Sexual Tolerance: The Times They Are A’changing Essay Example

and Uganda which have anti-homosexuality legislation that stipulates strict penalties of up to 14 years in jail for same-sex unions. In the U.S. there is an emerging trend of suicide among the gay and lesbian community. A survey by Stonewall showed that about 5 % of bisexual men and 3% of gay men had attempted suicide because of their sexuality. A 2013 issue of the Independent also revealed that up to 300 people are admitted to hospitals daily because of self-harm and that they are also released without being accorded any follow-ups. As a result, many of the gay people end up suffering from mental issues with others even attempting suicide. The negative attitudes towards this category of people put them at an increased risk of constant violence which includes bullying, physical assault, and suicide-related behaviors. Gilbert (2011) also noted that the teenagers who self-identify as gay have also expressed the urge to commit suicide at one point in their lives. She also adds that about 84.6% of LGBT students have reported verbal harassment, 40.1% physical harassment while 18.8% reported that physical assault as a result of their physical orientation.

The Sunday Observer wrote an article on the 2nd of August 2015 titled ‘Varying sexual identities’ which sought to emancipate peoples’ minds and it also recommended more tolerance of diversities that exist among different cultures, personalities, religions, ideologies and gender expectations. What followed later was a barrage of comments with some people supporting tolerance whereas others were totally opposed to the idea as they made discriminatory remarks concerning sexual orientation. The supporters were very optimistic, and they even stated that intolerance could be broken down through

conversations, education, and information. The opposing group, however, argued based on their personal preferences with their bigoted comments referring to homosexuality as being evil and therefore amounting to a sin. One of the reasons that made people single out sexual orientation despite the existing diversity mainly bordered on personal nature (Bsa-discrimination.org, 2014). People tend to personalize transgender and bisexuality issues and try to justify their reflex responses to such matters. Such justifications are usually beyond even their frame of reference and base their arguments on a not so thorough Bible verses that they select and use them as a source of vilification without having a larger context of interpretation and meaning. This in a way explains the strong condemnation that some people have whenever such a subject is brought up.

Although the Americans are deeply divided on many issues with politics taking the lead, it is worth noting that they are increasingly becoming a tolerant lot. A survey by the University of Georgia from the 1970s shows that their public attitude towards the once-marginalized communities which include gay and lesbian communities are slowly changing to reflect a greater acceptance, especially among the younger generation. One of the reasons for such a move could be because of the legalization of same-sex marriages in most states. There has been an increasing acceptance of students towards gay teachers. Such an open-mindedness according to Grossman (2014) is mostly a preserve of the young population with the with approval showing a slight decline with age. The results from the study also revealed that women were more tolerant than men. Also, the level of education was found to be one of the

strongest indicators of tolerance. John Burns speech on the 12th of December 2010 managed to rally the elite leaders behind the bullied Gay teenagers in America. The video of his presentation electrified a nation with well-known personalities which included the US president Barrack Obama and Ellen DeGeneres uploading it on their websites.

Opinions on the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBT) community cuts across an extremely broad spectrum. Social media posts of people on their sexual orientation nowadays elicits a lot of reactions. It is important for people to learn how to embrace change and accept people just as they are. The legalization of same-sex unions across all of the 50 United States is undoubtedly one of its greatest historical landmarks ever. Such a decision has a profound effect not only on the country itself but to also others who look up to America as the superpowers. It has also led to a significant shift in reasoning: something that is, by all means, worth celebrating. One would wonder why people often panic over two individuals who are in a same-sex union. People should learn to embrace humanity because at the end of the day, these people do not cause harm to anybody and more important is the fact that they did not choose to become who they are. The violence directed towards gay people should be stopped, and laws should even be enacted to curb such vices to reduce the gay-related deaths that have rocked the country. It is imperative that people learn to mind their lives instead of spending their energy enforcing unsolicited ideologies on people that they do not even

know.

References

1. Americans Move Dramatically Toward Acceptance of Homosexuality | NORC.org. (2016). Norc.org. Retrieved 11 September 2016, from http://www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/PressReleases/Pages/american-acceptance-of-homosexuality-gss-report.aspx
2. Floyd, J. (2010). Fort Worth City Council member Joel Burns' message to gay teens is heartfelt, resonating. The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/jacquielynn-floyd/20101014-Fort-Worth-City-Council-member-Joel-7704.ece
3. Gay Suicides from Bullying. (2014). Bsa-discrimination.org. Retrieved 11 September 2016, from http://www.bsa-discrimination.org/html/suicide.html
4. Grossman, L. (2014). Survey: Tolerance for gays, lesbians rises rapidly. USA TODAY. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/26/homosexuality-opinion-survey/5828455/
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4
   Noel, L. (1994). Intolerance: The parameters of oppression. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.
6. Wehmhoerner, A. (2014). “ For the times they are a -? changin’ ” Homosexuality and social values in Africa (1st ed., pp. 1-5). The Foundation for European Progressive Studies.