Running Head: GAY RIGHTS IN AMERICA 1

Pamala Baber

English 1302 Rhetoric & Composition

June 27, 2017

Lit Review Final Draft

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ABSTRACT

Since the nineteenth century, the United States has had an ongoing problem with

accepting homosexuality and creating laws that grant homosexuals with the same human rights

as those who consider themselves heterosexual. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender

milestones created many political issues in the United States. Some gay right movements were

overcame with justice, and some failed to be recognized. Throughout this literary review the

history behind gay rights in America will be presented, and the political debates that led to the

push for what homosexuality is and how its portrayed in todays society will be discussed. The

purpose of this literary review is to define the development of homosexuality throughout the

United States and present the political issues that brought homosexuality in America to what it

is today.
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Gay Rights in America: A Review of Literature

For the past few years accepting the LGBTQ Community and creating new laws

to giving them their human rights has been an ongoing topic of issue throughout the United

States. According to many past laws, sexual preference was never recognized, leaving many

homosexuals experiencing discrimination from individuals in society. In many parts of the

United States, especially parts that appear to be very religious, for example, the West Barrow

Baptist Church, being gay goes against their moral codes and is creating an environment of

hatred against the LGBTQ community. Many homosexuals in America were not allowed the

rights to do many things that those who were heterosexual were able to do. For example,

homosexuals in America were not given the same right to donate blood, adopt children, get

married, and even serve for their county. These laws along with other laws, were political issues

that created a lot of controversy in society and in the courtrooms. One has to wonder how this

topic of issue has evolved into todays era, but to achieve and go beyond the measures to figure

it out, three important questions need to be recognized:

1. What events happened that led efforts to define homosexuality as a problem?

2. What are the social views of homosexuality?

3. What influenced supreme court to realize it was time to create a suggestion for

legalizing gay rights and how did that follow through to todays time?

The following questions will shape the purpose of this literature review and go beyond present

time to explore the evolution of Homosexuality in America, as well as to define the political

situations regarding Gay rights.

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What events happened that led efforts to define homosexuality as a problem?

Homosexuality has been an ongoing topic for individuals since it was first introduced in

America. When introduced in the nineteenth century, homosexuality quickly became a target of

medical, psychiatric, and legal intervention. It first began when the outbreak of AIDS in the

1980s drew immense attention to the homosexuals in America, which became an important

topic of discussion. In an article written by Gregory M Herek and John P Capitanio, the authors

present and analyze the stigma that comes with having AIDS, as well as the sexual prejudice

individuals experienced during the 1980s. According to the article, AIDS was first identified in

1981, when clusters of gay men in Los Angeles and New York were diagnosed. Anti-gay activists

then argued, If you think that homosexuals are largely to blame for AIDS, then youre right It

seems pretty clear if homosexuals hadnt come out the closet and started sodomizing one

another all over the world, none of this would have gotten started in the first place

(Cameron, 1988, p.126). The negative comments created a backlash towards the gay

community, and conservatives argued for different corrective deeds under the manner of

fighting AIDS. The arguments then turned into reality for the gay community, and laws were

created restoring sodomy laws, tattooing people infected with HIV, and eliminating laws to

protect people with AIDS from discrimination. (Buckley,1986; Cameron, 1988; Dannemeyer,

1989; Surgeon General Koop, 1987).

When homosexuality was introduced to America, media also played a big part on

influencing the connotation regarding to the gay community. According to an article explaining

professor Fred Fejess research, Media was a major source of Americans common-sense

knowledge about homosexuality (Boucai, 2010, p. 607). Although it is pointed out that media
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played a part, Fejes overlooks religious influences, simply because most media wasnt vocal

until 1977. Even though religious influences were over looked by Fejes, it was still included in

the factor of what led homosexuality to become a problem. In the article, he states most

Americans hadnt confronted homosexuality as a political problem until the nineteenth century.

It is explained that a shift in cultural norms and public opinion causes a turn off social

acceptance of pay individuals to a form of quasi-stigmatizing tolerance. Media became an

important role in contemporary gay history, following gay rights movements, like The Stonewall

Riots, in the nineteenth century. These events in history became the explanation for

homosexuality becoming a problem.

What are the social views on homosexuality?

Studies have shown that over the course of time, homosexuality and the LGBTQ

Community goes back and forth between being accepted by society and not being accepted by

society. In a book called Social Perspectives in Lesbian and Gay Studies, edited by Peter M.

Nardi and Beth E. Schneider, they rigorously mention the different views of members that are

part of the gay community and those in society on the outside looking in. They briefly mention

how homosexuality in America has been considered criminal under law, evil under the church,

and a medical condition according to psychologists. The assertion on how America has treated

homosexuality, isnt necessarily good and has changed over time. In Jeni Loftuss article on

Americas liberalization in attitudes towards homosexuality, she explains her findings and states

a comment from another researcher. Smith (1992) reports a decline in willingness or

respondents to restrict the civil rights of homosexuals but he finds an increase in the belief that

homosexuality is always wrong. The comment was a great example of how members outside
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of the community may feel regarding homosexuality. The article gives off more information and

explains the changing attitudes towards homosexuality in the United States. What is also put

into context of the article, is that many of the researchers found that individuals with more

education that lived in urban areas in the nineteenth century, had more positive attitudes

towards homosexuality.

Although attitudes were fairly negative against homosexuality decades ago, more

members of the LGBTQ community say society is becoming more accepting. Along with what

the members of the gay community are saying, one of the social views society now holds on

and individual apart of the gay community, (according to my interview), is more acceptance

coming from others than a family member or friend. Amongst the personal communication I

had with 6 individuals amongst the gay community, I asked them questions regarding their

struggles coming out to their peers and how society made them feel once admitting to their

homosexuality. I found that 5 out of 6 individuals where rejected by a family member, yet only

3 out of 6 felt completely accepted by their community. A heart felt comment was made by one

of the individuals named Tamela Baker, You expect bad things coming from people in society

that dont truly know me for who I am yet judge me, but the saddest part about admitting to

my sexual preference is the ones who have known me the most still judge me even after 5

years of me being this way (Personal communication, June 21, 2017). The comment expressed

how judgmental actions are expected from society, but even then can be from the people they

are most close to. It shows how diverse the social views on homosexuality can be.

Many of the individuals a part of the gay community according to Paul Taylor,

executive vice president of Pew Research Center, are still searching for a comfortable, secure
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place in society were acceptance is growing but is still limited. A fairly recent online survey was

conducted by the multi-platform news and information media company USA TODAY, which

included amongst a sample of 1,197 adults who had previously identified themselves as lesbian,

gay, bisexual or transgender. Stated by the results of the survey, about 92 percent of individuals

apart of the LGBTQ community in America say society has become more accepting of

homosexuality than in the past decade. It also included that 58 percent of them have been the

target of slurs or jokes at some point in their lives, as well as 39 percent saying that they have

been rejected by a family member or friend. The survey gives readers a chance to see the social

views on homosexuality, not only by the members in the community, but by how society views

the topic as well. Even though researcher is still good, its still questionable. This survey was

amongst many people in the West side of the U.S where the push for gay rights is more widely

accepted. However, if people had been surveyed in the regions where this is not the case, the

percentage of acceptance may be skewed more negatively.

What influenced the supreme courts decision for legalizing gay rights and how did

that follow through to todays time?

The evolution of homosexuality in America lead to the many rights that the LGBTQ

community has earned today. The history of marriage as a union between two people of the

opposite sex is what marks the beginning of the major stepping milestone for legalizing gay

rights. The most major event regarding gay rights in America, consolidated four same-sex

marriage cases from Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky, and picked up where the 2013

case United States v. Windsor left off. The Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Windsor

led to many states legalizing same-sex marriage and set the stage for the Obergefell v. Hodges
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case. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act

and ruled that legally married same-sex couples are entitled to receive equal treatment under

federal law. The ruling required that federal benefits for legally married opposite-sex couples,

including Social Security, certain tax breaks and insurance benefits, be extended to legally

married same-sex couples. After this ruling, the most popular case in gay rights history

occurred. In the year of 2015 the Obergefell V. Hodges case took a huge turn for the best of the

LGBTQ community and held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states in the U.S to

license and recognize same-sex marriage.

Marriage traditionally became sacred to those that lived by religion(s), so the limitations

of marriage to opposite sex couples were seemed as naturally just. Although it may have

seemed just, individuals amongst the Supreme Court state that its inconsistency with the

central meaning of the fundamental right to marry has manifest. According to case details,

prohibiting same sex marriage in the past violated equal protection and due process laws. The

Fourteenth Amendment along with its clauses defines what it means to be a US citizen and

protects certain rights of the people. In the details of the Obergefell v. Hodges case, the court

examined the nature of fundamental rights guaranteed to all by the Constitution. It is explained

that part of the Supreme Court recognizes the harm done to individuals by delaying the force of
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such rights while the democratic process plays out. A huge amount of understanding the

discrimination and inequality that was done has developed since.

Figure 1. The figure shows a Same-Sex State Law Map giving the
most updated visual of how many states since the Obergefell v.
Hodges Supreme Court Hearing have legalized gay marriage.
Developed by National Conference of State Legislatures
Organization. 2015. Retrieved from
http://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/same-sex-marriage-
laws.aspx
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Conclusion

In conclusion, this literary review has gone through almost every stepping milestone to

answer many questions regarding the evolution of gay rights in America. The current situation

on gay rights movements are ever changing. The political debates over gay rights have helped

shift the social views of homosexuality today. Members of the LGBTQ community find new

ways every day to make sure that they are being treated fair in this evolving world of social

norms. As of now, Same-sex couples are able to adopt in many ways, conduct in sexual activity,

have the same equal age of consent as for heterosexual couples, get gender confirmation

surgery, have the right to change their legal gender without medical transition, serve in the

military openly, have anti-discrimination laws, and lastly are able to legally get married almost

everywhere in America. What else is going to evolve next for members of this community? As

long as the LGBTQ community continues to push for more equal rights, generationally, societys

accepted norms will continue to change to the ongoing topic of issue.

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References

Baker, T. Personal Communication, June 21, 2017.

Boucai, M. (2010). Gay Rights and Moral Panic: The Origins of Americas Debate on
Homosexuality. Journal of Social History, 44(2), 606-609.

Guides: A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Obergefell v. Hodges. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4182205

Herek, G. M., & Capitanio, J. P. (1999). AIDS Stigma and Sexual Prejudice. American Behavioral
Scientist, 42(7), 1130-1147. doi:10.1177/0002764299042007006

Loftus, J. (2001). Americas Liberalization in Attitudes toward Homosexuality, 1973 to 1998.

American Sociological Review, 66(5), 762. doi:10.2307/3088957

Nardi, M.P., & Schneider, E.B. (1998). Social Perspectives in Lesbian and Gay Studies: A Reader.
Retrieved from
https://books.google.com/books?id=xdbcAAAAQBAJ&lpg=PA134&lr&pg=PP1#v=onepag
e&q&f=false

Payne, C. (2013, June 13). Most gay, bisexual adults say society is more accepting. Retrieved
from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/13/lgbt-adults-
acceptance-marriage/2412057/

Rondeau, P. (2001). Selling Homosexuality to America. Regent University Law Review 14(2),
443-486.

Supreme Court of the United States. (2015). Obergefell v. Hodges. Retrieved from
https://1.next.westlaw.com/Document/