Before you start getting all excited, I'm talking about being straight, gay/lesbian or both. It's funny because now it seems it's no longer a taboo that everyone has to hide from. Now it's all about being loud and proud. As I try to think back at when this all started happening, being born in the 80's I am certain that I never saw two people of the same sex being affectionate towards one another. Now it seems people are no longer afraid to go public with their orientations. The different ideologies, values, norms, and beliefs vary by person, culture and community. It can be very confusing to anyone looking into a group from the outside it seems that most of us have learned to respect each other. But even then there are those who will never be comfortable with the idea of two people from the same sex to be all over each other. There are too many factors to consider in all of this, one is family, genetic components, hormones which brings us to the question are people born gay? Next we have to consider the rights of a person, whether they choose to or not, marriage is still an issue that is hotly debated. Lastly how artists, actors and other public figures are able to openly speak about these topics.
Born gay. That simple sentence is not so simple at all take user Dan on Yahoo.com asking on answers.yahoo.com "Do you think being gay is a choice?" he goes on to ask another question "When did you choose to be straight? Lemme guess, is your answer "Oh I just happened to come a long that way," or "I was born that way." Well, SAME WITH GAY PEOPLE." He seems irritated and tired of it and the answers he receives from other users are just as interesting. Take user Emilio for example "Don't know if it is a choice or not. Every other living thing has a way to naturally reproduce, gay people (by definition) don't and there for would actually become extinct as a species. Sounds unnatural to me, but to each their own... I agree and am right on par with this. It IS a choice. No question about it. They just say that it isn't so they have a reason to do what they do." You could ask anyone the same question and it's guaranteed no answer would be the same. They would answer based on their beliefs so is there a way to get to the bottom of this? escapistmagazine.com asked it's users a similar question: "Are gay people really born gay, or is it because of Oversexual mindset of Western and European cult?" User Chibz says, "What I speculate, is that straight people are either taught this behavior during their early child development years from a parent that wanted a child of the opposite sex or the person was simply oversexual and began to experiment. I don't believe people are simply born straight." Both answers are valid since they are each's opinion but let's look at what scientists have to say.
The Seattle Times talk in their article "Born gay? How biology may drive orientation" about different research done on sheep at the Oregon State University, of course sheep are not people but studies like this help put a piece of the big puzzle that is sexual orientation. The research includes rams that only paid attention to other rams and they believe that their "sexual orientation is largely hard-wired into the sheep's brain before birth." The article also mentions "The social and political implications of the research are impossible to ignore, leading to unease on both sides of the gay-rights debate. If science proves homosexuality is innate, is there any basis to deny gays equal treatment - including the right to marry?
At the beginning of the new millennium in 2000 same sex marriage came to light, here in the United States, when Vermont became the first state to legalize same sex marriage with all rights included. Since then it's been a battle for every state to be able to come to an agreement whether it should be legalized or not. The debate I think is more of whether or not we are willing to see American families have same sex marriage as a norm in our communities. We are mostly all familiar with the accepting liberal side and the censoring right wing groups but is it more than just politics? Religious groups which have a mixture of both parties and others believe that God made a man and a woman to be his companion. As well as other scriptures written int he bible forbidding such unions that are not man and woman. However when you think about this issue not including religious beliefs you are left with the simple fact that every person deserves the right to be treated as just that a human. It seems as if when we say no to the legalization we deny them of the benefits and discriminate them. It is fair to look at the cons and when people openly discussed the concerns of the respect for the institution of marriage been weakened as well as traditional family values. It seems even if we have become more open and accepting being gay is still not something that is encouraged. However when it comes to artists that perception changes.
Boy George, Anderson Cooper, Ellen Degeneres, Elton John, Jane Lynch, Rosie O'Donnell, Neil Patrick Harris, and recently added Ricky Martin are just a few of the long lists of celebrities who we have watched on the screen. Whether it's news anchor, talk show host, prime time TV actor or singer these are the stars we have grown to watch and love. Even artist Katy Perry playfully sang "I kissed a girl and I liked it" in 2008. That same year Ellen Degeneres married her female partner Portia de Rossi when California agreed it was legal but only to change their minds again. Not only are celebrities open with their preferences but artist like Lady Gaga use their fame to advocate for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans-gender community. It's not hard to see that maybe the reason people are becoming more open to it is because of the influence of famous people in the media. I just hope that it changes for the better and we can agree to disagree and still be able to treat everyone equally.
The Seattle Times talk in their article "Born gay? How biology may drive orientation" about different research done on sheep at the Oregon State University, of course sheep are not people but studies like this help put a piece of the big puzzle that is sexual orientation. The research includes rams that only paid attention to other rams and they believe that their "sexual orientation is largely hard-wired into the sheep's brain before birth." The article also mentions "The social and political implications of the research are impossible to ignore, leading to unease on both sides of the gay-rights debate. If science proves homosexuality is innate, is there any basis to deny gays equal treatment - including the right to marry?
At the beginning of the new millennium in 2000 same sex marriage came to light, here in the United States, when Vermont became the first state to legalize same sex marriage with all rights included. Since then it's been a battle for every state to be able to come to an agreement whether it should be legalized or not. The debate I think is more of whether or not we are willing to see American families have same sex marriage as a norm in our communities. We are mostly all familiar with the accepting liberal side and the censoring right wing groups but is it more than just politics? Religious groups which have a mixture of both parties and others believe that God made a man and a woman to be his companion. As well as other scriptures written int he bible forbidding such unions that are not man and woman. However when you think about this issue not including religious beliefs you are left with the simple fact that every person deserves the right to be treated as just that a human. It seems as if when we say no to the legalization we deny them of the benefits and discriminate them. It is fair to look at the cons and when people openly discussed the concerns of the respect for the institution of marriage been weakened as well as traditional family values. It seems even if we have become more open and accepting being gay is still not something that is encouraged. However when it comes to artists that perception changes.
Boy George, Anderson Cooper, Ellen Degeneres, Elton John, Jane Lynch, Rosie O'Donnell, Neil Patrick Harris, and recently added Ricky Martin are just a few of the long lists of celebrities who we have watched on the screen. Whether it's news anchor, talk show host, prime time TV actor or singer these are the stars we have grown to watch and love. Even artist Katy Perry playfully sang "I kissed a girl and I liked it" in 2008. That same year Ellen Degeneres married her female partner Portia de Rossi when California agreed it was legal but only to change their minds again. Not only are celebrities open with their preferences but artist like Lady Gaga use their fame to advocate for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans-gender community. It's not hard to see that maybe the reason people are becoming more open to it is because of the influence of famous people in the media. I just hope that it changes for the better and we can agree to disagree and still be able to treat everyone equally.
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