Social

Chapter Five: Sexual Orientation

• Sexual orienta-on - the classifica,on of individuals according to their preference for emo,onal-sexual rela,onships and lifestyle with persons of the same sex (homosexuality) or persons of the opposite sex (heterosexuality). • Bisexuality - emo,onal and sexual a=rac,ons to persons of either sex.

Sexuality

• Transgendered - individuals whose gender iden,ty is different from the one assigned to them at birth. • LGBT - refers to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals as a group

Sexuality

• Based on a survey of 3,432 U.S. adults: •  2.8% of males and 1.4% of females think of themselves as homosexual or bisexual. •  About 5% of males and 4% of females say they have had sex with someone of the same gender aNer they turned 18. •  About 6% of males and 4% of females report that they have been sexually a=racted to someone of the same gender

Sexuality

• Gay rights have progressed in the United States and globally • Na,onal polls indicate increased support of gay and lesbian individuals • However, gay and lesbian individuals con,nue to experience prejudice and discrimina,on regarding equal protec,on under family law and equal opportuni,es in the workplace.

Sexuality

Understanding Sexual Orientation

• Research across disciplines on homosexuality - • Biology: studies on the possibility of a hormonal or gene,c basis • Psychology: homosexuality ini,ally classified a mental illness. Now, studies center on the emo,onal/psychological impact of a homosexual iden,ty • Sociology: examines the social and structural factors that affect sexual orienta,on

Sociological Perspectives on Sexual Orientation and Inequality

Func-onalist Perspec-ve • Func,onalists iden,fy how society upholds heterosexuality and a marital union between a man and a woman as ideal norma,ve behavior. • Ins-tu-onalized heterosexuality - the set of ideas, ins,tu,ons, and rela,onships that define the heterosexual family as the societal norm

• 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) denies federal recogni,on of same-sex unions, defining marriage as a legal union only between a man and a woman. • This legisla,on serves as a declara,on about how the heterosexual family is valued and how all other family forms are not. • Other forms of sexuality are considered deviant or unnatural because they do not fit society’s ideal.

Sociological Perspectives on Sexual Orientation and Inequality

Con=lict and Feminist Perspectives

• Heterosexism – assumes that heterosexuality is the norm, encouraging discrimina,on in favor of heterosexuals and against homosexuals. • Heterosexual privilege – defined as the set of privileges or advantages granted to some people because of their heterosexuality.

• Three types of heterosexual bias have been iden,fied in welfare policy. • Policies that explicitly target LGBT individuals as abnormal or deviant. • Federal defini,ons that assume that all families are heterosexual. • Policies that overlook LGBT poverty and social needs because of stereotypes about affluence among LGBT families.

Heterosexual Bias

• From a feminist perspec,ve, the ques,on about gay marriage rights is bound to the ongoing cri,que of marriage as an ins,tu,on. •  Radical feminists reject marriage outright on the basis of marriage as an oppressive ins,tu,on.

•  Liberal reform feminists support the choice to marry on the understanding that men and women (or same-sex couples) can conduct their marriages in nontradi,onal ways.

Heterosexual Bias

• Though same-sex couples would not have the same legal protec,on under civil unions or domes,c partnerships as they would under marital law, these unions con,nue to be promoted by poli,cians and social leaders as viable alterna,ves to marriage. • What do you think? • Should civil unions or domes,c partnerships be advocated as acceptable alterna,ves to marriage for same-sex couples? Why or why not?

Heterosexual Bias

Interactionist Perspective

• Homophobia - A socially determined prejudice and irra,onal fear or intolerance of homosexuals. •  Homophobia is par,cularly directed at gay men.

•  Interac,onists examine how sexual orienta,on is constructed within a social context. • The term “heterosexuality” is a social inven,on that designates a concept par,cular to the late 19th and 20th centuries. •  Though heterosexuality existed before, it played an important role in consolida,ng the construc,on of the heterosexual’s social existence.

• Interac,onists also examine the process of how individuals iden,fy themselves as homosexual, or the development of a gay iden,ty. • Coming out (being gay and disclosing it to others) has come to symbolize the pursuit of individual rights and self-iden,fica,on. • Coming out implies not just the disclosure of a gay iden,ty, but also the individual’s posi,ve aitude toward and commitment to that iden,ty

Interactionist Perspective

Summary of Sociological Perspectives

Sexual Orientation and Inequality U.S. Legisla-on on Homosexuality • Bisexual or homosexual men, women, and their families are subject to social inequali,es through prac,ces of discrimina,on and prejudice, many ins,tu,onalized in formal law. • Although sodomy laws may apply to homosexuals and heterosexuals, sodomy laws are more vigorously applied against same-sex partners. • 13 U.S. states s,ll had state sodomy laws in 2003

• In 2009, the U.S. Congress passed legisla,on to grant gay individuals protec,on under hate- crime laws. • The legisla,on increases penal,es against a=ackers. • Some conserva,ve and religious groups opposed the legisla,on saying that the bill would create special classes of federally protected crime vic,ms and would endanger First Amendment rights. • Signing bill, President Barack Obama promised that people would be protected from violence based on “what they look like, who they love, how they pray or why they are” (Feller, 2009).

Sexual Orientation and Inequality U.S. Legisla-on on Homosexuality

• Under the 2012 California Law, repara,ve therapy is prohibited for pa,ents under the age of 18. • New Jersey was the second state to ban sexual orienta,on conversion therapy.

Sexual Orientation and Inequality

U.S. Legisla-on on Homosexuality

The Rights and Recognition of Same-Sex Couples

• DOMA permits states to ban all recogni,on of same-sex marriages •  More than 41 states have such bans in place. •  The federal government will not accept marriage licenses granted to same-sex couples, even if a state provides equal privileges to all types of partnerships. •  DOMA denies federal benefits available to or required for married opposite-sex couples. •  Gay and lesbian families are denied common legal protec,ons such as adop,on, custody, guardianship, social security, and inheritance.

•  In 2002, President Bush signed the Mychal Judge Act, which allows federal death benefits to be paid to the same-sex partners of firefighters and police officers who die in the line of duty. •  In 2006, the Federal Pension Protec,on Act extended financial protec,ons to same-sex couples and Americans who leave their re,rement savings to non-spouse beneficiaries. •  In 2010, President Barack Obama instructed the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to draN rules requiring hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid payments (which includes most of the na,on’s medical facili,es) to grant all pa,ents the right to say who has visita,on rights and who can help make medical decisions.

The Rights and Recognition of Same-Sex Couples

• In 2004 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom secretly began planning to marry gay and lesbian couples. • Between February 12 and March 10, 2004, more than 4,000 same-sex marriage licenses were issued

• In August 2004, the California Supreme Court ruled that Mayor Newsom did not have the authority to issue marriage licenses to same- sex couples and declared the marriage licenses invalid.

The Rights and Recognition of Same-Sex Couples

• In response to the same-sex marriages in California, President Bush endorsed a cons,tu,onal amendment that would restrict marriage to two people of opposite sexes but leN open the possibility that states could allow civil unions in same-sex rela,onships. •  In July 2004, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a cons,tu,onal amendment that would have declared marriage as a union only between a man and a woman.

The Rights and Recognition of Same-Sex Couples

• A public opinion survey in 2010 revealed the highest level of support for gay rights during the past three decades. • However, opposi,on regarding homosexual marriage remains high according to the data. • With such strong support for gay rights in other life aspects, why does opposi9on regarding gay marriage remain?

The Rights and Recognition of Same-Sex Couples

Employment • Between 16% and 46% of gays, lesbians, or bisexuals have experienced discrimina,on based on sexual orienta,on. • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimina,on because of sex (gender), which means that protec,on for homosexuals based on sexual orienta,on is not covered. • Unlike discrimina,on based on characteris,cs such as skin color or gender, discrimina,on against gays and lesbians must be based on knowledge or suspicion of someone’s sexual orienta,on.

• Between one quarter and two thirds of LGB people report losing their jobs or missing promo,ons because of their sexual orienta,on • Gay workers earn less than heterosexual workers. • Currently there is no federal law that protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimina,on. •  In 2009, the Employment Non-Discrimina,on Act (ENDA) was introduced in the U.S. Congress. If passed, the act would provide basic protec,ons against workplace discrimina,on on the basis of sexual orienta,on or gender iden,ty.

•  21 states, D.C., and several hundred U.S. ci,es and coun,es, and 88% of all Fortune 500 companies have similar protec,ons.

Employment

Responding to Sexual Orientation Inequalities

• In 2003, the Massachuse=s Supreme Judicial Court ruled that same-sex and opposite-sex couples must be given equal civil rights under the state’s cons,tu,on. •  Allowed same-sex couples to obtain a civil marriage license, make health and financial decisions for each other, file joint state tax returns, and receive other protec,ons under state law. •  In May 2004, Massachuse=s became the first state in the na,on to let same-sex couples marry.

Family Legisla-on

• As of November 2012, eight U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage, while other states offer limited forms of domes,c partnership to same-sex couples. • Though gay marriage was legal for a short ,me, on November 4, 2008, 52% of California voters approved Proposi,on 8, a measure that restricted the defini,on of marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Responding to Sexual Orientation Inequalities

• Denmark was first European country to recognize same-sex unions in 1989. • Civil unions or gay marriages or partnerships are legal in Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Canada. • In 2006, South Africa passed its Civil Union Act, which is based on their cons,tu,on, which was the first in the world to prohibit discrimina,on based on sexual orienta,on. • Marriages legal in these countries may not be recognized by other countries.

Responding to Sexual Orientation Inequalities

Same-Sex Marriage and Partnership Recognition Worldwide 2014

• Un,l 2010, Florida was the only state that explicitly forbade adop,on by unmarried gay, lesbian, or bisexual individuals. • At the end of 2014, 23 states and District of Columbia allow same sex couples to pe,,on jointly to adopt; 8 states restrict or ban these adop,ons. • Academic research has consistently indicated that gay parents and their children do not differ significantly from heterosexual parents and their children.

Same-Sex Marriage and Partnership Recognition

Military Service • During his first presiden,al campaign, Bill Clinton promised to extend full civil rights to gays and lesbians, including military service. • Military policy at that ,me banned gay and lesbian individuals from military service. •  In 1993, President Clinton suspended the policy, and the Na,onal Defense Authoriza,on Act became law. •  Included the “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy - known homosexuals are not allowed to serve in the U.S. military, but the military is banned from asking enlistees ques,ons about their sexual orienta,on.

•  In 2007, the Pentagon revealed that 58 Arabic language experts were discharged from military service since the incep,on of the policy because they were gay. • U.S. House Representa,ves were cri,cal of the Pentagon, believing that the policy and its ac,ons were homophobic rather than focusing on the country’s na,onal security needs. •  In 2010 tes,mony before a Senate panel, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff supported repeal of the law.

Military Service