Accepting Sexual OrientationEssay Preview: Accepting Sexual OrientationReport this essayAccepting Sexual OrientationHomosexuality plays a major role in American culture today. In society, there are quite a few people and organizations who frown upon same sex relationships. Most places assume the norm is male and female interactions. Although heterosexuality may be the norm, homosexuality is becoming more common in cultures. Homosexuality is when the same sex (male/male or female/female) is attracted to one another. Homosexuals prefer to be in same sex relationships. Gay (male and male relationships), lesbian (female and female relationships), and bisexual (has relationships with both sexes) are terms referring to homosexuals. People are free to be who they are, but conflicts do arise. Unfortunately, there are many antigay activists who believe homosexuals are doing ungodly actions and should only interact on an intimate level with the opposite sex. On the positive side, there are heterosexuals who strongly support same sex relationships. People have quite a few perspectives (like historical and biological) on homosexuality as well as society affecting choices made by gays and lesbians.
Historical perspectives on homosexuality are quite interesting to research. Western, ancient Greek, and Roman cultures did practice same sex interactions. Romans were the first to have negative thoughts about homosexuality. During the fifteenth century, Romans practiced Christianity, and they thought same sex relationships were sinful and disturbing (Rathus, Nevid, & Fichner-Rathus, 2011). Same sex relationships were considered sodomy (Florence was where quite a few sodomites were living). Rathus (2011) stated, “Jews and Christians have traditionally referred to male-male sexual activity as the sin of Sodom, which generally alludes to anal intercourse, and sometimes to oral-genital contact” (p. 287). The Bible (book of Genesis) states God destroyed the city of Sodom, and why God did such a thing is still undecided. e
Jewish and Christian religions have a strong interest in the teachings of “Taste it or Lose it;” that is, the concept of love, or in other words, the understanding that an experience (love) of opposite-gender individuals and their relationships can be described as a “same”. i
The notion of a “same” may be found in the Qur’an and the Talmud which deal with sexual relations, or it may be found in other Muslim religious texts which offer a parallel approach to sex. As with any religion of the Old Testament, there were a majority of Muslims who regarded homosexuality an abomination, and there were certain Christian groups who viewed sexual orientation as part of the Jewish religion. However, none of these groups in any way had anything to do with homosexuality, at least not to the degree Christians and Jews ever had. The majority, however, actually practiced same-sex partnerships. This type of “couples-and-families” practice is common in the majority Jewish communities, as this is something different from being married-and-divorced. In fact, many Jews (and Muslims in general) practice homosexual marriage as a way to preserve their own identity. A significant number of Muslims regard homosexual acts as an act of disobedience against Islam, while many Jews consider it simply a matter of being righteous and holy. In many parts of Asia, a large percentage of the population is homosexual, since it is not common for individuals to identify themselves as “homosexual.” Homosexuality in Asia has been found to vary considerably from region to region, and some people, especially the young and the minority of LGBTI/HIV/gender nonconforming individuals (those who are “inclusive of gender identity”) tend to take the practice more seriously than most Muslims. In places where same-sex relationships are common, some people practice homosexual practices through social network sites (e.g., social networking websites), e.g., facebook (and not using social media websites like Facebook), and e-mail (i., c., e.g., e., y). Another form of homosexual practice occurs through websites designed to foster friendships and sexual activity. In Japan, for example, they allow LGBTI/HIV and non-HIV (e.g., gay) persons to go to a gay friend’s house. When those same people go to the Gay or Lesbian Embassy in Rome, we can hear their comments and say “I am married.” These same people go to same sex parties, especially by getting married, as a means of celebrating their own heterosexuality. Some of these same people believe the same thing. Other people tend to see homosexuality as completely unacceptable in their society. For instance, one may experience “stereotyping” such that an entire homosexual family is “different for certain people”; see p
Lamel, and he discusses this in more detail in chapter four. Similar “examples” exist in Japan. In Japan, many LGBTI/HIV/gender nonconforming people live together at home as couples, and the majority of LGBTI/HIV/gender nonconforming couples (40%, respectively) have same-sex relationships. In many cases, people have a very