against, but it is our job to create conscience and to raise awareness amid this generation. Nobody deserves to be judged because of their sexual preference; nobody should be considered less qualified for a job or position based on their sexuality. Therefore, this new generation must take action and begin to talk about this issue. We must help the following generation develop accepting and understanding attitudes towards those who are different.

Running Head: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY Unknown Editors. (2017, June 28). Gay Rights. Retrieved March 26, 2019, from https://www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/history-of-gay-rights

The website explains what the Gay Rights Movement is and how it began. It presents the historical events that took place prior to this movement, and how was it that they influenced the beginning of it.. I really liked this website because it gave me a greater view on the birth of the Gay Rights Movement, and also, it informed me on how events that seemed completely irrelevant to the subject, actually had a great impact on this development.

Scot, J. (2017, December 07). Shock the Gay Away: Secrets of Early Gay Aversion Therapy Revealed (PHOTOS). Retrieved March 26, 2019, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/shockthe-gay-away-secrets-of-early-gay-aversion-therapy-revealed_b_3497435

This article highlights how homosexuality, something that is very common nowadays, was considered a mental illness back in the 1940’s, and presents the methods that psychiatrists used to cure this “disease”. The reason why I was interested in this article was because it opened my eyes to the reality of homosexuals back in the day, and made me realize that it is my job to raise awareness today, so that historical events like this one do not repeat themselves.

Brinton, S. (2018, January 24). I Was Tortured in Gay Conversion Therapy. And It's Still Legal in 41 States. Retrieved March 26, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/opinion/gayconversion-therapy-torture.html

Running Head: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY This article is a testimonial of a homosexual man who suffered through gay conversion therapy.

It presents the life of Sam Brinton in all it’s complexity, from his childhood in an extremely religious and conservative family, and undergoing intense gay conversion therapies against his will, to becoming an important leader in government and in the Gay Rights Movement. Also, it presents an issue that not only concerns Brinton, but the whole American country: gay conversion therapy is still legal in 41 states of the US. I liked this article because it creates conscience on the fact that, still today, people are suffering of discrimination based on their sexuality.