Making Gays and Lesbians Visible

Agenda ◽  
1995 ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Kevan Botna ◽  
Kevan Botha ◽  
Sheila Lapinsky
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Rosenfeld

The Rainbow after the Storm tells the story of the rapid liberalization of attitudes toward gay rights that made same-sex marriage the law of the U.S. sooner than almost anyone thought was possible. The book explains how and why public opinion toward gay rights liberalized so much, while most other public attitudes have remained relatively stable. The book explores the roles of a variety of actors in this drama. Social science research helped to shift elite opinion in ways that reduced the persecution of gays and lesbians. Gays and lesbians by the hundreds of thousands responded to a less repressive environment by coming out of the closet. Straight people started to know the gay and lesbian people in their lives, and their view of gay rights shifted accordingly. Same-sex couples embarked on years-long legal struggles to try to force states to recognize their marriages. In courtrooms across the U.S. social scientists behind a new consensus about the normalcy of gay couples and the health of their children won victories over fringe scholars promoting discredited antigay views. In a few short years marriage equality, which had once seemed totally unrealistic, became realistic. And then almost as soon as it was realistic, marriage equality became a reality.


Author(s):  
Rosa María Sánchez del Pulgar Legido

Resumen. Desde el principio del siglo XX en los Estados Unidos y Europa, las personas vivían su homosexualidad a escondidas por temor a las leyes que la castigaban; el cine pues, les representa del mismo modo creando una subcultura en la que pueden ser ellos mismos.La cinematografía clásica y los años posteriores se componen de numerosos filmes cargados de representaciones homosexuales de manera oculta. Interpretados desde una lectura queer, conoceremos las mil maneras de sugerir a los gais y a las lesbianas en la gran pantalla, descubriendo así la verdadera condición sexual de muchos personajes.La modalidad latente sugiere la homosexualidad sin llegar a expresarla explícitamente.  Los filmes se producían y leían en clave heterosexual, pero a lo largo de todo el largometraje hay un subtexto homosexual.Este estudio atiende a la presencia de personajes gais y lesbianas, principales o secundarios; en los que su homosexualidad es latente por imposición de la censura. A fin de lograr una reflexión crítica sobre sus características y evolución, se estudian también algunos ejemplos claves de representación semilatente y explícita.El objetivo principal es conocer las razones de la censura y responder a cómo se podía ofrecer un relato con componentes homosexuales sin que ésta se percatara. La intención es analizar el contenido de esos filmes, la evolución de los roles y los significados que se han vinculado a cada uno de ellos y encontrar las relaciones en el discurso latente.Palabras clave: homosexualidad, representación latente, cine, LGBTI, gay, lesbiana.Abstract. From the beginning of the XX century in the United States and Europe people lived their homosexuality hidden for fear of the laws that punished it. The cinema represents them in the same way by creating a subculture where homosexuals can be themselves.Classical cinematography and beyond are composed of numerous films loaded with homosexual representations hidden. Interpreted from a ‘queer’ reading we know the thousand ways of suggesting gays and lesbians on the big screen, exposing the true sexual condition of many characters. Latent homosexuality suggests mode without explicitly express it. The films were produced and read in straight key but throughout the film there is a homosexual subtext.Gay statements had to be clear enough but care enough to avoid arousing the suspicion of the censors whonsometimes omitted so many movie scenes that were lacking a logical narrative.It pays attention the presence of gays and lesbians, major or minor characters, which their latent homosexuality is imposing by censorship.The main objective is to understand the reasons of censorship and respond to how they could offer a story with homosexual components without noticing it. The intention is to analyze the content of these films, the evolution of the roles and the meanings have been linked to each of them and find relationships in the latent discourse.Keywords: homosexuality, latent representation, cinema, LGBTI, gay, lesbian.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 85-102
Author(s):  
Mandi Bates Bailey ◽  
Keith Lee ◽  
Lee R. Williams

On December 22, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010. This decision appears to coincide with public opinion as a December 2010 Gallup Poll reports that 67 percent of respondents would support openly gay or lesbian individuals serving in the military. Nevertheless, many Republican Congressmen and presidential candidates continue to express support of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” To that end, this research investigates media priming, stereotypes of gays and lesbians, and other factors that may impact support for gay men and lesbians in the military. We use a survey-based experiment drawn from a mid-sized regional university in the southeast where the collection of attitudes toward gays and lesbians preceded the collection of atti- tudes toward homosexuals in the military. Our research points to the media’s ability to prime evalua- tions of gays in the military and suggests that stereotypes of homosexuals are powerful predictors of attitudes toward homosexuals serving in the military. We also find that personal familiarity with gay men/lesbians is related to support for homosexuals serving in the military.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-46
Author(s):  
Richard D. Krugman

The article by Jenny, Roesler, and Poyer in this issue of Pediatrics takes a look at a purported link between homosexuality and the sexual abuse of children. They find no such evidence. The study was prompted by the passage of a constitutional amendment in Colorado in 1992 that prohibited communities from enacting laws including homosexuals in antidiscrimination statutes. The amendment has subsequently been ruled unconstitutional by the Colorado Supreme Court, but other states are considering such legislation as of this writing. Part of the argument used by proponents of these amendments has been that children are at risk of being sexually abused by homosexuals, and therefore the inclusion of gays and lesbians as a class in antidiscrimination statutes would be hazardous to children and would protect molesters.


Author(s):  
Joe Rollins

Chapter 5 analyzes Justice Kennedy’s majority opinions for the Supreme Court in Windsor and Obergefell. Refuting the procreation argument, Justice Kennedy sutures married lesbians and gays into full American citizenship. Despite the progressive outcome of the opinions, they provide additional evidence for the changing construction of childhood foreshadowed in earlier chapters and examined in depth in the conclusion. Recurring themes of dignity and legal recognition appear to weave gays and lesbians to the national order, thereby avoiding the symbolic damage that would have resulted had the Supreme Court allowed existing beliefs about heterosexuality to flourish and determine the outcomes. Despite the lofty elegance of Justice Kennedy’s opinions, these texts also display a preservation of heterosexual privilege. Minimizing the differences between lesbian/gay and straight marriages assimilates lesbians and gays into a heterosexual script and renders us legally straight.


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