The twenty-first century is a perfect depiction of the complexities of a diverse society. Minority groups in the twenty-first century are enjoying immense privileges which never existed back in the years. For instance, lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and the queer community also called LGBTQ have enjoyed freedom and acknowledgement thanks to modernity. Through the movement, these groups have managed to channel their frustrations and grievances about different issues affecting them. Based on this platform, their issues have always been addressed well. The essay analyzes sexual diversity issue with respect to LGBTQ.
History Lens
History refers to the story of humanity's past. Historians utilize material such as magazines, journals, articles, books, and pictographs to track different events and establish patterns regarding the same. These patterns give explanations about the cause of events and how they are linked to past ones.
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Identity politics has significantly changed since the early 1900s up to the twenty-first century. Dominant cultures and practices received immense support by the mainstream while minority groups did not get any support. The Renaissance period was characterized by persecution and torture of the homosexuals, especially by the church (Carnaday, 2014). Most European countries and states in the United States had death penalty as a sentence for individuals found with the offense of homosexuality. The interpretation of punishment for these offenses were based on the Christian story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The U.S. president Thomas Jefferson passed the Virginia criminal code at the end of the 18th century to banish individuals caught up in the crime.
The death penalty for 'sodomy' in the U.S. was first banned by Pennsylvania in 1786, hence prompting other states to follow the same except North and South Carolina which delayed until the end of the civil war. Lesbianism had not gained a name by this time. Given the rapid growth of the population in New York City in the early 1900s, homosexual population and culture spread rapidly within the city. In 1908, Edward Stevenson published the first defense for homosexuals which was 600 pages. This marked a revelation for the American society especially urban centers. In the 1920s, homosexuality gained further traction as it was embraced and accepted by the society (Wolf, 2009). Gay bars and clubs began operating within the country and same sex relationships were openly accepted. However, American conservative culture in the 1930s was hostile to same sex relationships whose participants hid their sexuality until late 1960s. The period between 1930 and 1960s were the hardest for LGBT community: they could not get access to employment opportunities unless they hid their sexuality (Mogul et al., 2011). The Stonewall riots of 1969 rebirthed LGBT which assembled all lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender to advocate for their sexual rights (Duberman, 2019). Later on, these campaigns led to legalization of same sex marriages and other LGBTQ relationships.
References
Canaday, M. (2014). LGBT history. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 35(1), 11-19.
Mogul, J. L., Ritchie, A. J., & Whitlock, K. (2011). Queer (in) justice: The criminalization of LGBT people in the United States (Vol. 5). Beacon Press.
Wolf, S. (2009). Sexuality and socialism: History, politics, and theory of LGBT liberation. Haymarket Books.
Duberman, M. B. (2019). Stonewall: The definitive story of the LGBTQ rights uprising that changed America. Plume.
Humanity Lens
Cultural diversity and appreciation of these differences by various cultures in the American society is what upholds the values and beliefs of the American people. The LGBTQ community and its acceptance is a big step by the society towards achieving these. The culture of LGBTQ has changed the face of identity politics in the United States (Kelleher, 2009), especially on representation of minority groups in the mainstream. The unity upheld by this community has inspires several other disenfranchised groups to advocate for their rights (Lecklider, 2015). Different demonstrations about women rights and empowerment and advocacy of the rights of minority communities such as African Americans through Black Lives Matter have also been witnessed. Through the LGBTQ, the culture of togetherness has been created.
LGBTQ acceptance in the mainstream is a huge step in promotion of human rights, social democracy, personal liberty, justice, and fairness. These aspects are parallel to my personal beliefs and principles. All human beings are equal despite the different identity aspects such as race, sexuality, gender, among other elements. Therefore, based on this, segregation or any form of discrimination against a fellow human is not aligned to the canons of social democracy; hence avertive of my personal beliefs. In the same vein, professionally, acceptance of LGBTQ within the modern society promotes productivity. Diversity is always attributed to success since diversity promotes development of different perspectives from which the best can be picked (Psychologies, 2007). LGBTQ members have different ideologies and ways of doing things, and dimensions to societal issues which might prove beneficial to general growth of the humanity.
Conclusion
The LGBTQ community has undergone a fair share of challenges in the early years of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. However, modernity in the twenty-first century has created an environment that is all inclusive for every culture, especially on sexuality. Amid interventions of the community, the society has generally accepted their presence and sexuality. However, current outcomes are appreciative of the historical growth the community has gone through. The acceptance of the LGBTQ has also led to the rose of the culture of togetherness and unity for.minority groups such as women rights advocates, and minority communities’ campaigns. Therefore, it has created positive impact in the society through the lens of history and humanity.
References
Bronski, M. (2011). A queer history of the United States (Vol. 1). Beacon Press.
Lecklider, A. (2015). TWO Witch-hunts: On (Not) Seeing Red in LGBT History. American Communist History, 14(3), 241-247.
Psychologies, T. L. (2007). From lesbian and gay psychology to LGBTQ psychologies: A journey into the unknown (or unknowable)?. Out in psychology: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, Trans and queer perspectives, 11.
Kelleher, C. (2009). Minority stress and health: Implications for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. Counselling psychology quarterly, 22(4), 373-379.
