Homosexuality is attracted to members of the same sex. Same-sex marriage rights vary around the world. Some countries have legalized it years ago, other countries only recently, and still others have not accepted homosexuality as the norm. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As a personal connection to this topic, I have a very close friend who happens to be a Vietnamese exchange student studying in the United States. After knowing her for a few years, she revealed to me the main reason why she came to study in the United States, she is a lesbian. His coming out wasn't a big surprise to me, but his story was. She came out to her Vietnamese family when she was just 12 years old and, to put it bluntly, the family rejected her. Even if not always in your face. She went on to tell me some disturbing stories of her experiences in Vietnam, from being randomly beaten up on the street (by people hired by her parents) to being written out of her parents' will. This was a shock to me because I had met his parents and they were the nicest people ever. I told her and she almost defended them by saying they had to do it because of Vietnamese culture. The LGBTQ community is not very accepted there. What's even more interesting is that he lives with his family in the United States. Except that family members here who have experienced American culture are much more tolerant. She came to America so she could live her life the way she wanted. I really think it kind of embodies the cultural differences around the acceptance of homosexuality around the world. The U.S. Supreme Court recently legalized same-sex marriage, but this was not an overnight process. Groups have fought for generations for these rights, and they were finally achieved on June 26, 2015. In the United States, there were not many attempts to achieve this goal until after World War II, although there were signs of gay community in some places. like Harlem and Greenwich Village in the 1920s. World War II allowed people to come into contact with each other much more frequently. This allowed gay men and women who had not previously had much contact with other gay men to connect with others. This, along with investigations of Senator Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s who, along with other groups, persecuted homosexuals, inspired the first political calls for fair treatment in mental health, public policy and employment (Morris). The 1950s then saw the birth of organizations and groups. who supported the gay community. Namely, the Mattachine Society, One, Inc., and the first lesbian group, Daughters of Bilitis. These groups have truly opened doors and have been able to support and reach thousands of people through their meetings and publications. There were other studies and publications made in support of the gay community in the 1950s, but they weren't getting too much attention at that point. It was only in the 1960s, after the success of the civil rights movement, that more attention was received. In the 1960s the first gay rights demonstrations took place in both Philadelphia and Washington DC. A major event in this movement followed just a few years after these demonstrations, the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots occurred in Greenwich Village in 1969, when patrons of the Stonewall protested the constant raids on this bar. This is a momentimportant in the gay rights movement (Morris). The gay rights movement also continued to pick up speed in the 1970s; more political organizations and support began to appear. The first openly gay and lesbian representatives were elected (Elaine Noble and Barney Frank), as well as the first March on Washington for gay rights in 1979. The 1980s brought more attention to the gay community for a slightly different reason, due of the AIDS epidemic. However, this attracted many more gay rights advocates. Eventually, same-sex unions were recognized in Vermont in 2000, and Massachusetts became the first state to legalize marriages in 2003. The Lawrence v. 2003 Texas eliminated criminal classification (Morris). progress has been made. Same-sex marriage is allowed in every single state thanks to the Supreme Court ruling on June 26, 2015. This doesn't mean the fight is over, but it has certainly brought a lot of progress. That day, even that week, thousands of people were using #LoveWins on almost every social network. This ruling has gained a lot of support for the gay community. However, not everyone approves, there are still many people who disagree with this ruling and with the whole idea as a whole (Chappell, 2015). Although the fight is not over, the gay community has more rights in the United States than in many other parts of the world, but at the same time it can be seen as being late to the party. The first country to receive gay rights was Holland. . The movement was sparked by Catholic psychiatrists who reported many severely depressed homosexual patients who complained of discrimination. Discrimination against any person in the Netherlands was banned in 1983, which later inspired a push for same-sex unions. In 1998, the Netherlands then passed a law loosely based on Dutch law passed in 1989 that allowed civil unions, including same-sex unions. However, discrimination and the separate but unequal social status of this social partnership exerted further social and political pressures which led to legalization on 1 April 2001 (Reflecting on 12 Years of Gay Marriage in the Netherlands, 2015). A study was conducted a few years after the legalization of same-sex marriage in the Netherlands, on how these couples felt before and after. Many people said that before same-sex marriage was legal they felt very excluded from the institution of marriage and had essentially decided it would never happen to them. They also said that after legalization they felt more accepted and more normal. Those who actually married said they felt more accepted within their families (Badgett, 2011). Portugal received gay marriage rights before the United States, however, the United States also played a role in sparking the movement in this country. The movement was virtually non-existent until the 1990s, but it picked up speed very quickly. It was a movement sparked, much like the United States, by the AIDS epidemic. However, it grew rapidly from that. After Massachusetts declared same-sex marriage legal in 2003, and Spain in 2004, the main LGBTQ organization in Portugal began pushing for change and gained a lot of support. Then, in 2006, two women asked to marry and were rejected, causing an uproar. This turmoil attracted the attention of politicians (Vale de Almeida, 2012). In October 2008, two were presented to the Portuguese Parliamentproposals in support of gay rights. Both from small left-wing parties, both failed due to socialist dominance in the Portuguese government. However, due to enormous pressure, in 2009 Portugal's then socialist prime minister declared that the September elections would include marriage equality. Soon after, gay rights became one of the most talked about things in Portugal. On June 5, 2010, gay marriage was legalized in Portugal. The movement in Portugal seemed to have taken off much more quickly than the one in the United States. The author also comments on the fact that Portugal is seen as a Catholic country. He writes that “according to a very recent study conducted by none other than the Catholic University5, 31.7% of Portuguese go to church once a week, even if 79.59% identify as Catholic. It should not surprise an anthropologist that there can be a significant difference between self-labeling and belief in and obedience to the norms supposedly embedded in the label” (Vale de Almeida, 2012, p. 27). On a very different side of the question. The process of gaining gay rights and legalizing same-sex marriage appears to be in the very distant future. However, thanks to the Internet, some progress has been made. A surprising idea due to the Chinese government's extensive control over what its population can access. However, more and more people in the gay community are discovering that they are not alone. This was one of the first steps of gay rights movements in many countries. More and more people are able to access and share information in what have become these online communities easily and without revealing their identities. As for the general public, very little information, let alone accurate information, is provided about the gay and lesbian community. These online communities have attracted Chinese scholars and will likely remain popular until the social costs of “coming out” are so high (Chase, 2012). In addition to online communities, there is also a theory that rural-urban migration has helped some identify because they have been separated from their families and can escape their family's traditions and expectations. (Haochu, Holroyd, & Lau, 2010) These online communities however do not appear to do much for legislation. These strong online voices will rarely appear in traditional media. In China there are many restrictions on political speech and media content. However, one scholar is working very hard to amend China's marriage law and legalize same-sex marriage. Her name is Li Yinhe, and she has attempted to persuade the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee almost every year since 2001. She has not had any success, but she and her people have engaged in many activities that generate advertising. The effects of these activities, however, are still mainly seen online. Online activism has been very effective due to the lack of access to traditional media. There has recently been a movement to increase awareness of the gay and lesbian community and also to have a more positive outlook on it (Chase, 2012). The gay community in China, as in many other countries, has also received a lot of negative light due to the HIV epidemic (Haochu, Holroyd, & Lau, 2010). Homosexuality is far from the norm in China and this appears to influence how those in the gay community identify. In China it is seen as abnormal, unacceptable, these people are sick and should be condemned. Especially because they are not the majority and Chinese society is supposed to support the majority. Those in the majority are seen as more powerful and just. A man.