Homophobia Essays (Examples)

A model of marriage must be created for women that do not polarize the two genders into conventional roles, regardless of who works outside the home. Masculine and feminine ideals of power must become blended, and the very notion of what constitutes masculinity and femininity must be questioned, otherwise the idea if a 'real woman' or a 'real man' makes a better leader will forever render the debate schematic and unnecessarily polarized in American culture.

Question

What do you think are the main sources of homophobia in American culture? What is the situation today regarding homophobia, and what do you predict for the future -- and when?

Is it the idealization of the 'John Wayne' cowboy stereotype of masculinity that makes homophobic such an intransigent part of American culture? On one hand, gay people have made considerable encroachments into the American mass media and culture. Ellen hosts the Oscars; Rosie…

C.J. Pascoe. 2007. Hey Dude, You' a Fag: Masculinity Sexuality High School. Berkeley: University California Press give overview reading, demonstrate understanding main arguments, raise questions comments.

"Dude You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School" -- review and analysis

Cheri Jo Pascoe's 2007 book "Dude You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School" provides an intriguing view concerning homophobic attitudes and masculinity in high school environments. It is surely impressive to look at how two difficult terrains (high school and homophobia) are addressed in association to each-other and to how the writer concentrates on providing readers with a complex account about thinking present in most adolescent environments. The work does not only relate to generally accepted opinions about masculinity, as it provides new information and leaves readers wanting to know more by getting involved in this study themselves.

High-school students in the contemporary society are largely underestimated and…

Works cited:

Pascoe, C.J., "Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School," (University of California Press, 02.10.2011)

Collective behavior" and the tonewall Riots

The term "collective behavior" refers to behavior that militates against social norms and conventions regarding the way that individuals should behave in society and differing to the way that they normally behave when not in a crowd environment. A crowd environment causes certain spontaneity to actions and a certain animal emotion that is lacking in regular 'separate existence'. cholars have devoted considerable attention to assessing why such is the case, and have generated various theories that may explain the phenomena.

Examples of instances of collective behavior include religious revivalist meetings where individuals behave in unusual ways, oftentimes totally contradictory to their private persona; panic in a burning location; or the spectacle of Black Friday where frenzy climbs and swirls around bargain hunting. The phenomenon of collective behavior too was clearly evident in the debacle of the "The tonewall Riots" and we will, therefore, take…

Sources

Armstrong, Elizabeth A., & Crage, SM. (2006) Movements and Memory: The making of the Stonewall Myth American Sociological Review 71. 724-751. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.

Baird, Robert M. (1995. ) Homosexuality: debating the issues. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, Print. Notes on Stonewall (PGS 23-30)

Berk, Richard. (1974.). Collective Behavior W.C. Brown Co

Blumer, H. "Collective Behavior," in A.M. Lee, ed., Principles of Sociology, New York, Barnes & Noble, 1951

Homosexual Marriage and the Impacts on Parenting

Homosexual marriage refers to legal matrimony between two individuals of the same gender and it is a phenomenon which has come under a great deal of scrutiny and debate during the last few years. As of the time of this writing nine states have legalized gay marriage, and 31 states have constitutional amendments which ban gay marriage to some extent -- a fact alone which showcases this nation's level of homophobia and a reluctance to deliver fundamental rights, like the right to pursue happiness. However, the topic of this paper is to examine the impacts of gay marriage on parenting and the kids that grow up having two moms or two dads. Even the most conservative, right-winged, and religiously literal people will admit, that if there's one thing that this nation needs; for example, the following conservative remarked: "Many studies show that single…

References

Balling, R. (2012, Septemver 28). Why same-sex marriage affects my marriage. Retrieved from Star tribune:  http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/171613511.html?refer=y 

Carey, B. (2012, June 11). Debate on a Study Examining Gay Parents. Retrieved from NYTimes:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/health/study-examines-effect-of-having-a-gay-parent.html?_r=0 

Chrisler, J. (2010, June 24). Why gay parents are good parents. Retrieved from Cnn.com: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-06-24/opinion/chrisler.gay.parents_1_adoptions-by-gay-people-anti-gay-gay-pride?_s=PM:OPINION

Narth.com. (n.d.). Gay Parenting Does Affect Children Differently, Study Finds. Retrieved from Narth.com:  http://www.narth.com/docs/does.html

Safe Schools for Lesbian and Gay Students

It is important that all children feel safe in the school environment. The majority of waking hours are spent at school, so it must be ensured that students feel comfortable, safe, secure, and supported while at school. This is especially the case for lesbian and gay students, who face several challenges in regards to discrimination, self-esteem, and fitting in with other students. It is the responsibility of teachers and school administrators to address this issue and devise strategies for ensuring that lesbian and gay students are appropriately supported in the school environment.

Lesbian and gay students often feel isolated, alienated, and left out at school (Youth Pride, 1997). These feelings of isolation result in several troubling outcomes. Suicide rates among lesbian and gay students are high, with studies indicating that gay and lesbian students are up to three times more likely to attempt…

References

Bullying.org (2011). Retrieved 22 October, 2011 from  http://www.bullying.org .

Lambda Legal (2010). Getting down to basics: tools to support LGBTQ youth in care. Retrieved 22 October, 2011 from  http://lambdalegal.org/take-action/tool-kits/getting-down-to-basics .

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (2011). Public policy and government affairs. Retrieved 22 October, 2011 from  http://www.ngltf.org/our_work/public_policy .

Schwartz, R. (2011). GLSEN lauds bipartisan introduction of safe schools improvement act (S.506) in senate. Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Retrieved 22 October, 2011 from  http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/2702.html?state=policy&type=policy .

Drugs at a Friend's House

The ethical dilemma of this scenario revolves around the question of what an officer's duties are when he or she is technically 'off-duty.' There is little question that when someone's life is at stake, such as during an armed robbery, that an officer has a moral obligation to intervene. However, the terms of this scenario are far more ambiguous. There is no immediate, obvious risk to life but persons are engaged in illegal drug use.

In this situation, it is unlikely that the officer's friend knows there is drug use going on at his house -- he would probably not invite a police officer into his house and allow his friends to use drugs. However, making an arrest would be profoundly disruptive and embarrassing to the friend's party. According to police protocol, "remember, you have NO LEGAL O DEPATMENTAL obligation to get involved, especially if…

References

Berry, Steve. (1991). Most departments prohibit accepting gifts. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved:

 http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1991-08-28/news/9108280520_1_police-department-gratuities-accepting-gifts 

Ryan, Jack. (2007). Model policy: Off-duty action. Legal and Liability Policy Institute.

Retrieved:  http://www.llrmi.com/articles/legal_update/off-duty.shtml

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a documentary by Byron Hurt aims to investigate the underlying social issues that have permeated hip-hop and been propagated through the music and culture. The documentary offers multiple perspectives from industry professionals and artists that aim to dissect prominent social issues such as violence and hypermasculinity, stereotypes, homophobia, and the misogyny that pervades hip hop music and culture. Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes provides insight into these issues and raises awareness about these issues impact hip-hop yet the insight appears to be slightly skewed and only focuses on men and hip-hop.

The documentary begins by focusing on issues of violence and hypermasculinity and why these issues are so prevalent in hip hop music. While the documentary points to how these issues are not only a major concern in hip hop, but rather an overarching social issue that has been propagated through the media as far…

Sports and Sexual Stereotypes

L. Jones

Anger and the WNA

Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily this is not difficult.

Charlotte Whitton

P.E. -- to me there was nothing closer to my seventh-grade conception of hell than that infernal class. There, wearing the requisite blue short-shorts and pulled up tube socks, facing forty-five long minutes of humiliating (to my adolescent sensibilities) sweat-inducing activities, I learned it would be better to be a lousy jump-roper, dodge-ball player, or atrocious relay racer, than to actually attempt excellence at these endeavors.

Even at such a young age, I already knew that it simply "isn't attractive," to exert oneself physically in front of the opposite sex, unless, that is, the exertion does not detract from culturally-accepted ideals of beauty -- after all, cheerleaders, gymnasts, and figure skaters could be pretty (perhaps because…

Bibliography

Cahn, S.K. (1993). From the 'Muscle Moll' to the 'Butch' Ballplayer: Mannishness, and homophobia in U.S. Women's Sports. Feminist Studies. 19, (343-368).

Martin, Chris. (2000). Arizona Daily Wildcat. "WNBA, what a joke!" Web site:  http://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/94/6/02_7_m.html .

Schlussel, Debbie. The Jewish World Reviewjewishworldreview.com taken at  http://www.dadi.org/ds_wnba.htm .

Steinem, Gloria. The Revolution Within. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, (1992)

Black Colleges Homosexuality

In order to create more egalitarian, prosocial, and productive campus environments, it is necessary to understand attitudes toward homosexuality and homosexual students. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students experienced relatively high rates of substance abuse, depression, and stress related to discrimination, difficulties forming social relationships, and low self-esteem (Heck, Flentje & Cochran, 2011). As Kirby (2011) points out, "Having a negative self-concept plays a major role in youth suicides, in how well one does in school, and in how one interacts with society at large." Therefore, the need for a more supportive social environment on college campuses is a pressing one.

Unfortunately, traditionally white universities and historically black universities in the United States have addressed the needs of the LGBT student community differently. Historically black colleges and institutions are defined as "institutions classified as higher education that were chartered prior to 1964 and created with the…

References

Burleson, Douglas A. "Sexual orientation and college choice: Considering campus climate." About Campus 14, no. 6 (January 2010): 9-14. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 14, 2013).

Eisen, V., & Hall, L. (Eds.). (1996). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and education [Special issue]. Harvard Educational Review, 66(2).

Griffin, H. (2000). Their Own Received Them Not: African-American Lesbians and Gays in Black Churches. Theology & Sexuality: The Journal Of The Institute For The Study Of Christianity & Sexuality, 6(12), 1.

Heck, N.C., Flentje, A., & Cochran, B.N. (2011). Offsetting risks: High school gay-straight alliances and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. School Psychology Quarterly, 26(2), 161-174. doi:10.1037/a0023226

epidemiological data, and then exploring possibility of a causal connection between lack of government funding for community-based treatments and increase in HIV incidence in queer male communities.

Both statistical descriptive and inferential tests will be employed.

The descriptive tests summarize and describe the data. These would include frequency analysis e.g. Of the amount of men diagnosed as queer, and frequency that the participants experienced homophobia. Univariate analysis would focus on one variable, e.g. frequency of homophobia, by analyzing the mean, the distribution, the central tendency, and the dispersion of the occurrence.

The distribution would provide some assumption of the pattern of the range: whether normal or skewed.

The central tendency would, in this case, measure the mean of the data, i.e. average number of males that experienced discriminatory treatment. Dispersion would be another descriptive tool that measures the spread of values around the central tendency, i.e. range and standard deviation.…

Reference

AllPsych Online:  http://allpsych.com/onlinetexts.html

Cross Dressing

Upon meeting an individual, the first distinction observed is whether the person is male or female. More often than not, this first impression is made from what the individual is wearing, such as a man's suit or a woman's dress. However, sexual gender cannot always be assumed by what one is wearing.

Based on history and culture, people have been conditioned to visually assess whether an individual appears as they are expected, meaning, a woman looks like a woman and a man looks like a man based on how he or she is dressed (Lyons pp). "Dress is the most visible manifestation of gender and status because it provides information about an individual's characteristics and expected role behaviors," thus, establishing an social path for communication (Lyons pp). This process of gender appropriate dress begins at birth, as parents dress their children in "gender-symbolic dress that encourages other to…

Work Cited

Moulton, John L. III; Adams-Price, Carolyn E. "Homosexuality heterosexuality and cross-dressing: perceptions of gender discordant behavior."

Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, Sept, 1997; pp.

 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2294/is_n5-6_v37/ai_20247084/pg_3 

Dugaw, Dianne. "Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to RuPaul." The Women's Review of Books; 4/1/1997; pp.

It is considered to be a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and has, since 1981, killed more than 25 million people worldwide (United Nations).

In most of the world, HIV infection is more prevelant in the heterosexual population, especially Sub-Saharan Africa. In the United States, however, it became known as the "Gay Plague" due to its initial discovery in the homosexual population, the lack of condom use at the time, and the predominance of anal sexual activity. Unforrtunatly, HIV / AIDS also carries with it ostracism, rejection, and discriminiation. This stigma-related violence or the fear of violence prevents a number of individuals from seeking HIV testing, receiving their results, securing treatment, or even turning what would normally be a managable chronic illness into something that is dire and a death sentence -- as well as perpetuating the disease -- all because of misguided bias (Ogden and Nyblade)

Cultural Issues…

REFERENCES

(NORC), National Health and Social Life. Summary - the Sex Survey. June 1993. March 2011 .

Bidstrup, S. Gay Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives. June 2000. March 2011 .

Blumenfeld, W. Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price. New York: Beacon Press, 1992.

Busko, a. "Civil Rights in the 21st Century." July 2006. The Writer's Voice. March 2011 .

Right to Privacy and Consenting Adults: Examining the Sodomy Cases
The 1986 case of Bowers v. Hardwick represents the continued legacy of homophobia of the era. This case demonstrates how homophobia has amounted to longstanding oppression for gay people, and has continually thwarted justice from protecting them or ever serving them. Michael Hardwick was in his late 20s when he was bartending at a gay bar in Georgia. He threw a beer bottle into an outdoor trash can and was written up by the police for public drinking (Bazelon, 2012). The terms of this citation come under suspicion as its possible that the police officer who wrote the ticket was just targeting him because he knew he was gay and worked at a local gay bar. The details of this citation of extremely dubious. The police officer that wrote the wrong day on the citation, ensuring that Hardwick would not…

This can lead to social isolation, disapproval and prejudice, and shame and feelings of immorality (2008).

Arreola et al. (2009) state that LGBM are one of the groups that participate in some of the riskiest sexual behaviors among gay and bisexual men. This prevalence of risky behavior among gay and bisexual men is higher in instances where the men have been sexually abused as a child; it is even higher among LGBM (2009). Unprotected anal intercourse was significantly related to a history of childhood sexual abuse in a study conducted by Carballo-Dieguez and Dolezal (2005) (Morales 2009). In another study of adult men who sleep with men, there was a significantly higher portion of LGBM who reported sexual abuse before age 13 years (22%) than did non-Latino men who sleep with men (11%). Furthermore, studies have shown that childhood sexual abuse can significantly predict negative health outcomes including HIV /…

References

Arreola, S.G., Neilands, T.B., & Diaz, R. (2009). "Childhood sexual abuse and the sociocultural context of sexual risk among adult Latino gay and bisexual men." American journal of public health,2(99).

Brooks, R.A., Etzel, M.A., Hinojos, E., Henry, C.L., & Perez, M. (2005). "Preventing HIV

among Latino and African-American gay and bisexual men in a context of HIV-related stigma, discrimination, and homophobia: perspectives of providers. AIDS patient care

STDs,19(11), 737-44.

But in instances where the TV does not provide good moral and role models for the teenagers then it is just to say that the TV programs are the major contributing factor towards homophobic tendencies among the society members. The lack of positive role modeling is also being viewed on the side of lesbians, gays and bisexual youth Kielwasser AP and olf MA ( 378)

. Most gays and lesbians in the society are brought up in a straight community with few gays and lesbians role models; thus they are specifically vulnerable to the portrayals of gay people in the mass media (Ryan & Futterman, 124).

The mainstream media has treated the sexual minorities as if they are not part of the human race, as if they do not exist. In addition, it was observed that the gay people of whichever age are rarely portrayed, and mostly the little portrayal…

Works cited

Bandura a. "Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication." Media Psychology 3 (2001): 265 -- 99. Print.

Battles K, and Morrow-Hilton W. "Gay Characters in Conventional Spaces: Will and Grace and the Situation Comedy Genre." Critical Studies in Mass Communication 19.1 (2002): 87 -- 105. Print.

D'Augelli, a.R. "Lesbian and Gay Male Undergraduates' Experiences of Harassment and Fear on Campus." Journal of International Violence 7.383-395 (1992). Print.

David P. Pierson. "Hey, They're Just Like Us!" Representations of the Animal World in the Discovery Channel's Nature Programming." J. Pop Cult (2005): 698-712. Print.

Transformative Art

The artists that I have chosen to spotlight come from three continents and different ethnicities. They are actors, musicians, lyricists, rappers, poets, and comedians. They are also revolutionaries who are using art to transform the world that they live within into a better place.

Saul illiams

Saul illiams is an artist with many interests and abilities; he is hard to place in a single category. Saul illiams is a poet-both written and spoken; an actor; a philosopher; a rapper; a rock-star; a productive musician; a producer…and the list continues (illiams, Bio). No matter what genre illiams is creating within, one thing remains the same- namely, the theme underlying his work. In all of illiams's work, whether one looks in the albums, the movies, the song tracks, or the books, one can find illiams' commitment to transforming individuals by challenging and transforming how they think, what they believe, what…

Work Cited

Gilmartin, T.A. "Margaret Cho Takes Aim at Homophobia and Hatred on Her New 'Assassin'

Tour." Lesbian News 01 Mar. 2005: 26-27. <  http://www.lesbiannews.com .>

K'Naan. "A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia." New York Times. 09-24-2011: SR5 Web. 11

Dec. 2011.<  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/returning-to-somalia-after-20-years.html .>

Fruit of the Spirit by Trask and Goodall

This book examines how one can foster elements like true fulfillment in one's life, health in one's relationships and triumph over things like anxiety and conflict by simply allowing God's spirit to develop in one's heart by growing his fruit. The fruit described is of course just a metaphor and is one which invited an examination of the joy, peace, patience, kindness and other elements of the spirit which can help one examine what happens when one lives each day intimately connected with God. The writers of this book push one to foster an intimate relationship with Jesus so that loftier qualities like joy, peace, patience, kindness and other elements will be able to flourish and thrive within one. There needs to be a more passionate and revelatory examination at what happens to one's mental and emotional health when such a change…

Works Cited

Createdgay.com. Christianity and Homophobia. 2013. web. 2014.

Culp-Ressler, T. Denying Women Abortion Access Increases Their Risk Of Falling Into Poverty. 13 November 2012. website. 2014.

Finer, L.B. Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives. 3 September 2005.

T.E., Trask. And W.I. Goodall. Fruit of the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000. book.

This institution has not been anti-gays traditionally. The country has been trying to frame LGBT laws in the context of human rights as presented in the constitution. The leaders and politicians are also aware of the homophobia persisting in the country and understand that they are not as much because of the laws as they are due to macho mentality of the society. Gays and lesbians are allowed to speak at gatherings and participate in gay march and rallies but they are expected to keep everything low-key. (Stewart, p.16)

US on the other hand is more tolerant even if the state doesn't recognize allow marital status to gay couples on federal level. However some states do offer marriage licenses to gay couples however these are not recognized on national basis and can easily be rejected by other states thus denying a couple benefits that come with being legally married in…

References

"Belize Human Trafficking" Retrieved online 6th April 2011 <  http://huntinghumantraffickers.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/belize-human-trafficking-hiv-capital-tourism-in-danger/ >

Stewart, Chuck. (2010) the Greenwood encyclopedia of LGBT issues worldwide, Volume 1 ABC-CLIO.

"CIVIL UNIONS." HRC campaign.  http://www.hrc.org/issues/ marriage/civil_unions.asp' target='_blank' REL='NOFOLLOW'>

La Mission act together as a historical document of interracial and other lifestyle issues in today's urban environment. Although the film takes place within San Francisco and the documentary evidence cannot necessarily be applied to any other city or geographic region, La Mission does tell a story that is familiar to many Americans. Homophobia is one of the central themes of La Mission. Americans throughout the nation are challenging homophobia, which is part of what the filmmakers are trying to say. Moreover, San Francisco is a highly heterogeneous city. Yet issues related to interracial relationships are raised. These same issues play themselves out in the lives of millions of Americans who feel the residual effects of prejudice in their lives.

Che, the protagonist, embodies the complexities of life in a modern and progressive city like San Francisco. He is Latino, and therefore identifies as being a minority. This is an…

Works Cited

Bratt, B & Bratt, P. La Mission. Feature film.

"La Mission Lecture."

Wilson, Emily. "Benjamin Bratt & Peter Bratt Discuss Their Latino Gay Film 'La Mission.'" April 16, 2010.

Bisexuality and Marriage Prejudice

According to national studies, approximately 4.1% of women report some degree of sexual attraction to members of both sexes, with only 0.3% reporting only attraction to other women. (he other 95.6% assumably were attracted only to men) he same survey showed that 3.9% of men self-reported some attraction to both sexes, and 2.4% reported that they were only attracted to other men. (With 93.7% assumably being strictly heterosexual) At the same time, only 0.5% of women identified as bisexual, and only 0.8% of men. (Rust, 2000) hese dry statistics point to a very strange conclusion, which is that bisexuality is in reality far more prevalent than homosexuality among both men and women, and yet bisexuals are being "mainstreamed" as it were into either heterosexual or homosexual identities. his gap between actual sexual attraction and sexual identity must result from some sort of social pressure to normalize…

Theme

Both through personal experience and academic research, it becomes evident that there are extensive prejudices against the development and existence of a bisexual identity. According to Rust (2000), "One of the greatest challenges facing bisexual women in contemporary Western culture is the belief that bisexuality does not exist. Women who claim to be bisexual are often told that they are 'denying' their true sexuality, which must be either lesbian or heterosexual." (Rust, 2000) Many straights and gays alike do not understand bisexuality, because they have not experienced it. Because gender is the primary qualifier for sexual attraction with them, they cannot imagine being attracted to either gender dependent primarily on other characteristics. Homosexuality itself may be easy to understand, because it is like heterosexuality in that it is sexual selection based on gender. Homosexuals may be envisioned as by hets as similar to heterosexuals of the other sex. Likewise, homosexuals can understand heterosexuality by empathizing with the opposite gender's feelings. But understanding a mindset where gender is not a major deciding factor may be incomprehensible. Thus bisexuals are seen as confused or in denial, merely because the observers themselves are confused by the bisexual state of mind. Moreover, this confusion leads to very negative stereotypes: "Images of the bisexual as promiscuous, needing multiple relationships in order to feel satisfied, untrustworthy in relationships, or as 'fence-sitters, traitors, cop-outs, closet cases,' reinforce the legitimacy of the heterosexual/homosexual binary and ensure the difficulty of publicly identifying as bisexual." (Mclean, 2001) It is a common misconception that just as monosexuals need at least one person of the desired gender to feel sexually complete, so bisexuals must need one person from each of the two desired genders to feel complete. This is an understandable confusion, but misleading in its implications. Because bisexuals are seen as especially promiscuous, they may be considered to be unfaithful and also more likely to spread diseases or immorality. Where many people of both binary orientations sometimes like to pretend that that homosexuals are "just the same" as heterosexuals accept with a different preferred gender, the idea of bisexuality conjures up visions of wild promiscuity which may not be justified.

Many authors blame this misunderstanding on history. For example, Kirsten McLean (2001) writes "Traditionally, Western society has divided sexuality into two categories -- homosexual and heterosexual." Such authors suggest that such a binary understanding of human sexuality was the norm until recently. Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. Until very recently with the introduction of the idea of homosexuality, the norm for sexual deviancy was bisexuality. That is to say that people engaging in homosexuality were assumed to go both ways unless they were particularly unusual. For example, it is common knowledge that in the old Greco-Roman world "homosexuality" was the norm.

Gay Men Transmitting HIV

When HIV and AIDS first came to prominence in the 1980's, it was commonly assumed and projected that HIV / AIDS was an issue mostly with gay men. Of course, this has turned out not to be the case as people of all genders, sexualities and so forth are catching and spreading HIV and/or AIDS every day. However, it is most definitely a problem with gay men and that issues persists to this very day. Indeed, that will be focus of this report. Topics that will be discussed will be current statistics, current studies and evidence, current social determinants, the challenges of healthcare delivery as it relates to this issue and the construct diagnoses that will need to be looped into this issue. While the aggregate level of knowledge and education is spreading through all demographics, there are still some lagging indicators and behaviors that are…

References

CDC,. (2015). CDC - Stigma and Discrimination - Gay and Bisexual Men's Health.

CDC.gov. Retrieved 11 March 2015, from  http://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/stigma-and-discrimination.htm 

Halkitis, P. (2015). Discrimination and homophobia fuel the HIV epidemic in gay and bisexual men. http://www.apa.org. Retrieved 11 March 2015, from http://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/exchange/2012/04/discrimination-homophobia.aspx

HealthyPeople,. (2015). Social Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020.

"

The author further explains that even though there are similarities between heterosexual and homosexual relationships as it pertains to reaction and the victim remaining in the relationship. Again the author explains "homophobia does not allow mainstream service providers to have an adequate conceptualization nor the development of preventive and remedial strategies for the people involved (Toro-Alfonso and Rodriguez-Madera, 2004)."

Therapy for those effected by domestic violence

Both perpetrators, victims and children exposed to domestic violence may require some type of therapy. In many cases anger management is often required and used to assist perpetrators in dealing with anger issues. In addition to anger management some professionals also utilize Art therapy to assist hose effected by domestic violence. Art therapy involves the use of the arts (music, panting writing) to assist people in eliminating violence from the household. According to Panzer et al. (2000) places such as shelters for battered…

Works Cited

"About Art Therapy." American Art Therapy Associationhttp://www.arttherapy.org/aboutart.htm

"Domestic Violence." National Institutes of Health.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/domesticviolence.html 

McClennen, J.C.. (2005) Domestic Violence Between

Same-Gender Partners. Journal of Interpersonal violence. 20 (2), 149-154.

The problems faced by gays and lesbians are multiplied or intensified because stress cannot be reduced in the way it can be by other minority groups. In other words, while other minority groups would find support from families, the same is not true for gays or lesbians who fail to find any support especially if they have been in the "closet."

Harper et al. 2003 writes: "Minority stress has particular manifestations for LGBT people who cope with pervasive oppression, discrimination, and marginalization by remaining closeted. But unlike other marginalized groups, LGBT people often cannot find support in their family and community of origin. While the "closet" is safe it has its own problems -- the increased stress of hiding. Hiding means that ordinary daily interactions become minefields; it requires constant vigilance to avoid mentioning partners, same-gender attractions or dating experiences, as well as other activities that involve a LGBT community."…

References

Brooks, V.R. (1981). Minority stress and lesbian women. Lexington, MA D.C. Heath.

Donna Chrobot-Mason, Scott B. Button, and Jeannie D. Diclementi, (2001) "Sexual Identity Management Strategies: An Exploration of Antecedents and Consequences," Sex Roles: A Journal of Research

Gary W. Harper, Margaret Schneider; Oppression and Discrimination among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered People and Communities: A Challenge for Community Psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 31, 2003

Gonsiorek, J.C. (1991). The empirical basis for the demise of the illness model of homosexuality. In J.C. Gonsiorek & J.D. Weinrich (Eds.), Homosexuality: Research implications for public policy (pp. 115-136). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Mass Media

A Deconstruct of the movie "Paris is Burning" as it relates to 6 Chapters in our textbook

Paris Is Burning is a provocative and controversial documentary film released in the year 1990. The direction was done by Jennie Livingston who focused on filming the drag ball culture and society that existed in the city of New York during the 1980s. The film focuses on three primary topics: race, homosexuality and prejudice towards a social stereotype. Hence the movie focuses on not just the culture of the whites in the American urban society but also the lifestyles of the African-Americans, Latinos and gays within the communities while also shedding light on the lives of the transsexual and sex workers in the city.

The significance of the movie is not only on the thought-provoking topics it covers, but also in its style of filming and the fact that it perhaps…

References

Clarkson, J. (2008). The limitations of the discourse of norms: Gay visibility and degrees of transgression. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 32(4), 368-382. Published by Sage Publications, Inc.

Green, J. (1993). "Paris Has Burned." The New York Times.  http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE0DF143DF93BA25757C0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all . Retrieved August 9th, 2011

Merskin, D. (2007). Three faces of Eva: Perpetuation of the hot-Latina stereotype in Desperate Housewives. Howard Journal of Communications, 18, 133-151. Reprinted by permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Moore, C. (2008). Resisting, reiterating and dancing through: the swinging closet doors of Ellen DeGeneres's televised personalities. In R. Beirne (Ed.), Televising queer women: A reader (pp. 17-31). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Gender

When Unraveling Is the Best Approach

Everything is connected. Pull one thread as gently as possible in any attempt to explain the fundamentals of any society and this is abundantly clear, for in trying to unravel any of the important concepts or practices upon which society and culture are built and one finds that everything else begins to unravel as well. While "unraveling" might initially seem to be something that one would not want to do, in fact in terms of sociological analysis it is highly advisable. Especially when one is attempting to understand one's own culture, where familiarity with structures and norms can sometimes make it difficult to see clearly, one has often to take things apart in order to understand the dynamics of how the social world works.

Not only is everything connected to everything else, but analyzing one part of a system tends to cause changes…

References

Consalvo, M. (2003). "The monsters next door: Media constructions of boys and masculinity." Feminist media studies 3(1): 153-168.

Connell, R.W. & Messerschmidt, J.W. (2005, December). "Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept." Gender and society 19(6): 829-859.

Dyer, R. (1992) Only entertainment. London: Routledge.

Easthope, A. (1990) What a man's gotta do: The masculine myth in popular culture. Boston: Unwin Hyman.

prevent AIDS in the Gay community

In all culture sex among men is present. The receptive companion is at the risk of carrying a HIV transmission if involved in anal sex and when unshielded. In some parts of the world the HIV transmission is mainly because of the sex among men, while in some other areas other ways of transmission is also possible. But almost everywhere sex amongst men is the major and regular cause for this spate. It should not be overlooked. These sex-actions are done only by option. The occurrence of sex between male-to-male is frequent in the establishments in which male are forced to spend longer periods in full male company like the military, prisons and men-only educational organizations. Antagonism and misunderstandings about sex among men have lead to insufficient protection procedures in many countries.

Defective and lack of epidemiological facts is the barrier for HIV deterrence…

Works Cited

Altman, Lawrence K. "Many Gay Men in U.S. Unaware They Have H.I.V., Study Finds" The New York Times, July 7, 2002, A7

Carrns, Ann "HIV Study Shows 44% Infection Rate for Young Gay Men." Wall Street journal 1January2001:B2.

Coyle, Adrian. "Lesbian and Gay Psychology; New Perspectives." Oxford, UK. Maiden, MA, Bps Blackwell, 2002, p.23

Diaz, Johnny. Study: "Young gays lax about safe sex" Miami Herald - Sunday, June 10, 2001,p6

Public AIDS Policy -- And the Band Played on, for Republicans and Democrats alike, during this public health crisis of the 1980's

Today, it hard to remember a day before 'AIDS alks' through Central Park, before television advertisements in the voice of hoopi Goldberg proclaimed that "AIDS affects everyone," before AIDS became a public health enemy 'Number One.' But one must look back to the days when AIDS was a disease of secrecy and shame to truly learn from the illness, as it exists today. Most of us of Generation Y mercifully cannot even remember a time when AIDS was not even a name, but something called 'the gay cancer.' During America of the 1980's the disease of Acquired Immune Deficiency Disorder, it was thought only to affect those marginalized by society because of their sexuality.

Randy Shilt's book And the Band Played On acts as an important journalistic and…

Works Cited

Shilts, Randy. And the Band Played On.

Siplan, P. Aids & The Policy Struggle In the U.S. Georgetown Press, 2000.

Postcolonial) Man:

Postcolonial Masculinities in the 20th and 21st Centuries

"Can't understand/what makes a man." hile feminists have noted how masculinity is often considered a problem or as inherently fragile, the construction of masculinity has often proved to be particularly vexing in postcolonial nations. Both male and female colonial subjects have frequently been rendered as 'feminine' to justify their subjugation. The response in some regions, particularly Africa, has been the hyper- masculinization of resistance and the association of traditional gender binaries with traditional African culture. One of the central challenges of post-colonialism in an African context is to allow for feminine and masculine voices which resist such gender stereotyping.

As observed by Morrell (1998), masculinity is not a self-evident, cross-cultural construct any more so than femininity. "Masculinity is a collective gender identity and not a natural attribute. It is socially constructed and fluid. There is not one universal masculinity, but…

Works Cited

Epprecht, Marc. "Black Skin, 'Cowboy' Masculinity: A Genealogy of Homophobia in the African Nationalist Movement in Zimbabwe to 1983." Culture, Health & Sexuality. 7. 3 (May, 2005): 253-266.

Lee, Doreen. "Styling the Revolution: Masculinities, Youth, and Street Politics in Jakarta,

Indonesia." Journal of Urban History, 37 (2011): 933.

Morrell, Robert. "Of Boys and Men: Masculinity and Gender in Southern African Studies."

Trigger and How to Change It

Something that triggers my emotions in the book is when I read about microaggressions (Sue, Sue, 2013, p. 161) and in particular the way that progressive society wants me to react to issues that it supports but that I do not. For example, the idea that LGBTs should be able to adopt is one that is supported by progressive society, but every time I read about (in this book the rights of LGBTs are identified) or see a story about it in the media, I have an emotional reaction to it. LGBTs and adoption are definitely a trigger for me.

This may be the result of a number of things: first, I have a very traditional conception of family. I view a family as having a father and a mother (who are married) and children (who come after marriage). I know this conception of…

References

Sue, D., Sue, D. (2013). Counseling the Culturally Diverse. NY: John Wiley and Sons.

Tshuldin, V. (1989). Beyond empathy. UK: Chapman, Hall.

Wiseman, T. (1996). A concept of analysis of empathy. Journal of Advanced Nursing,

44). On a final note, Decamps' reporting of the NLHCS indicates that "more than half" of the 1,925 lesbians in the survey reported having been victim of a "hate crime" and roughly one in twenty of the 1,925 lesbians had been "physically assaulted" due to her sexual orientation (Decamps, p. 49).

Consequences of child sexual abuse for adult lesbians. Batya Hyman is a professor of social science at Salisbury University in Maryland; she also has published an article that investigates the ramifications of childhood sexual abuse on lesbians as they get up in years. Hyman goes somewhat deeper into the issue than Decamps had gone, noting that there are several health concerns in adult lesbian women who had experienced abuse as children. Among health concerns: pelvic pain; gynecological problems; migraine headaches; asthma; epileptic seizures; digestive system problems; and an "increased lifetime risk of surgery" (Hyman, 2000, p. 200).

The author…

Works Cited (Annotated)

Decamps, Monica J., Rothblum, Ester, Bradford, Judith, and Ryan, Caitlin. (2000). Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 11(1), 27-55.

This article presents a great volume of information regarding the mental health impacts of lesbians who had been abused as children, or raped or otherwise assaulted as adults.

Decamps uses precise breakdowns of data that reflect on these issues. It is an informative and helpful research work.

Hall, Kelley J. (1998). Lesbian Lifestyles: Women's Work and the Politics of Sexuality; and Sex and Sensibility: Stories of a Lesbian Generation. Gender and Society, 12(3), 359-360.

171). On the other hand, men are sometimes depicted in the opposite stance: as overtly dominant. The difference between the "willing subordination" and the cocky gaze is that the former is a pose formally reserved for females whereas the latter epitomizes male social roles of dominance and political control. The individual who gazes directly at the viewer is confident and in control, whereas the individual who bears his or her behind and looks away from the viewer is saying "take me, do what you want with me." Interestingly, Bardo discovers a racial and age disparity among the images. African-American males are more likely to be shown in a dominant role, whereas young males are more likely to be represented as submissive (p. 192).

Thus, Bardo explores the language of visual imagery through a direct discussion of the male body. hereas the female body has been the de facto tableau on…

Work Cited

Bardo, Susan. "Beauty (Re)Discovers the Male Body." In the Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and in Private. Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (July 15, 2000)

If they repent and mend their ways, then let them be, and there is no mention of the punishment and the negativity is not so strong and in other cases of deviant behavior from the religion which result in death."

To understand the propensities of the people therefore it is also necessary to observe the orientation of the population and it is claimed that generally Turkish men, as observed by Lynn a. Levine (2010) express more public affection with men rather than with women and today gayness is becoming open. There are local resources in Turkey today for same sex couples. There is also a magazine run exclusively for gays called the Kaos GL.

This shows that the community has finally accepted the gay culture though not on equal terms. Tolerance seems to have crept in for the larger part of Turkey which is now modernized with European contact. There…

References

Ayliffe, Rosie. The rough guide to Turkey.

Rough Guides, 2003.

Birch, Nicholas. Was Ahmet Yildiz the victim of Turkey's first gay honor killing? the

Independent, July 19, 2008.

ut help is on the way. A elgian theologian is cited as saying: 'It is important and healthy for women, for families, for societies, that we are dealing with the return of the human male, almost from the dead'." (2007) It is interesting to note that there appears to be great fear among the Polish majority mindset that the strong role of men in their society will somehow be diminished by women also entering into a role that is modified from the present role attributed to Polish womanhood and strengthened. The media in Poland has actively and imaginatively played with the Polish nationalist party and served to drive the country back into pre-E.U. accession mindset.

The cover of Wprost in May 2004 is stated to feature a man "placed well above the woman" who is looking "proudly and sternly ahead, into the future; the woman teeth bared in a submissive…

Bibliography

Abizadeh, Arash (2004) Liberal nationalist vs. postnational social integration: on the nation's ethno-cultural particularity and 'concreteness. Nations and Nationalism 10 (3), 2004, 231 -- 250. r ASEN 2004

Agnieszka Graff (2005) The Return of the Real Man: Gender and E.U. Accession in Three Polish Weeklies. Online available at:  http://www.iub.edu/~reeiweb/events/2005/graffpaper.pdf 

Alsop, Rachel and Hockey, Jenny (2004) in: In Women in society: achievements, risk, and challenges. Nova Publishers, 2004

Dizard, R., Korte, H. And Zamejc, A (2007) Right-Wing Nationalism in Poland: A threat to human rights? 2007 by Rachael Dizard, Henrike Korte and Anna "amej." Online available at:  http://humanityinaction.org/docs/Reports/2007_Reports_P  oland/Dizard_Korte_Z

Each outside label has an affect on that individuals own conception of them, effectively rising or lowering self-image. These categories allow individuals of the same label to sometimes band together in order to further develop their own unique identities away from the labeling and discrimination from the larger group who may view them as abnormal, (Oxoby & McLeish, 2007: 13). Once inside a more specific group, these individuals have the capacity to flourish, and gain more and more self-esteem, (Handler, 1991: 223). However, when placed outside of these smaller groups into the larger population, this identity is once again viewed in a discriminatory manner, (Taylor & Moghaddam, 1994: 134). This occurs mainly due to the xenophobia each group portrays towards other groups, which then creates a hostile environment for the establishment of strong individual identities.

One way to examine the formations of deaf and queer identities using the Social Identity…

References

Adam, B. 2000. "Love and Sex in Constructing Identity Among Men Who Have Sex

With Men." International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies 5(4).

Barry, P. (2002). Lesbian and gay criticism. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Bourdieu, P. & Passeron, J.-C. (1977) Reproduction in Education, Culture and Society,

Just like they deny the existence of the gay scene near the small town, the idea that their attitudes could have played any contributing role in fostering the circumstances that gave rise to Matthew's murder is inconceivable. The character of Laramie as a community is conveyed by the evocative language used by the characters. Their words simultaneously paint a collective physical and emotional picture of the landscape and reveal the attitudes of the individual speaker.

The town of Laramie was almost two towns, a conventional Western ranching town filled with open spaces and conservative Western morality and faith on one hand, and on the other hand, a town that boasted a university with gay professors, gay students, and harbored the diversity that is characteristic of many college campuses all over the world.

In every college town to some extent there are town and gown tensions, as the culture of the…

Many overweight people refrain from normal daily activities. Thousands are afraid to eat and wear what they want in public, "(Coleman 203). Many people find it near impossible to loose significant weight. Heredity is a major cause of obesity, which makes loosing weight extremely hard. Another deterrent for physical exercise is the ridicule many overweight people receive when they are out in public exercising.

Many who suffer from weight issues play off their pain like the ridicule does not bother them, "Fat people aren't really jolly. Sometimes we act that way so that you will leave us alone," (Coleman 203). eight discrimination is a learned process like all other forms of discrimination, showing that there is some hope if society realizes what it is doing to its own.

orks Cited

Coleman, Jennifer. "Discrimination at Large." Between Perception. You need to include your textbook's publication info and…

Works Cited

Coleman, Jennifer. "Discrimination at Large." Between Perception. You need to include your textbook's publication info and edition number here.

The colorful and rich culture and heritage should be used to counter such menaces by the community or non-governmental organizations working for the prevention and awareness of AIDS/HIV.

Ethnicity

Latino is a large group comprising further sub-categories like Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicano, people born in the U.S. Of Mexican descent that identify as American and other Indian civilizations. Each group cannot be targeted with the same message. These different groups have different social mindsets and have different social status. For example, people born in the U.S. Of Mexican descent will be more aware of the issues and problems related to their health and well being then new immigrants in the country belonging to this community. The migrant people belonging to this community have more pressing needs like housing, food, and employment as compared to Chicanos who are more concerned with political implications. Hence, one message fits all strategy cannot work with…

References

Borges-Hernandez, Adalisse, Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Rafael a. & Velez-Pastrana, Maria C. 'Family Functioning and Early Onset of Sexual Intercourse in Latino Adolescents.' Adolescence. 40.160 (2005): 777+.

Diaz, Rafael M. 'Macho, Latino HIV+'. The Advocate. 747(November 25, 1997): 9.

Peterson, John L. 'Introduction to the Special Issue: HIV / AIDS Prevention through Community Psychology'. American Journal of Community Psychology. 26.1. (1998): 1+.

Carmona, Jennifer Vargas, Mitchell-Kernan, Claudia, Newcomb, Michael D., Romero, Gloria J., Solis, Beatriz, Tucker, M. Belinda, Wayment, Heidi a. & Wyatt, Gail E 'Acculturation, Sexual Risk Taking and HIV Health Promotion Among Latinas'. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 45.4(1998): 454.

Stacey describes the Mosuo as matrilineal -- all family ties pass down through the mother's line, even though it is not a culture where women rule over males. The Mosuo's social structures question the presumed naturalness of patriarchy and that of the nuclear family unit. In Mosuo society, girls are given their own rooms at night from a young age and it is accepted that men will have sexual intercourse with women. There is no sense of sexual immorality -- or the idea that male-female sexual connections are permanent.

Amongst the Mosuo, women live together and raise children together Sometimes male-female couples will unite for life, but the children do not belong to the father, as there is no concept of the child being tied to the father through genetics. Other Mosuo couples are transient, but there is no sense of superiority of one type of union or another. A…

Work Cited

Stacey, Judith. Unhitched: Love, Marriage, and Family Values from West Hollywood to Western

China. New York: NYU Press, 2011.

Retrieved from Dissertation Abstracts International. (Order No. 3132743)

In addition to sexual minority stress, same-sex parents may experience stressors that are specific to parenting, similar to the parental stress experienced by heterosexual parents (Lichtanski, 2004). Stress related to parenting can be chronic, as the stressors may be pervasive, ongoing, and require that families adapt to compensate for the effects of the stressors

Bos, H.M.., van Balen, F., van den Boom, D., & Sandfort, G.M. (2004). Minority stress, experiences of parenthood and child adjustment in lesbian families. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 22(4), 1-14. doi: 10.1080/02646830412331298350 4

Non-legal same-sex parents who have more restrictions and fewer rights may experience parenting as more stressful than same-sex parents who have full parenting rights. Examples of this may be feeling frustrated by not being able to provide health insurance to their children or concern about not having custody if the parents' relationship ends.…

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. Resolution on sexual orientation, parents, and children. Retrieved from  http://apa.org/pi/lgbc/policy/parentschildren.pdf . 2004b

Blake, P.A.. Correlates of lesbian parented families. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Adelphi University, Garden City. 2005

Bos, H.M.W., van Balen, F., van den Boom, D., & Sandfort, G.M.. Minority stress, experiences of parenthood and child adjustment in lesbian families. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 22(4), 1-14. doi: 10.1080/02646830412331298350 4. 2004

Brooks, V.R.. Minority Stress and Lesbian Women. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. 1981

American Psycho

In his seminal work American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis uses the character of the yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman in order to criticize American consumer culture while simultaneously challenging the reader to confront his or her own responses to that culture, responses that Ellis seems to suggest are only removed from the sociopathic actions of Bateman in a manner of degree, rather than kind. To see how Ellis uses the character of Patrick Bateman to explore the dual role of the serial killer as liberated individual and microcosmic representation of society, one may compare Bateman to the real life serial killer John ayne Gacy, who managed to keep his multiple murders a secret for the better part of the 1970s. Examining Bateman's characterization alongside the history of Gacy's murders and seemingly normal civilian life will help to demonstrate how the fascination with the two-faced killer ultimately stems from…

Works Cited

Campbell, John W. "Professional Wrestling: Why the Bad Guy Wins." The Journal of American

Culture 19.2 (1996): 127-32.

Ellis, Bret Easton. American Psycho. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.

Hantke, Steffen. "the Kingdom of the Unimaginable": The Construction of Social Space and the Fantasy of Privacy in Serial Killer Narratives." Literature/Film Quarterly 26.3 (1998):

Most, however, focused on the chain of command that was responsible for the incident. People became outraged with George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. Many assumed that Abu Ghraib was an isolated incident, dismissing larger implications of what happened there. But Gronnvoll brings many neglected issues into our attention. She specifically analyses gender implications of not only what happened in Abu Ghraib but also of the way the photographs were portrayed and discussed in media. And her analysis reveals that there are larger issues that are at play at Abu Ghraib. For instance, the fact that the media presumed heterosexuality of American male soldiers and homosexualized Iraqi male prisoners suggests that the tendency to dehumanize the Iraqis was not restricted to a few American soldiers stationed at Abu Ghraib. Disturbing though it may sound, but those soldiers who abused Iraqi prisoners followed standard American gender attitudes with regard to homosexuals.…

The death of their son is bearable only because they believe that justice will be served and Richard will be locked away forever. However, at the preliminary hearing, not only is Richard released on bail, but it looks as if the charges will be dropped to manslaughter. As the months go by, Ruth keeps seeing Richard around town and as her anger grows her grief snowballs. The thought of him serving only five or ten years becomes unbearable for her and Matt. Ever the devoted husband and father, Matt takes matters into his own hands.

Mendes portrays Ruth as a doting but critical mother, very much concerned with her own world, He sums her up in one sentence at the end of the movie when Matt returns home, she simply says, "Did you do it" and then goes cheerfully into the kitchen to make coffee without a thought to what…

Works Cited

Benton, Robert. "Kramer vs. Kramer." RCA/Columbia Pictures. 1979.

Redford, Robert. "Ordinary People." Paramount Pictures. 1980.

Mendes, Sam. "American Beauty." DreamWorks SKG. 1999.

Field, Todd. "In the Bedroom." Good Machine;Greene Street Films, Inc.;

Angels in America

ony Kushner's Angels in America won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for sensitively handling of some serious issues concerning America today. In this paper, we shall only be focusing on the first play Millennium Approaches where the author talks about Reagan era and hostility towards gay movement shown by Reagan administration when AIDS epidemic engulfed the country.

Ronald Reagan administration has been criticized for its hostile attitude towards gay movement and cause. he administration was highly conservative and close-minded and is held largely responsible for generating homophobia in the country. he President himself refused to discuss the issue until 1987 when 20,000 people died in the U.S. due to AIDS epidemic. In such a society, everyone who appeared different was ridiculed, attacked, harassed and hated. Jews, homosexuals, AIDS-infected patients, almost everyone who was not part of the mainstream culture and society is considered non-human. hey are given an…

The fight between mainstream group and 'others' is presented as the fight between 'humans' and angels. The author wonders how humans can win when angels are supposedly more spiritual beings with compassionate souls. Humans are projected as strong unfair elements that seek eradication of angels simply because they are not similar to them. Prior, the protagonist of the play says: "The angel is not human, and it holds nothing back, so how could anyone human win, what kind of a fight is that? It's not just. Losing means your soul thrown down in the dust, your heart torn out from God's. But you can't not lose. (Pp. 49-50) Prior's dialogues signify the pain and suffering of the homosexuals who had an excruciatingly painful experience under the Reagan administration when they were categorized as immoral beings, not worthy of our love, compassion or understanding.

REFERENCE

1) Kushner, Tony: Angels in America, Theatre Communications Group (New York) Edition 1993

Since homosexual couples are not allowed to get married, health insurance benefits are not available through these means. Additionally, gay and lesbian patients face particular prejudice from "homophobic" health care providers, and may avoid seeking health care if they suspect that they will encounter such prejudice (Quittner 2004). Furthermore, some health care practitioners may actually refuse treatment of some patients based on religious or moral objections, and in some states doctors' rights to do this may soon be protected by law. Bills have been introduced in Arkansas, Michigan, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and est Virginia that would give health care workers, from doctors to pharmacists, the right to refuse treatment or medication to any patient based on ethical, moral, or religious reasons, while in Georgia health care professionals are already legally allowed to discriminate based on their own moral or ethical beliefs (Kuhr 2005).

The injustices within the…

Works Cited

Freeman, H. 1991, 'Emergency: the crisis in our health care', Essence, [Online] Available at ( http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1264/is_n5_v22/ai_11204344/print )

Henley, E. 2004, '10 steps for avoiding health disparities in your practice', Journal of Family Practice, [Online] Available at  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_3_53/ai_n6077566/print 

Kawachi, I. 1999, 'Income inequality and health: pathways and mechanisms', Health Services Research, [Online] Available at  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4149/is_1_34/ai_54422460/print 

Kuhr, F. 2005, 'Doctor of homophobia: some states may allow health care providers to refuse treatment to anyone, on moral grounds. Gays are a prime target', The Advocate, [Online] Available at  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2005_August_30/ai_n15399849/print

" (in Carr, 2005) Violation of privacy issues is a concern and Epstein (2002) makes the suggestion that incoming students be asked to sign a release enabling administrators to initiate actions should their behavior cause concern or seem erratic.

The work of anyard (2008) entitled: "Measurement and correlates of prosocial bystander behavior: The case of interpersonal violence" reports a study that examined the effects of gender and specific personality characteristics on bystander attitudes and behaviors. Findings of the study are stated to have been "…consistent with previous findings in that prosocial behaviors were higher among individuals with greater knowledge of sexual violence. Those who perceived higher effectiveness as a bystander were more willing to practice prosocial behaviors, and reported a greater number of actual behaviors." (anyard, 2008)

The work of Alan D. erkowitz entitled: "The Social Norms Approach to Violence Prevention" states that social norms research "…suggests that most males…

Bibliography. Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, Online available at: www.edc.org/hec/socialnorms/.

Berkowitz, a (2003B). Applications of Social Norms Theory to Other Health and Social Justice Issues. Chapter 16 in HW Perkins (Ed). The Social Norms Approach to Preventing School and College Age Substance Abuse: A Handbook for Educators, Counselors, Clinicians, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass

Fabiano, P, Perkins, HW, Berkowitz, a, J Linkenbach & C. Stark. (2003) Engaging Men as Social Justice Allies in Ending Violence Against Women: Evidence for a Social Norms Approach. Journal of American College Health, 52(3):105-111.

Gottfried, MGS (2002). Perceptions of Others' Masculinity Beliefs: Conforming to a False Norm? Presented at the 110th Conference of the American Psychological Association, August 22-25, Chicago. Kilmartin, CT, Conway, a, Friedberg, a, McQuiod, T, Tschan, P & Norbet, T. (1999) Using the Social Norms Model to Encourage Male College Students to Challenge Rape-Supportive Attitudes in Male Peers. Paper Presented at the Virginia Psychological Association Spring Conference, Virginia Beach, VA.

Perkins, HW. (2003). The Social Norms Approach to Preventing School and College Age Substance Abuse: A Handbook for Educators, Counselors, Clinicians, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.

Mourning and Melancholia," the "father of psychoanalysis" meditated on how the human psyche deals with loss. While melancholia and mourning share many of the same surface traits, the two are very different.

Mourning," he wrote, "is regularly the reaction to the loss of a loved person." Freud believed that the normal way to deal with grief is to mourn and after a period of time, the loss will be overcome. If anything interferes with mourning, the result can be damaging.

Melancholia, on the other hand, is identified by Freud as a pathological illness, which results from an inability to recover from a loss and return to normalcy. Therefore, "the complex of melancholia behaves like an open wound," a wound that will not heal.

Douglas Crimp, an art critic, used Freud's essay in promoting AIDS activism. In 1989, Crimp wrote and essay of his own, titled "Mourning and Militancy" which implied…

Bibliography

Freud's Collected Papers. "Mourning and Melancholia." 1917.

Crimp, Douglas. "Mourning and Militancy." 1989.

Archer, John. The Nature of Grief. 1998.

homosexuals in the school system. The writer explores how the mindset of the system as well as the attitudes of fellow students impacts their self-esteem, and their educational experience. There were five sources used to complete this paper.

America is recognized worldwide for its acceptance and encouragement of diversity. One of the final frontiers along those lines has been in the arena of homosexuality. Advocates of the homosexual community have lobbied for the equal treatment of homosexuals in the work place, in civic duty and even in the legal recognition of couples. With all of the advances that have been made in the area of homosexuality there is still a stigma for homosexuals within the American school system. From dealings with administrators, to the bullying that occurs to the bias in general education regarding gender issues, homosexual students are often caught in a compulsory system that makes them feel self-conscious…

References

ATTWOOD Steve, Headmaster blasts gay school report., Sunday Star Times (New Zealand), 03-31-1996, pp 8.

Gay-books sale hits opposition, Gay-books sale hits opposition., The Washington Times, 07-22-2002.

Gay California teachers 'come out' in classroom, Gay California teachers 'come out' in classroom., The Washington Times, 05-25-2002.

Tolerance in schools a homosexual ploy, conservatives say, Tolerance in schools a homosexual ploy, conservatives say., The Washington Times, 05-07-2002.

Gender Equity in Education

Taking the Field: Women, Men and ports (Michael a. Messner)

Chapters One, Two, Three & Five

Women and men are clearly different, in ways far beyond mere physical composition, as Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus discusses in deep detail. But, the author (Messner, 2002) of Taking the Field: Women, Men and ports also wonders: where children are from, how children "do gender," how the American Youth occer Organization (AYO) does gender, and he wonders about the cultural symbolism of the process of sports. These are valid investigative questions.

Other questions posed by Messner: is gender a "thing" that one "is" or "has" - or is it situation-constructed through one's performance on the soccer field, for example? Those questions came to mind after the author witnesses the "Barbie Girls vs. ea Monsters" soccer contest - with "boys...unwittingly constituted as an audience for the girls"…

Self-esteem is covered in Chapter Four, with plenty of statistics. In elementary school, 67% of boys said "I'm happy the way I am." But by high school, the percentage of boys agreeing to that statement dropped 21 points, to 46%. And for girls, the drop was more dramatic: 60% said they were happy about themselves in elementary, but only 37% answered "affirmatively in middle school" (p. 78), and only 29% in high school. The authors develop this theme throughout the chapter (titled, "The Self-Esteem Slide"), concluding with this: "The girl who once laid claim to the top of the slide does not go into the playground anymore...no longer is she at the peak of her world...instead she walks cautiously, wary of the traps around her."

In Chapter Eight, the boys who rose to the top of the class in elementary now pay a price, and often "land at the bottom" in high school. And since boys have learned, from their "earliest days...a destructive form of division - how to separate themselves from girls," even though they now may fall short, they are still ahead of the game because "they are not girls."

These books are certainly legitimate and interesting, and clearly authentic works of scholarship. But if one is looking for a more thorough, more balanced view of boys and girls in the classrooms of 2003, and the dynamics created by social forces outside the classroom, further research might be advantageous.

Judy Blume

The title of Judy Blume's novel Forever is ironic. On one hand, it refers to the fact that although the teenage protagonists believe that their love is 'forever' this is far from the case and Katherine's affections shift over the course of the novel from one boy (Michael, a high school senior) to another boy (Theo, an older tennis instructor). On the other hand, the title also underlines the fact that sexuality changes things forever and once it is initiated there is no going back.

The healthiest attitude towards sexuality seems to be expressed by Katherine's grandmother. Katherine's grandmother sends her granddaughter frank, accurate information about sexuality. "If you ever need to talk, I'm available. I don't judge, I just advise" (Blume 1975: 118). However, Katherine and Michael's relationship also seems to be healthy. True, it is not permanent and does not last forever. But as Blume makes…

Reference

Blume, J. (1975). Forever. Bradbury.

Levithan, D. (2003). Boy meets boy. Knopf.

Gender

The challenges families face include lack of social support, lack of guidance, lack of information, prejudice, and hostility. Gender roles and norms are entrenched in the society, making it difficult for children and their parents to resist or subvert conformity. The media and all social institutions perpetuate gender roles and norms. Yet when parents are willing to encourage gender fluidity or gender nonconformity, children and their parents are liberated from constraints to their creativity and self-expression. Specific challenges to resisting conformity include locating gender-neutral toys and games for young children, and finding strong social support networks for the child and the parents. Gender neutrality scares people for many reasons, not least of which is its perceived kinship with homosexuality, but also its being symbolic of social deviance. A person who does not fit into the neatly arranged categories of male and female may be viewed as an outright threat…

References

Duron, L. (2013) Raising My Rainbow. New York: Random House.

Kuhn, S. (2014). Breaking free of gender stereotypes. She Knows. Retrieved online:  http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1033051/raising-a-gender-neutral-child 

Lucas-Stannard, P. (2012). Gender Neutral Parenting.

Martin, K.A. (2005). William wants a doll. Gender and Society 19(4), 456-479.

Gender is often considered an immutable trait, linked inextricably to the biological sex one was born with. However, research over the past several decades in a multitude of fields including anthropology, psychology, and sociology shows that gender is socially constructed and not innate. Gender is projected onto children before they are fully cognizant of their surroundings, dressed in gendered clothes and channeled into gendered activities. A child is rarely free to construct his or her own gender. While it is rare for a person to be born hermaphroditic, it is not rare at all for someone to dis-identify with their socially prescribed gender and therefore deviate from the norm. Some forms of gender-bending are considered normative, but only in certain contexts. For example, a young girl can be a tomboy without serious social consequences but if she continues to subvert traditional gender norms, she risks social stigma. The level of…

References

Charon, J.M. & Vigilant, L.G. Social Problems: Readings with Four Questions 4th Edition

Essay 2: In what collegiate extracurriculars did you engage? (400 characters)
As Vice President of Phi Kappa Sigma, I co-managed the annual $30k budget, participated in 100+ hours of community service, volunteered for the Rutgers Dance Marathon, raised funds for the Embrace the Kids Foundation, and organized the annual Phi-Esta fundraiser for the Eric Legrand’s Foundation with several other fraternities. I also volunteered for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
Essay 3: Did you work for compensation during college during the year or the summer? (300 Word limit)
Yes, every summer I worked full-time. During the summers of my undergraduate career, I worked at Selco Associates, a distribution and warehousing company. There I coordinated with management personnel to provide high quality customer service. I also managed apparel and footwear inventory for major companies and assisted in opening new accounts. This experience helped me to develop communication, organization, and problem-solving skills that I…

Essentialist vs. Constructionist Views of Gender and Sexuality

During a period in history when gender lines and blurring and conceptualizations of sexuality are changing, identifying how these trends affect modern society has assumed new importance and relevance, especially given the legal implications of these trends for Americans today. It is also important to note, though, that these same trends occurred in many ways in some parts of the ancient world where pansexuality was the norm rather than the exception. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the relevant literature to describe the issue of essentialist versus constructionist views of gender and sexuality and to determine the extent to which these views and modern terminology and perspectives may be useful in evaluating sexuality and gender in the ancient world. Drawing on specific examples and case studies, the paper makes an evidence-based argument that essentialist views of gender…

It is apparent that the queer identified in Zimbabwe has not yet been socially accepted enough to even begin to look at the ways marriage laws discriminate against them. The most basic rights that are assumed when looking at the discrimination of LGB community and what are thought of as given human rights seen through a North American lense do not exist. The most basic laws of protection from active discrimination in public do not exist. Thus, to try and apply our notion of equal marriage rights within this society would be like trying to run before learning to walk. There are more pressing rights that need to be addressed, such as changing the laws that make ____ punishable by death for the LGB people who live within Zimbabwe before marital status and how the laws surrounding marriage are oppressive can begin to be examined.

From the previous three examples,…

Works Cited

Engelke, M. "We wondered what human rights he was talking about': Human rights,

homosexuality and the Zimbabwe international book fair." Critique of anthropology, 19 (1999):289.

Mandigo, J. "New blow for gay rights in Zimbabwe." Institute for war and peace reporting.

74(2006):1. Web 31 March 2010.

hile not as sexy and "politically correct" as a direct confrontation of homophobia in the military, the author thinks that a pragmatic, gradual expansion of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is in order. It is probably the best way to preserve the lives of gay servicemen and to protect and expand their rights.

orks Cited:

Bateman, Geoffrey. Don't Ask Don't Tell. London: Lynne Riener Publishers, 2003. 2, 12.

.

Grener, Richard. "Colonel Redl: The Man Behind the Screen Myth." New York Times 12

October 1985: n. pag. eb. 7 Apr 2010. .

"Hephaestion." Heritage Key. N.p., 2010. eb. 7 Apr 2010. .

Pacion, Stanley. " Sparta: An Experiment in State-Fostered Homosexuality." Sex and History. N.p., June 27, 2008. eb. 7 Apr 2010. .

Plutarch. "The Sacred Theban Band." Plutarch's Lives. Ed. J.S. hite. New York:

Biblio and Tannen. 1966. 416.

.

Works Cited:

Bateman, Geoffrey. Don't Ask Don't Tell. London: Lynne Riener Publishers, 2003. 2, 12.

.

Grener, Richard. "Colonel Redl: The Man Behind the Screen Myth." New York Times 12

October 1985: n. pag. Web. 7 Apr 2010. .

(a.D.A.M., 2008) Neurosyphilis has been speculated as the cause for eccentricites among well-known figures such as Henry VIII, Vincent Van Gogh, Adolf Hitler, Oscar Wilde, and Friedrich Nietzsche (McMyne, 2008). Oddly, some dementia caused by syphilis is preceded by a phase of mania and euphoria in which patients feel excitable and "high," often with relaxed inhibitions (Hayden, 2003).

In the United States today, syphilis rarely progresses beyond the first or second stage since treatment is widely available. Upon diagnosis, antibiotics such as penicillin or tetracycline are administered; follow-up tests must be performed at three, six, and twelve month intervals to ensure complete removal of the infection. Syphilis is always contagious, particularly in the first and second stages, so all sexual partners should be notified and treated as well. If treated during the primary stage, syphilis is completely curable with no risk of permanent health damage. Unfortunately, initial symptoms may be…

References

A.D.A.M. (2008, 08-01). Syphilis - Tertiary. Retrieved 11-26, 2010, from health.nytimes.com:  http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/syphilis-tertiary/overview.html 

Baseman, J., Nichols, J., & Hayes, N. (1976). Virulent Treponema pallidum: aerobe or anaerobe. Infectious Immunity, 704-711.

Bonifield, J. (2010, 11-22). Syphilis infections up; progress made on other STDs. Retrieved 11-24, 2010, from www.cnn.com:  http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/22/embargo-12p-1122-cdc-progress-on-stds/?iref=allsearch 

Cullen, P., & Cameron, C. (2010, 01-10). Progress toward an effective syphilis vaccine: the past, present, and future. Retrieved 11-26, 2010, from www.expert-reviews.com:  http://www.expert-reviews.com/doi/abs/10.1586/14760584.5.1.67

Sociologist activism in the community that simultaneously brings about information processing and the ideal segment of society for the log run can contribute largely to the containment of the epidemic. (Trickett; Pequegnat, 2005)

The possible solution for the state, where the epidemic ca be spread by a known infected person is to cast a punitive punishment. Perhaps make the event actionable. Thus one of the possible laws that could be brought about to stem the growth of infection could closely follow the laws of pollution and the principles of pollution and the polluter pays principle that is much effective in industrialization. Thus the legal system has procedures to deal with the spread of epidemics although it has been used so far in the case of pollution. Another interesting area where the principle is used and can be cited is the case of cigarettes and the non-smokers inhaling second-hand smoke from…

References

Andersen, Margaret L; Taylor, Howard Francis. (2005) "Understanding a diverse society" Cengage Learning.

Moore, Melinda; Forst, Martin Lyle. (1996) "AIDS education: Reaching diverse populations" Greenwood Publishing Group.

Murphy, Raymond. (1997) "Sociology and Nature: Social Action in Context." Westview

Press: Boulder, CO.

The novel opens seven years after Gabo's mother, Ximena, was murdered by coyotes -- or paid traffickers -- during an attempt to cross the border. Her mutilated body was found, her organs gone -- sold most likely. Because of the fear surrounding this border town and the lure of the other side, all of the characters become consumed with finding afa. These people are neglected and abused. Like other fiction works on this topic (such as Cisneros's The House on Mango Street), The Guardians (2008) is rich in symbolism and flavored with Mexican aphorisms. The novel also shows the reader how complex and perilous border life is when you're living in between the United States and Mexico.

The book is important when attempting to understand the challenge of the border town life and it is, at the same time, a testament to faith, family bonds, cultural pride, and the human…

Reference:

Giroux, Henry A. (2001). Theory and resistance in education (Critical studies in education and culture series). Praeger; Rev Exp edition.

San Juan (2002) states that the racism of sex in the U.S. is another element of the unequal political and economic relations that exist between the races in the American democracy. Women of color may even be conceived as constituting "a different kind of racial formation" (2002), although the violence inflicted against them as well as with familial servitude and social inferiority, testifies more sharply to the sedimented structures of class and national oppression embedded in both state and civil society (2002).

San Juan (2002) goes on to explore the articulations between sexuality and nationalism. "What demands scrutiny is more precisely how the categories of patriarchy and ethnonationalism contour the parameters of discourse about citizen identities" (2002). How the idea of nation is sexualized and how sex is nationalized, according to San Juan (2002), are topics that may give clues as to how racial conflicts are circumscribed within the force field of national self-identification.

Sexuality, San Juan (2002) suggests, unlike racial judgment is not a pure self-evident category. He states that it manifests its semantic and ethical potency in the field of racial and gendered politics. In the layering and sedimentation of beliefs about sexual liberty and national belonging in the United States, one will see ambiguities and disjunctions analogous to those between sexuality and freedom as well as the persistence of racist ideology.