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Alejandra Martinez

ENGL 1302-101

Dr. Sharity Nelson

11 November 2022

Seeking Equality from the Gay Rights Movement

In regards to the legal rights of homosexuals and those affiliated with the LGBTQ

community, the rise of social movements and trends around the nation has recently reached a

peak. Usually, the Supreme Court has often moved and made decisions based on public opinion.

Although many of those affiliated with the LGBTQ community usually feel that they are treated

differently than others, there has recently been progressively more acceptance and a broader

understanding of what these people are feeling as well as what they experience in everyday

settings. Schacter reports that since 2003, “many more states have legalized same-sex marriage,

and many more judges all over the country have struck down state laws denying marriage

equality” (871).

In considering the influence that the contemporary gay rights movement has made in the

United States, there are two things to consider: whether the different discrimination in various

social settings people experience on a day-to-day basis affects other members of society who are

not LGBTQ, and whether queer people feel as though they are equal with their peers. This paper

argues that the gay rights movement has had a positive influence on how social standards have

changed and evolved. Moreover, the concept has provided justification for the civil rights and

liberties of equality for all citizens of the United States. The gay rights movement has made

constructive attributions to the United States social standards because citizens are becoming
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more accepting of others and the meaning of equality has drastically changed since getting more

national recognition.

Attributions in Social Standards

In the United States, the “normal” social standards are constantly changing depending on

the generation and their overall morals. As the gay rights movement gains more popularity,

more positive attributions and adaptations are being made to the public’s social standards

regarding the rights of queer individuals. Geographic location, religious beliefs, gender, and race

contribute to the different everyday tasks and the way people interact with others. For example,

in the state of Utah, many of the residents practice Mormonism, which is a church that tries to

keep up with the social norms of that specific time, but sometimes gets backlash for not being

inclusive to all people and for its racist views (Mohrman, 2021). It has been noted that people

who refer to themselves as “non-religious” or those who do not associate with a certain religious

practice, are more open and accepting of those who identify as homosexual. College students

around the entire nation tend to also be more understanding and open to the idea of

homosexuality rather than those of older generations. According to Gayle Kaufman, “younger

adults are less likely to identify as republican or religious, and an increasing number of

Americans have family members or close friends who are LGBT.” The author also continues to

argue that contact with someone who is LGBT is associated with support for same-sex marriage

and progressively more young people are being associated with someone who is affiliated with

the LGBTQ+ community (Kaufman, 1601). These younger generations that are growing up in a

more “woke” and open social environment are soon going to be the people who make political

laws and essentially run our country. By adopting these more open social practices, it will be

easier to understand and interact with others in social settings. As these younger generations get
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more interested about the issues and problems that the nation faces, they will fight for more

acceptance and equal rights for all citizens regardless if they identify as part of the LGBTQ+

community. According to Genadek et. al., many couples that experience discrimination in social

settings often engage in practices and activities that involve not having to leave the house or

being in public. The authors note that “discrimination may result in less shared time with a

partner for individuals in same-sex couples” (479). While they may face discrimination in

public, they maintain a strong relationship with each other by being in each other’s presence.

Although that is already positive, imagine how much stronger the relationship would be if they

did not feel isolated from the rest of society.

Acceptance of Others

The change in social acceptance of homosexuality has also made a positive impact in

political reformations in the country’s political parties. Many studies and experts predict that

more and more numbers of LGBTQ candidates will appear on ballots across the country in future

elections and political races. Many more politicians who identify as part of the democratic party

with more liberal views, moreover seem to be more accepting of the LGBTQ Community.

Although there is many politicians and supporters of the growing LGBTQ community, there is

still many people who oppose the idea of giving these people more equal rights. Majority of the

people who are inclined to be opposed to the idea of granting more rights to homosexuals, tend

to be those who relate with the republican political party, display conservative morals, and are

more likely to be older white men from the south. In regards to gender equality and neutralism,

Bradley Lohsl argues that if the state of Indiana makes reformative changes to the state’s

parenthood statutes and to the live birth worksheet, “Indiana could avoid future litigation and, in

some ways, could be ahead of the human rights curve” (147). The author reports that not only
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would the changes of the language in these legal documents be beneficial to “non-traditional”

families, but to the state as a whole as well as for future generations of those who will reside in

Indiana.

Families and friends are slowly starting to embrace the idea of homosexuality and people

are becoming more accepting of others even if their beliefs differ. The idea that gay people have

to have a “coming-out talk” with their closest friends and family can be extremely overwhelming

for most. Many of these individuals do not have a supportive family to accept them and their

sexual views because like previously mentioned, those of older generations tend to have more

conservative views. When gay people are more open to the idea about coming out to third

parties, they feel a greater internal satisfaction and their relationships with family and partners

seem to be better. According to the experiment conducted by Yachao Li and Jennifer Samp,

coming out will help people be more in touch with their emotions and they will be able to have

better communication skills with their partners throughout the rest of the relationship. By having

a coming out talk with their friends and family, the members of the third party may also be more

inclined to get more educated about what it means to be queer and the factors that are associated

with it.

While people start to become more accepting of homosexuality, increasingly more people

feel comfortable coming out to not only to the people they love and care about, but also to the

public as a whole. This practice has become so big that the LGBTQ community adopted

“National Coming Out Day” which is celebrated every year on October 11 to help encourage

people to embrace who they are. Many young people, such as college students, also try to

encourage their peers who are gay to accept who they are. For example, earlier this year for

National Coming Out Day, The University of Texas at San Antonio held an event which
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encouraged people to “step out of the closet” by decorating a door with the pride flag and telling

students and staff to walk through it if they chose to.

Equality for All

As people become more educated on what and who the LGBTQ are, the meaning of

“equality for all” has drastically changed in the United States over the years. The idea of

equality has stemmed out from racist views to those that are more accepting of individuality.

According to Thabo Msibi, many queer youth individuals have negative experiences throughout

their schooling because of punitive actions expressed through derogatory language, and vicious

hate often expressed through violence which is sometimes expressed by their teachers (515).

These actions communicated from classmates and teachers can be extremely detrimental for the

mental health of the queer individual and they may experience negative cognitive effects in the

future. By stressing and teaching equality for all LGBTQ members, the consequences will be

less detrimental and these people will not feel as though they are different from everyone else.

Many religious factors also contribute to the negative emotions expressed towards the

LGBTQ+ community. While, religions like Mormonism are trying to be more forgiving towards

the idea of same-sex marriage, other religions are not as forgiving. For example, the Catholic

church views homosexuality as a “sin”, and says that God does not love that individual because

of their sexual orientation. By teaching these practices, many of the church’s followers believe

the same idea. Samuel Perry reports that religious factors are among the strongest predictors of

public opinion toward same-sex marriage (637). The author implies that some people are not

opposed to the entire idea of being homosexual but only to certain aspects of the sexuality. By

being more educated on the topic of what it means to be homosexual, a majority of people would

be more understanding and accepting of the concept as a whole.

Conclusion

In essence, much debate is encouraged from same-sex marriage, how third parties feel

towards the topic as well as those associated with the LGBTQ+ community, and how the gay

rights movement affects our nation as a whole. The impact that the movement has made in the

United States will continue to affect citizens of all ages regardless of sexual orientation. By

being more accepting in all aspects of the idea including in religious, social and political settings,

more unity will result between the country’s citizens. It is salient that individuals understand

how detrimental their thoughts and actions are to those who associate with the community and

who are trying to make a difference in a new, reformative nation. There is still more research

that needs to be done regarding the impact that the gay rights movement has made on our

country, and further investigation about the issue should continue to be researched.
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Works Cited

Genadek, Katie, et.al. “Same-Sex Couples’ Shared Time in the United States.” Population

Association of America, vol. 56, no. 1, 2020, pp. 475-500. Academic Search Ultimate,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-020-00861-z.

Kaufman, Gayle, et.al. “Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage, Polyamorous Marriage, and

Conventional Marriage Ideals Among College Students in the Southeastern United

States.” Sexuality & Culture, vol. 26, no. 1, 2022, pp. 1599-1620. Academic Search

Ultimate, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-09960-y.

Li, Yachao and Jennifer Samp. “Antecedents to and Outcomes of Same-Sex Couples’ Coming

Out Talk.” Western Journal of Communication, vol. 85, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1-21. Academic

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Lohsl, Bradley. “Where is the Hoosier Hospitality? The Ever-Evolving Child-Parent

Relationship and Indiana’s Need for Gender-Neutrality.” Sexuality and Culture, vol. 52,

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Mohrman, K. “Same-Sex Marriage?! What Next Polygamy?; Mormonism in US Political

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Msibi, Thabo. “’I’m Used to it Now’: Experiences of Homophobia among queer youth in South

African Township Schools.” Gender of Education, vol. 24, no. 5, 2012, pp. 515-533.

Academic search Ultimate, https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2011.645021

Perry, Samuel, Andrew Whitehead. “Religion and Public Opinion Toward Same-Sex Relations,

Marriage, and Adoption: Does the Type of Practice Matter?” Journal for the Scientific

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https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12215.

Schacter, Jane S. “Unequal Inequalities? Poverty, Sexual Orientation, and the Dynamics of

Constitutional Law.” Utah Law Review, vol. 1, no. 4, 2014, pp. 867-896. Academic

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