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Home-front Revolution
Introduction
The history of the LGBT community is as old as that of feelings and emotions. According to historical contexts, homosexuality and its place in the United States has been a topic of public discussion since to foundation of human societies and colonized that shaped the sociopolitical landscape of this world. A quick glance shows that there have always been people in the world who try to engage in some same-sex romantic or sexual relationship, with varied essence throughout centuries. In America, in the early 19-century wearing cross costume was termed as a felony. The Cultural beliefs of masculinity and religious notions of Christian groups led to a dominant culture linked to repression of natural sexuality, social consequences, and harsh legal and medical standards. It is observed that the LGBT community was one of the most unaccepted and unusual existence in the history of mankind, taking into account different ideologies, criminal acts, and self-discussion that promoted it. Homosexuality, one of the categories of the LGBT community and its place in America is one of the most critical topics. Many of the people, both literate and illiterate used to consider homosexuality as a disorder, in fact, a fatal illness. It was also considered as an act of sodomy, a crime, because of which someone who was homosexual was not eligible for any of the considerable options for earning a living, in fact, they were segregated from life. Today, things are changes, the attitude towards homosexuality is far different as it was in the past and it started in 20 centuries. The changes in the realm of mental health diagnosis/treatment for members of the LGBT+ community were not gradual and started suddenly in the 20th century, resulting in a society of greater acceptance and understanding.
Discussion
Modern attitude towards homosexuality is found to have some medical, legal and religious underpinnings. Before the Middle Ages, homosexual acts were continuously ignored throughout Europe, where hostility reached its peak in 12 centuries. It was 1973 when homosexuality was first classified as a mental illness in DSM, later replaced with the diagnosis of “sexual orientation disturbance”. Homosexual people were criminalized and then sent for conversion therapy in a psychiatrist hospital. Many of the people were not even recommended the therapy. There was a lot of medical specialist in the past who have categorized homosexuality another department of medical sciences as well such as eating disorder gender-atypical behavior, ego-dystonic sexual orientation and the minority sickness.
The term, “homosexuality” was coined in the late 19 century by a German psychologist Karolyn Mara Bankert. The term is associated with different departments of study such as sociology, psychology, and phycology. Queer Theory is explained in association with the symposium by Plato. Homosexuality is defined as a sexual and romantic attraction between the people of the same sex. There are several different ideas and connotations of defining homosexuality, highlighting sheer discrimination and violent reactions. Historical contexts highlight that homosexual people were not allowed to participate in the daily walks of life, they were neither employed nor given the option to study. Although scientist asserted that homosexuality is a natural phenomenon and this variation is much normal, still people are failed to understand this phenomenon. People have always found it as a negative psychological effect that is found to be a hurdle in normal social processes. The most common connotation for homosexuals is gay for males and lesbians for females, where gay refers to both males and females. The basic nation is discrimination and it is the phobia that does not count homosexual as a normal human being but they are maltreated, defined by the terms, prejudice or discrimination such as heterosexism and homophobia. By the end of 19 century, psychiatry and medicine competed effectively with jurisdiction and religion about asexuality. It was the first step that shifted homosexuality from sin to pathology.
Considering homosexuality as a disorder, people were offered treatment. There is some critical insight in understanding the measure of treatment and the choice that is given to the people for their treatment. There were a lot of people who were not at all given the option of treatment because of discrimination, this population comprises of racist groups and the black population who was directly imprisoned and they were kept in prison for long. In contrast, white people were given options of treatment and this treatment was in the form of different psychological therapies and operations that can help to support men to overcome their obsessions. With the passage of time, people themselves started looking for treatment and it resulted in stress on the treatment that there was hardly any option for them to be on the safe side. Even white women were also not given the option of treatment, taking into account some sever heinous associations with the act of being homosexual. According to research as well as Cap survey data, there are different types of discrimination that homosexual or LGBT community members had to face. Usually, there are health care providers or the practitioners themselves who refuse to treat them, usually, doctors are ignorant of the adequate treatment that can help such people get cured. In a number of cases doctors refuse to recognize the family or partner accompanying, leading to a denial of treatment.
There are a number of cases in which doctors or the practitioner are hard and rude to the patients, many times abusive to the patient. One of the most critical points is, many of the LGBT people, have to face physical contact from the doctors who are attending them as well. It is also critical to note that there were no PROMINENT platforms that were designed for this population to get themselves treated and get medical treatment. there has been a significantly high ratio of disease such as AIDS in the homosexual groups but three was no prominent platform that can be used to get medical insight. Also, there had been no insight into the awareness programs and other options that can help these groups get themselves recovered from different health issues.
Analyzing homosexuality from the viewpoint of science highlights that there are different biologists and scientists who have studied homosexuality and they have concluded that homosexuality is the result of a complex interaction of different factors that can be environmental, biological and homosexual. Also, different chromosomal, polygenetic effects viral influences and hormonal aspects are cindered as studied in homosexuality. In the context of scientific investigation homosexuality is nothing more than another version of human choice that has certain drivers behind it and it can even be passed on to the future generations. There is a lot of scientists agree that homosexuality is driven by the "gay gene" which is much unlikely. In contrast, natural laws oppose scientific phenomena where homosexuality is against natural phenomena. Homosexuality defies the realization of marriage as a guide by the natural phenomena making females eligible to drive their generation. Here, marriage is termed as one of the natural fulfillment that is defied by homosexuality. Natural laws find the LGBT community as sinners who are not parallel to the natural phenome and they are a product of violation that would lead them to nowhere.
Although science has given little space for the justification of the LGBT community, this place is not at all given in the natural realm where LGBT people are only subjects. Although the two classifications have their significant aspects of considerations still it is highlighted that the scientific investigation is not guided by any strong evidence that has asserted the presence of gay gene or some other phenomena, in fact homosexuality or other LGBT association are a natural phenomenon that has no string basics behind, proved by logic. While natural phenoms have been promoted by different religious associations that can help to understand how religion does not allow intermingling of two same genders because natural phenomena believe in the growth and evolution of the world which is only possible by the intermingling of two opposite genders.
Evaluation of daily life highlights that there are a lot of experiences, unique to LGBT people. Although a lot of progressions are made but still the LGBT community is found standing on the same point where it had started. Firstly, the LGBT community faces both health and economic disparities. LGBT community is different from social demerits such as deteriorating mental and physical health. The don’t has enough resources that can help them live a standardized life. It is not just the absence of material resource that make life different for this community but they are mentally tormented disrespected and insulted that made it hard for this population to survive. There are no or rare opportunities for this population to opt for professions or their economic avenues that can prove effective in the long run. It is not just gender difference and personal hatred that they face, but this population is seen suffering for generational differences and lack of legal protection that is one of the reasons that this population is less open to their identity and their preferences.
Social isolation is another major and dark experience of LGBT because the community is not allowed to engage and involve with the other members of the society, LGBT are not allowed to live in the society of the formal people, then they have to face a lot of difficulties in finding secure areas of living or residential places because of the inability of opportunities and rejected by people. As a result, LGBT is more likely to live alone taking into account the fact that many of the people are disowned and they are pushed out by their families who do not help them, due to which LGBT have to use illegal resources to earn a living. Another experience of living LGBT life is the lack of attention of the government to these people because they are not considered as the living part of society.
LGBT and mental disorders have a historical connection, explained in the context of pathology, theory of immaturity, and the theory of normal variation. It is highlighted that evolution in the psychiatry profession has transformed the theory of mental health in the United States. Initially when homosexuality, was considered as a mental disease Homosexual, were pushed to get themselves treated. With the passage of time and under the course of the discussion, the United Nation health agency signed a resolution under which gender identity disorder was removed from the global manual of diagnoses which had a liberated effect on the LGBT community. According to the reservation of International Classification of Disease gender nonconformity was included in the sexual rather than a mental disorder because designating homosexuality as a mental disorder made people think of LGBT community as abnormal or something who is not in his/ her sense-making them more vulnerable to social threats such as hatred, biases, and prejudice.
Another important aspect to highlights the ignorance that this community has faced over time as quoted above, LGBT has always been a victim of some kind of disparities in different forms. Prejudice in the medical realms from doctors such as getting physical, denial of treatment, abusive language and discrimination during the treatment of AIDS or other crisis had a long-lasting impact on the people that lived through that era. It was also one of the reasons that people don't expose their identities and tried their best to stay as undercover as they can. It is also found that the LGBT community was categorized in the black Column i.e. sinners and criminals because of the under-representation that they have faced in their lives and it was not signified.
A lot of the studies have been made in the context of homosexuality such as Queer theory and another major discussion that has now taken the form of gender studies. It is highlighted that the past of the LGBT community is highly violent because many of the homosexuals have been given capital punishment, even cross-dressing was also termed as a crime. Historians find “Don’t ask, don’t tell” a congressional policy that was one of the policy under which homosexuals were allowed to work in the military on the condition that they will not expose their identity. This policy was later overturned, but what is present is the impact it had on the people to forget and hide their identity for the sake of survival. The presidency of Barak Obama brought a complete ban on same-sex marriage, a nuanced federal policy to the LGBT community.
In 2009, Barak Obama called for the decriminalization of homosexuality that was the first step towards revolution. From then till today, a lot of leverage has been granted to the community in a different format. Now same sex marriages are allowed, people are given representation and the overall condition is far better than it was before. Today, there are a lot of countries and states in which homosexuals are treated with same ignorance and hatred but still, there are a lot of states in which homosexuals are given freedom of life and existence. Homosexual and other LGBT community members have become part of society, they are given chances of employment along with significance in different departments of life. With the formation of political movement and other historical steps, the LGBT community is accepted in the different walks and departments of life. Today, laws and policies such as Do not harm act, end racial and religious profiling act, Equality Act, promise car and the American Dream are all initiatives that prenoted survival options for the LGBT community.
The effectiveness of these laws and policies are not confined to the societal norms and values only, but it also promotes understanding and management regarding other aspects that are associated with LGBT. It includes promoting tolerance admits the AIDS Crises to the students, because AIDS was one of the most critical and controversial topics that created gaps in the life of the people and created distances among people. Today, various campaigns and other socializing campaigns are trying to incorporate efforts that can grant this ignorant population the right to live their life much like other people. Among all the medical phenomena is the Conversion therapy which is also called reparative theory was once treated as one of the best options for the LGBT community. Under this therapy, it was asserted that the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity will be changed. Although these practices were rejected as at all the mental health organizations because of the continuous discrimination and societal biases some of the practitioners continued to come up with this therapy. Today, this therapy is also defined and inferred because of the detrimental effects that are associated with this therapy, such as homelessness, depression, suicide drug use and anxiety. Today almost all the states and many of the countries such as California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have banned this so-called therapy that was once the only option that can be used by the LGBT community to ensure a positive approach of life. According to historians, there is significant anecdotal evidence that asserts the negative impact of this therapy and it is a reason that conversion therapy is banned in the United States as well. According to the American Psychological Association that undertook a review of the existing literature on the efficacy of the conversion therapy, it was brought to an insight that there are very rare chances that an individual would be able to overcome same-sex attraction. In short, there were some clear pieces of evidence that there were no positive or effective results from the conversion therapy and there was strong evidence of the negative impact that the therapy had on the people, leading to its futile essence and a ban.
Conclusion
After an exegetical analysis, it is highlighted that the LGBT community has been one of the most critical and controversial topics over time. Historians assert that the community has faced a lot of violence in the form of isolation, segregation, and unacceptance from different areas of life, even the political system was too brutal to accept their diversity and it resulted in different violent policies that made capital punishment necessary for the homosexual population. Before 20 century, the homosexual people were imprisoned, criminalized and they were pushed to undergo medical treatments that could not reveal positive results. The situations were so narrowed that homosexuality was considered as a mental illness and different psychological treatments were suggested for it although they do not prove to be effective. With the passage of time, and changes in the political framework, a gradual shift in the understanding and acceptance of the LGBT community was brought. After 20 century, LGBT was no longer classified as a mental illness and special significate was given to the population in the form of acceptance, different political movements and decriminalization, even “Conversion Therapy” was banned so that community members can be given freedom to live. Today the LGBT community has a lot of acceptance in the form of society members and the options of learning and living but still, there are a lot of struggles they had to do. LGBT is no longer termed as a mental illness for which homosexuals were doomed to visit psychiatrists and therapies that were doing more harm than good to the people. However, the situation is not completely changing, there are a lot of things for which the LGBT community has to strive and work hard. These struggles include overcoming prejudice biases, discrimination, hate speech and work hard to strive for their existence. Today they have to search for employment, societies to live in and get their rights in the form of licenses and visas. Although the situation is not all pleasant, still it is far better than the situation and crisis that LGBT faced in the past. In a nutshell, it would not be wrong to say that the changes in the realm of mental health diagnosis/treatment for members of the LGBT+ community were not gradual and started suddenly in the 20th century, yielding positive results and paving the way for future change.
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