ESSAY ASSIGNMENT: Argument Essay REVISION

Hespanha

Giovanna Hespanha

English Composition II

13 June 2021

Discrimination Against LGBT Community

Audience: People who believe homosexuality is wrong and people who do not have much information about it.

The human being is born endowed with biological characteristics that frame him as a male or female individual. In this context, several sexual behaviors diverge from this established biologic pattern, which causes social conflicts such as prejudice and exclusion. It occurs not only because of the attitudes of gender intolerance present in society but also because of the pre-established roles imposed on the individual.

There is an undeniable feature about an old, and very well-established power relationship as a pillar of society, especially that considered western: oppression. Silent or scandalous, shrewd or disguised as legitimate – for some – it is still present, certainly persistent in the “modern” era, after so many centuries of patient construction to define and segregate the oppressed and the oppressors.

Throughout history, the resistance and struggle of minorities against a system that only tends to fortify the dehumanization of human beings who differ from the oppressor in any respect are remarkable. The struggle of blacks, women, and, more recently, sexual and gender diversity has already been seen. The latter is perhaps the strongest that will shake the pyramid for a simple fact: sexuality or even the lack of it, as well as complex gender issues, are inherent in human nature and can be repressed and even shaped – suppressed exclamations – by heteronomy and its companion “cissexism”, which dictates the existence of only two genders defined by the individual's genitalia at birth.

It is important to emphasize that hetero norm and cisgender existence are deeply rooted oppression in society that broken, corrupts, and compromise the revolting stability of the pyramid, and favoring unsettle the oppressor, making him try at all costs to legitimize them to the base of the most diverse and absurd fallacies. This attempt that shows success in religious, moralistic, and conservative discourses, extends to the mainstream media, schools and reaffirming itself in homes and family circles, to silence and repress - even with the use of violence – something so fundamental to all of us: the freedom to be.

Moonlight: under the moonlight, was considered the best film of the year 2017 by the Oscars, the movie portrays the dramas lived by the protagonist Chiron, among them, the discovery of his sexuality and the offenses suffered due to it. This scenario was recurrent for me because I also live daily with prejudice and hatred.

Alan Turing, the father of computing, who contributed to unraveling the Nazi codes and, consequently, shortening wartime, had his life ended by chemical castration as punishment for being gay at that time. In this context, this deep-rooted discrimination persists and, mainly, because of a conservative wave supported by the Evangelical caucus due to heteronormativity. Thus, many people are repressed in different environments, such as school and work.

One of the main points to be highlighted is that schools have not provided a welcoming and informative environment for teenagers. Something essential, as these are in the discovery phase, especially about sexuality. Consequently, young people who do not meet a 'heteronormative' pattern end up not accepting their sexuality, making the process confusing and even painful. As well, the family is another factor that may or may not make the problem worse. Many parents, when faced with a homosexual child, do not seek to understand him, on the contrary, isolate him from the family environment. Finally, these teenagers find themselves alone, they do not find support in the school environment or the family.

Even with the representation in the media, and with the struggle of the LGBTQ+ Movement, there is no doubt that violence, whether physical or verbal, is part of our daily life. Thus, fear and insecurity haunt an individual's basic activities; for example, for me it is not a simple situation to go out on the street with my girlfriend. We have fear and are always paying attention because we can even die or be attacked by homophobes. In addition, due to oppression, bullying, disorders, for example, anxiety and depression are recurrent in our lives, as well as suicide.

It was very difficult to come out to my mother because she always dreamed that I would marry a man. I went through terrible moments where I was almost thrown out of the house, but thanks to a psychologist friend of my mother she sought help, and nowadays she treats me normally. I believe that lack of information is the worst thing in the world, because without acknowledgement we are ignorant, and we can hurt others with our unfounded attitudes. This subject should be more debated, and people should research more and listen to reports of people who suffer daily just for being who they are.

Silence is fought with voice, noise, and positioning. The resistance that seeks social equity to fight oppressive structures requires visibility and representation. Demolishing the pyramid and designing a new human era in which its members have the same rights at collective well-being is a struggle that requires an avid and joint effort by minorities, whether in the streets, classrooms, political chambers. Taking by example the ideology of the pioneer Harvey Milk, gay rights activist elected to the California House in the mid-1980s, is a good starting point: if we go unnoticed, we will make no difference.

Even with all the representation, I felt alone at that moment. I went through a deep depression, and thanks to therapy I am feeling fine these days. It is hard to deal with all kinds of aggression and people looking different to you just because you are different. People should be more empathetic and put themselves in others' shoes. Love is love, and that is what matters!