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Irene Arias

English 101

Professor Ferrara

3 December 19

Love Wins: The LGBT Community Acceptance

What gives other people the right to harm or take away the rights of a certain group of people

for the only reason that this group is only a little bit different? The LGBT community stands for

lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender in short, homosexuals. These days, they are also referred

to as LGBTQ+, with the addition of queer and the plus sign which indicates more types of

genders: pansexual, demisexual, nonbinary, etc. Many people disagree with the idea of the

LGBT people because they believe there are only two genders, male and female. However, many

people are also often confused about the differences between sex and gender. If people were to

have more knowledge about it, it can help the LGBTQ community with accepting themselves,

feeling confident, and not worrying about being harmed or hated on.

Some people may ask, what is the difference between sex and gender? Sex is a biological

term that identifies people based on the genitalia they are born with, which means it can only

have two categories. On the other hand, gender is a more complex word, but it mainly refers to

how a person views him or herself based on who she or he likes; it has multiple classifications.

Some people choose to classify or identify as a different gender that does not necessarily match

their sex or their reproductive organ. Many people are against this idea because they think it is

not acceptable, it is a disgrace to society, and in religious cases, having an attraction towards
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someone of the same sex or gender is a sin. Homosexuals were hated and shamed by most people

all throughout history, but time is changing, and so is everything else. Some people are slowly

learning to accept others, all differences aside, but some are still not able

to.

Being in high school and being confused about your sexuality can be really hard. You are

trying to find yourself and figure yourself out as a person, but you also have people bullying too.

Bullying can occur even if you aren’t part of the community, but people assume you are; it is a

form of stereotyping. Going back to the 1980’s, people did not really considered homosexuality

as a normal occurrence. “No one talked about actually being gay. Of course, there were rumors

about others whispering here and there about a few of my classmates. One was picked on

relentlessly for his ‘gay-sounding’ voice, lack of sports abilities, and unwillingness to stand up to

his bullies” (Jimenez-Lindmeier). People did not acknowledge homosexuality in any way, even

though it portrays relevance in some topics. Some people believe that adding that as a topic in

health classes can lower the risk of bullying and can stop bullying if they see it happening.

“Although in the current study teachers and students are reported to intervene more often in

response to LGBTQ name-calling than in U.S. samples (Kosciw et al. 2016), the percentage that

“never” intervenes (22.4% of teachers and 50.5% of fellow students) underlines the

responsibility to educate students and model accepting behaviors” (Baams,Laura). If they start

teaching and talking about it in schools so students can gain more knowledge, would it help

students who are LGBTQ not be afraid anymore?

The word “gay” were mostly being mentioned as an insult. During the 80’s, most

homosexuals were probably hiding their true self and only displaying what the people want to
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see or whatever identity fits in with the crowd. However, not everyone stood quiet. Many people

including homosexuals and those who are not, protested to give the LGBT community equal

rights. According to CNN, “the state of Wisconsin was the first to outlaw discrimination based

on sexual orientation in 1982”. This was a small step for such a big issue, but it’s a step moving

forward that gave hope to many.

Today, many more people are being open-minded about the others that surround them. Seth

Adam of GLAAD claimed those who think openly gay people should be able to serve in military

went from 62 percent in 2000 to 75 percent in 2009. He also stated that support for gay marriage

increased 35 percent to 39 percent. The LGBT community was denied marriage equality across

the nation until the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. According to the text “Local LGBTQ

organization…, same-sex marriage has been legal in Indiana since 2014.(ULOOP) “In 1989, the

San Francesco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance that allowed homosexual couples and

unmarried heterosexual couples to register for domestic partnerships, which granted hospital

visitation rights and other benefits” (History.com Staff). After many years of waiting, San

Francisco, CA finally passed marriage equality that allowed couples to legally be together and be

a family. Before this eventful day, LGBT couples could not get married to each other because

certain laws prohibited it. Multiple other states passed marriage equality the following years.

More and more people decided to support and stand alongside the LGBT community, but there

are still people who never got around supporting the community.

Even today, hate crimes still happen a lot for all sorts of different reasons. As claimed by

Colleen Curry, two percent of hate crimes happen due to gender identities. One of the deadliest

mass shootings was a hate crime against the LGBT community that caused many innocent lives.
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“Security has been increased at LGBT landmarks and events in cities across America” (Camila

Domonoske). No one should ever feel like their life is always in danger because of who they

choose to be with or who they identify as. Homosexuality is completely harmless, and it only

gives people more chance to be who they truly want to be, and to further get to know themselves.

The LGBT community has come a long way. They have achieved so much because they did

not give up. They never stopped fighting for what they want. People are starting to acknowledge

homosexuals and protecting them. This causes an ease to those who have yet to come out of their

comfort zone and continue to hide. This community had stood strong for many years despite all

the hate and disapprovals they get. There is literally no reason to hate on a certain group of

people with a mere intention of being free. People should be allowed to be with whoever they

want to share their lives with.

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Work Cited Page

Adam, Seth. “New Report Shows Significant Progress for LGBT Americans since 2000.” Glaad.org, 16

Dec. 2009, www.glaad.org/2009/12/16/new-report-shows-significant-progress-for-

lgbtamericans-since-2000. Accessed 8 June 2018.

CNN Library. “LGBT Rights Milestones Fast Facts.” Cnn.com, Cable News Network, 1 Apr. 2018,

www.cnn.com/2015/06/19/us/lgbt-rights-milestones-fast-facts/index.html. Accessed 8 June

2018.

Curry, Colleen. “9 Battles the LGBT Community in the US Is Still Fighting, Even in 2017.”

Globalcitizen.org, Global Poverty Project, 20 June 2017,

www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/9battles-the-lgbt-community-in-the-us-is-still-fi/. Accessed 8

June 2018.

Domonoske, Camila. “LGBT Community Mourns Orlando Attack, Boosts Security at Pride Events.”

Npr.org, Npr, 12 May 2016, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-

way/2016/06/12/481793981/lgbtcommunity-mourns-orlando-attack-boosts-security-at-pride-

events. Accessed 8 June 2018.

History.com Staff. “Gay Marriage.” History.com, A+E Networks, 2017,

www.history.com/topics/gaymarriage.

Jimenez-Lindmeier, Eric. “As a Gay Man, the ‘80s Crippled My Identity.” Huffingtonpost.com, Oath, 29

Mar. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/did-the-culture-of-the-80s-keep-me-

inthecloset_us_58dad32ce4b0487a198a54fb. Accessed 8 June 2018.

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Morris, Bonnie J. “History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements.” Apa.org,

American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.aspx. Accessed 7

June 2018.

Newman, Tim. “Sex and Gender: What Is the Difference?” Edited by Karen Cross.

Medicalnewstoday.com, Headline Media UK, 7 Feb. 2018,

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232363.php. Accessed 8 June 2018.

Baams, Laura, et al. “Comprehensive Sexuality Education as a Longitudinal Predictor of

LGBTQ Name-Calling and Perceived Willingness to Intervene in School.” Journal of Youth and

Adolescence, vol. 46, no. 5, 2017, pp. 931–942.

"Local LGBTQ organization says work remains after marriage ruling." UWIRE Text, 1
July 2015, p. 1. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link-gale-
com.gcc.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A420139775/AONE?u=24048&sid=AONE&xid=65ab0f
7e. Accessed 11 Dec. 2019.