Gay and lesbians are part of our world society, and their ratio increased with the passage of time (Adler & Brenner, 1992). Gay and lesbian are the terms which are used for homosexual men and women. Homosexual men are commonly known as gay, and homosexual women are commonly known as homosexuals. In the past century, most people and societies have not accepted these people because they are different and have a different level of sexual attraction from the sexual needs of female humans. The universal sexual appeal is men towards women and women towards men, but these people are also now a part of our society who are homosexual and have different sexual needs. In the modern technological and liberal world today, people have started to accept these people, and there is no weirder attitude towards these people. But it is happening mostly in developed nations like the United States of America, while many developing nations still do not accept gay and lesbian people and their open relationship with each other. In this paper, two journal articles and textbook material about gay and lesbian people are analyzed and assessed.
A recent study by Denise L. Levy (2009) was conducted to analyze gay and lesbian people’s identity development with a special link to the overview of social workers. Sociology is a subject with covers almost all the social issues and problems present in any society and community of the world. Gay and lesbian identity development is a new problem that is not widely researched yet, and there is very little literature available in this particular area. So, this study is conducted to analyze this area and make an effort to add valuable work and findings in this area. Societies and communities are full of diversity, and every individual should accept the diversity present within a society.
Every individual is unique and different from another in a particular way, and people within a community should realize the differences between sexual desires, behaviors, and identities. In this study, Cass’s sexual identity formation and queer theory are examined by the researcher. This study proposed and recommended that every society should accept gay and lesbian people as they are part of our community. Also, this study suggests that the social worker should know about the concepts related to gay and lesbian people, like heterosexism and heteronormativity (Levy, 2009).
Gay and lesbians are part and people of every society and should have equal rights and respect as straight people. A study was conducted by SY. Adler and Johanna Brenner in 1992. This study examined the issue of gender and space of lesbians and gay people in the city. Lesbian and gay people and their part in the urban subculture are briefly targeted and explained in this article. This article explained the various positive behaviors of lesbian and gay people also their role in the urban subculture.
Gay men and lesbians act differently in the urban politics and urban space. According to this study, lesbian has the nature to be the primary caretaker of the children as compared to gay men. This study shows that gay men are more likely to be homogenous while lesbians are more likely to be heterogeneous, and lesbians, especially in urban areas, are influenced by feminist views and politics.
The course book, “The New Urban Sociology 5th Edition,” written by Mark Gottdiener, Ray Hutchison, & Ryan, M.T. (2015), discussed the issue and role of gay and lesbian people in the urban areas of our society. The new dynamics and new research about the “queer space” are now widely spreading. It is not different for gay and lesbian people, and researchers are transforming this area, including them.
Gay men’s activities and views are quite different from those of lesbians. Gay men are now visible in societies and urban areas, having unique characteristics. “As compared to gay men, lesbians are quite invisible in society since their population compromised through social networks more willingly than commercial sites” (Gottdiener & Hutchison, 2015). By comparing the lesbian and gay availability in the urban areas, it is observed that they are less visible in late 1990 than today, and they are now openly visible in the urban areas. “Their patterns of visibility are changed and developed now especially in the urban areas. In some areas of the United States today, like a western village in New York City, the availability of homosexual people in neighborhoods is quite visible and open now” (Gottdiener & Hutchison, 2015). It means that heterosexual people are now giving homosexuals space to create their community, which is quite good for growth and societal welfare.
“Just as individual persons do not have pre-existing sexual identities, neither do spaces. In other words, space is not naturally authentically ‘straight’ but rather actively produced and (hetero) sexualized” (Gottdiener & Hutchison, 2015). It means that space is not only for heterosexual people, but it is also available for homosexual people. Straight people do have the right to live openly, and these rights should be available for the ones who are homosexual. Now, societies are changing and accepting their presence openly, and people are improving their attitudes towards homosexual people.
“Small town gay bar” (2006) is a documentary movie that explores the gay people present in the Deep South areas of the United States. The lives of gay people are briefly shown in this documentary. Two bars are shown in this documentary in the area of rural Mississippi state of the United States. These bars deal with homosexual people who are their clients most of the time. Interviews are taken with the customers who show that these bars accept gay and lesbian people openly. The film also explains the brutal murder of Scott Joe Weaver, who was the victim of a hate crime. The focus of the film shows that there is a group of people who are not concerned with the debates on gay marriage. They are more concerned about their lives because they believe that their life is in danger if they show that they are gay, lesbian or homosexual people (Babyti, 2011).
Gay and lesbian people are part of every society and need the same rights as heterosexual people, but unfortunately, many societies and communities in the world today do not accept them and do not consider them as a part of their society. However, some societies and communities, mostly in the developed nations, are now accepting their roles in society and also changing their behavior towards them. This awareness should be spread all over the world, societies, and communities that people should accept homosexual people as they are not different than heterosexual people except in their sexual desires and needs. They are supposed to be an important part of every society and community. In the United States, many areas are openly accepting the appearance of gay and lesbian people, although many areas still do not allow their open appearance in society.
References
Adler, S., & Brenner, J. (1992). Gender and Space: Lesbians and Gay men in the city. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.
Babyti. (2011, April 3). Small Town Gay Bar Part 1. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXvet5I3KpM
Gottdiener, M., Hutchison, R. & Ryan, M. T. (2015). The New Urban Sociology. 5th Edition. United States of America: Westview Publishers.
Levy, D. L. (2009). Gay and Lesbian Identity Development: An Overview for Social Workers. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 19, 978–993.
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