The United States’ Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2015, in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges marked a great milestone in the attainment of LGBTQ rights. In this ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that states are expected under the 14 th Amendment to provide marriage licenses to people of the same sex and as well as to recognize those marriages from other states ( Morini, 2017) . In essence, the ruling of the Supreme Court declared that couples of the same sex have a constitutional right to get married. Although the practice was already legal in a majority of the states, the ruling by the Supreme Court had a major influence on how people perceived LGBTQ people.
One implication of the Supreme Court’s ruling was that LGBTQ people would no longer be discriminated against in most aspects such as at the workplace. The ruling meant that their rights were now recognized and protected by the law. Any form of discrimination against same-sex couples would result into legal action and undesirable repercussions ( Morini, 2017) . Therefore, the law for the past recent decades has been instrumental in changing people’s opinions about LGBTQ issues. They became more sensitive as well as cautious about how they treated LGBTQ people.
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Secondly, the role of the media in causing a shift in people’s opinions cannot be overlooked. Firstly, films and movies in the recent past have tried to portray gays and lesbians in positive light. By the virtue of just giving audience and roles to LGBTQ people in movies, people’s opinions have gradually changed. Also, the media has always emerged as a prominent champion of LGBTQ rights, defending these rights through various outlets such as the print and broadcast media (Scholars Strategy Network, 2018). Some media personnel, such as Ellen DeGeneres came out openly and disclosed their sexual identities, and this, to some extent, helped to reduce stigma against LGBTQ people.
Thirdly, the emergence of various social media sites such as Facebook, and Twitter, has helped elevate LGBTQ people’s voices. Some of the traditional media channels such as Television might have been conservative, and perhaps suppressed the voices of people practicing same-sex marriages. Some media companies could have been owned by religious organizations, which have for a long time opposed same-sex marriages. However, with social media, the voices of ‘minority’ sex groups can be heard, and there is also more contact and interactions (Scholars Strategy Network, 2018). Young people are more tolerant because they are more tech-savvy. In the past, stigma was more prevalent because of the stereotypes that were being propagated, possibly by people who did not understand the complexities surrounding sexual identity. However, with the free social media sites that promote freedom of expression, LGBTQ people can express themselves more clearly, and people can listen to their side. It turns out that most people could have been having negative perceptions of LGBTQ people because of listening only to one story, but with increased freedom of expression, people have listened to both sides and made more sound decisions.
Lastly, increased awareness, knowledge, and exposure have led to accommodation and positive opinions towards LGBTQ people. For instance, most children in the United States interact with children with different gender identities from an early age, especially in schools. That early exposure and integration as they grow molds them into individuals that are tolerant and respectful of other people’s sexual identities. Therefore, although the law protects LGBTQ people’s rights, various aspects of the modern world have also been of great impact, key among them being the media, technology, as well as increased awareness, knowledge and exposure of people.
References
Morini, M. (2017). Same-sex marriage and other moral taboos: cultural acceptances, change in American public opinion and the evidence from the opinion polls. European journal of American studies , 11 (11-3).
Scholars Strategy Network. (2018). “ How the Media Has Helped Change Public Views about Lesbian and Gay People” retrieved from https://scholars.org/contribution/how-media-has-helped-change-public-views-about-lesbian-and-gay-people
