SOCI CHAPTER 6: Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation

`attitudes, beliefs, and practices related to sexual attraction and intimate relationships with others

a behavior, belief, or condition that violates social norms

excessive fear or intolerance of homosexuality --> socially determined prejudice, not a medically recognized phobia

a belief system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes and gay, lesbian, or bisexual behavior, identity, or community --> maintained in ideologies that are rooted in religion and law

the only major world religion that does not condemn homosexuality

a religious body that focuses on the spiritual needs of the gay community

criminalize oral or anal intercourse between persons of the same sex (passed by only a few states

the U.S. Supreme Court upheld state laws banning sodomy whether or not the conduct is between persons of the same sex --> Court ruled that people do not have a constitutional right to engage in private homosexual conduct

-can cohabit or have a domestic partnership
-missing out on joint parenting through birth or adoption; the right to file joint income tax returns; legal immigration and residency for partners from other countries; benefits such as annuities, pensions, and Social Security for surviving spouses, wrongful death benefits for surviving partners; and immunity from having to testify in court against a spouse

refers to the practice in which partners live together in a sexual relationship where they assume the same responsibilities of a married couple but are not considered by law to have all of the rights and privileges of those who are considered to be legally "married"

a household partnership between two individuals of the same gender who live together in a long-term relationship of infinite duration and shared a common domestic life but are not legally married or joined by a civil union

-passed by Congress in 1996
-law that denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to ignore unions that are legalized elsewhere

2 states where same-sex marriages are currently recognized

-1948 decision
-struck down a state ban on interracial marriage (but nothing to do with gays supposedly)

-5 million lesbian mothers and 3 million gay fathers in the U.S.
-gay fathers sometimes face double jeopardy in child custody struggles

--Religion
--Law
--Marital Rights
--Parental
--Housing
--Medical care
--Occupational

-physicians overlook diseases that gay men or lesbians are more prone to contract
-risk of developing anal cancer is 25-84 times higher for gay men
-greater chance of acquiring gastrointestinal and rectal diseases

a federal agency that acknowledges that same sex sexual harassment occurs in the workplace, supervisors frequently do not take it seriously

-Clinton administration policy where commanders may no longer ask about a service person's sexual orientation, and gay men and lesbians can serve in the military as long as they do not reveal their sexual orientation known to others

a college student who was brutally murdered because of his sexual orientation in 1999

-appear to be most prevalent where homophobic attitudes and behaviors are tolerated or at least overlooked

-before this, hate crimes were classified at such only on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion

-suggest that sexual orientation might be determined by a person's genetic inheritance--> is an ascribed characteristic, present from birth, that cannot be changed through counseling or therapy
-sex chromosome that might increase the likelihood of homosexuality among members of the same family

-the part of the brain that governs sexual arousal
-in gay men --> stimulated by a testosterone-related scent derived from male sweat that also sexually arouse women

associate homosexuality with mental processes and childhood experiences
-can work in association with biological factors

-founder of the psychoanalytic approach
-believed that humans are constitutionally bisexual (masculine and feminine coexist in everyone), but as children progress toward adulthood, they move toward heterosexuality
(hetero--> good health, homo --> bad health)

formally classified homosexuality as form of mental illness and suggested that treatments ranging from castration to electroshock therapy might remedy the problem

thinks that genetic factors and gender roles in childhood interact to produce sexual orientation; best predictor of sexual orientation is the degree to which children are gender-conforming
--does not take into account the fact that what is defined as gender appropriate is different across cultures and over time

-view heterosexual and homosexual conduct as learned behavior and focus on the process by which individuals come to identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or straight
-master status
-first experience identity confusion, then establish a gay identity, then attempt to integrate their self-concept and acceptance of a label

the most significant status a person possesses because it largely determines how individuals view themselves and how they are treated by others

focus on the relationship between social structure and sexual orientation
--social norms and laws are established to preserve social institutions and maintain stability in society

--focuses on tensions in society and differences in interests and power among opposing groups
--people who hold the greatest powe4r are able to have their own attitudes, beliefs, and values about sexual orientation

these sexual norms reflects the beliefs of dominant group members who hold high-level positions in the federal and state government, the military, and other social institutions

---organizations established to protect "traditional marriage" have been active in advocating passage of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage
---view LGBT as part of the problem rather than as part of the solution for bringing about stability to families
--support don't ask don't tell

--need to repeal laws prohibiting sexual acts between consenting adults and to pass laws that ban all forms of discrimination against people who are LGBT

--society should be more tolerant of people as they come to accept their sexual identity
--legal and social barriers that prevent people who are LGBT from fully participating in society should be removed, thus making the complex psychological and social process of coming out to friends, family, and coworkers easier for those who choose to do so

-passing (lies in order to be seen as straight)
-covering (not disclosing info)
-being implicitly out (using language or indications about sexual orientation)
-affirming identity (encouraging others to view them as gay