Raphael Joshua S.

Santos PSYCH 2P 3/9/17

“Homosexuality”

A critical mass of people must accept the principle that people of all sexualities have

equal worth and deserve equal status in safety, voice, affirmation, and curricular representation

in this society.

There is an importance about the worth or value of the human person, and that such value

should not be confined to and controlled by the structures that the realm of politics and elites of

society impose. Every person must live according to the ideal of authenticity. The longing and

desire to discover authenticity in life is the very foundation of existentialism. But what is

existentialism? In existentialism, a person is reminded that he exists as a being with free will.

With freedom, every individual is encouraged to carve the kind of life he or she wishes to be.

The structures and expectations of society should not stop a person from being free to decide the

kind of goals that he has for the self and others (Pavo, 2010)

As of now, there are four forms discriminations that the LGBTQ Community is currently

facing. Heterosexism, Homophobia, the relationship of Homophobia to Sexism and religious

proscriptions against homosexuality. These four forms of discriminations gave the LGBT

Community a difficult time in living the authentic life.

Firstly, Heterosexism is the system under which homophobia enforces the supremacy of

heterosexuality and the erasure of gay, lesbian, and bisexual experience (Lipkin, 2004).

Secondly, Homophobia is the fear and hatred of homosexuality and homosexual people.

It is bigotry aimed at gays, lesbians, and bisexuals for who they are and what they represent.

Homophobes target people they assume to be homosexual, but they also fear and despise any
Raphael Joshua S. Santos PSYCH 2P 3/9/17

character trait or behavior that deviates from their idea of the heterosexual standard (Lipkin,

2004).

Thirdly, the relationship of Homophobia to Sexism. Since patriarchy – the predominance

of men over women – is the current gender system throughout most of the world, homophobia

cannot be explained without examining sexism. Disdain for the feminine and for what is seen as

feminine in men is at the root of male homophobia. Those who uphold traditional gender roles

for men and women are more homophobic than those who accept flexible gender roles. Victims

of this homophobic code can be gay, but they can also be straight (Lipkin, 2004).

Lastly, religious proscriptions against homosexuality. Over the centuries, powerful

people have used the Bible to justify oppression against out-groups, be they blacks, Jews,

Catholics, or Protestants. Similarly, fundamentalist interpretations of Jewish and Christian Bibles

have been employed to condemn homosexual behavior, if not homosexuals. Some religious

conservatives believe that to alter their churches’ antigay doctrine would be to destroy the church

itself. Others merely use the Bible as a cover for their bigotry – the adulterous three-times-

divorces politician, for example, who claims gay marriage would defy God’s will (Lipkin, 2004).

As a member of the LGBTQ Community and a victim of these forms of discriminations, I

can truly say that the life of a homosexual is a tough one. A friend of mine once asked me with

this question: why did you choose to be gay? I was clearly offended by his question and

responded with this answer: Being gay is not a choice. No one would decide to be gay and go

through all the ridicule. It is far from a choice. It is how you are born. You cannot control who

you develop feelings for and who you find attractive. Why would you want to throw yourself

against the current of society? Nobody would choose to become a second class citizen and to get

death threats and not be accepted by their own family. With such an anti-homosexual society, I
Raphael Joshua S. Santos PSYCH 2P 3/9/17

would rather choose to be straight. But I am proud of myself for being gay, for being me and I

am fortunate enough because I can live my authentic life.

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people from the LGBTQ Community that are not

able to live their authentic life. Let us take a look in Russia, where people think it’s one of the

most homophobic places in the world. Much ado has been made of Russia’s so-called LGBTQ

anti-propaganda law, making it a crime to promote “non-traditional sexual relationships” to

minors. I also read horror stories of beatings by antigay gangs — events so shocking and drastic

that they manage to attract worldwide attention. These homosexuals who live in Russia are

forced to fit-in and neglect their real identity for them to avoid any forms of discriminations.

They sacrifice their freedom and creativity by not showing their true selves. They faithfully obey

the particular norms of that society and live the life of an anonymous individual.

So despite these forms of discriminations that the LGBTQ Community experiences. How

does a member of the LGBTQ Community achieve authenticity?

Firstly, the aesthetic life, the LGBTQ Community drifts away from what is currently

known and acceptable and live a life that is dynamic and liberated. Dynamic in a way that they

do not simply subject themselves to those particular norms existing in their society for them to fit

in and avoid any forms of discrimination. Liberated in a way that they can showcase their

creativity (talents and skills) regarding being a productive individual within a particular sector in

society and most importantly practice their freedom by enjoying those equal rights and

opportunities that they deserve. Secondly, the ethical life, the LGBTQ Community may be living

a life that is dynamic and liberated, but they respect those customary practices or traditions

existing in the society that they live. The LGBTQ Community is open to any social arrangements

and would like to work hand-in-hand with those different communities within a society to
Raphael Joshua S. Santos PSYCH 2P 3/9/17

achieve social justice. Lastly, the religious life, despite the love and hate relationship with the

LGBTQ Community with the Church, the LGBTQ Community is open to new opinions and

willing to discard traditional values to achieve peace. If the LGBTQ Community is criticizing

religion LGBTQ folks are criticizing the concrete steps some humans involved with organized

religions are taking to deny them rights and benefits that those people themselves enjoy, that

basically have no relationship to that religion. Religion has nothing to do with preventing other

people from having rights. You are welcome to believe whatever you want; it's when you try to

force other people to live how you do that it becomes a problem. It is when you tell other people

how they have to live their lives that people start to get mad and consider it hateful.

Foucault definitely wants the individual to feel empowered as it is always difficult to find

one’s self in a society filled with so many images of normalcy (Pavo, 2010).

I always wanted to fit in, but then I realized that I was born to stand-out. Being different

is not really a bad thing. It is not entirely a good thing either. It depends on how different we are.

I think being different gives us chances to expand our limitation. There is nothing wrong about

being you, even it means being different than your surroundings, and also, we all are different,

subtle or not so it's not a bad thing. What makes it a bad thing is because most people don't take

"different" kindly. We should liberate ourselves from these philosophical warm blankets and

dare to probe into the unknown.

Our prejudices and biases influence how we treat other people. When a person agrees to

Gadamer’s approach and adopts it, what we can infer is that he has committed himself to a

particular or unique kind of respect and recognition (Pavo, 2010).

Raphael Joshua S. Santos PSYCH 2P 3/9/17

If people start putting premium and value to the ideas or interpretations of the LGBTQ

Community can contribute on the platform of discussion, and if people recognize every

individual from the LGBTQ Community as a key player in the world of meaning and

interpretation, I think peace is not impossible to achieve. Every member of the society must be

willing to introspect, un-pack personal biases and listen attentively to the ideas that the other

members of community willingly shares.

Though factors of various forms of LGBTQ discrimination come into play, LGBTQ

equality is still very much attainable. As society continues to progress, so will this topic. The

definition of “normal” is always changing, and the molding of what is considered ordinary is

inevitable. Perhaps one day topics like gay marriage, LGBTQ equality, and LGBTQ acceptance

will not even be considered major issues. Through slow progression into the near future, sexual

diversity may not even be a controversial matter anymore. It is shown through surveys that

acceptance is growing, and is predicted to branch out even further. It may not happen right away,

but LGBTQ equality is highly achievable. We must all remain vigilant and stand up for justice.