For generatns, livg openly as a gay person the Uned Stat was difficult, and often dangero. But there's been a dramatic change public attus toward gay people. This week, we explore one of the most strikg transformatns of public attu ever rerd. And we nsir whether the strategi ed by gay rights activists hold lsons for other groups seekg change.
Contents:
- RADILLY NORMAL: HOW GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CHANGED THE MDS OF THEIR OPPONENTS
- HIDN BRA: AMERI'S CHANGG ATTUS TOWARD GAY PEOPLE
- ANTI-GAY HATE CRIM FELL SLIGHTLY 2020, WHILE ANTI-TRANS CRIM ROSE, FBI SAYS
RADILLY NORMAL: HOW GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CHANGED THE MDS OF THEIR OPPONENTS
* anti gay bias *
In the Uned Stat, public support of the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) muny has creased recent years. The chang are associated wh creased visibily of openly gay characters on televisn, the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and the Supreme Court cisn that legalized same-sex marriage.
For every highly publicized act of vlence toward sexual mori, such as the recent mass shootg at a gay nightclub Orlando, there are many more physil and verbal asslts, attempted asslts, acts of property damage or timidatns which are never reported to thori, let alone publicized by the media. Rercg the roots of antigay bias.
For example, relig views that homosexual behavr is immoral support heteronormative norms, which ultimately stigmatize sexual mori. This legislatn, which fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman, nied homosexuals the rights held by heterosexuals.
HIDN BRA: AMERI'S CHANGG ATTUS TOWARD GAY PEOPLE
Aligng their own self-ncept wh society’s negative regard for homosexualy rults myriad negative health out.
Conversely, rearchers theorize that pro-gay attus rce heterosexism that exists wh the same stutns. Many people believe that antigay vlence is ed by prejudice.
ANTI-GAY HATE CRIM FELL SLIGHTLY 2020, WHILE ANTI-TRANS CRIM ROSE, FBI SAYS
But when we back up and thk about this aggrsn wh the amework of sexual stigma, we n see that the of antigay vlence n eper and are more plex than a simple “prejudice” explanatn. Beg dnk and havg toughns md may fluence men to act le wh this versn of masculy and attack gay men. Given that sexual stigma valu homosexualy, sanctns the perpetrators’ strategic choice of a socially valued target.
So when a young boy teas a gay person, verbally timidat that person or hs him, he gets posive rercement om his peers. For example, heterosexuals may fear that pro-gay polici such as the legalizatn of same-sex marriage will make harr to advance their own alternative polil agendas. In this way, they should perceive a gay man as a direct threat to their own polil power.