LGBT Rights Today
LGBT individuals and behavior continue to have an impact on modern society and culture, in which there are numerous conflicts over the issue. The varying types of sexuality found in ancient cultures clearly prove the modern scientific belief in the sexual continuum, that “sexual orientation and preference is probably not one discrete and rigid reality,” rather, it “lies somewhere along an emotional and physical continuum from 100% homosexual to 100% heterosexual” and even that might “have the element of being ‘fluid’” (UniversityBlues.org). People are attracted to a wide range of different sexualities, and even these preferences are in constant flux. However, the conflict over LGBT rights is one that faces countless obstacles. While members of the LGBT community hailed the passage of the bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; in California, Proposition 8 curtailed the freedom of LGBT individuals to marry, a point even more conservative than many of the ancient cultures mentioned earlier. This is the height of injustice, where people are denying individuals the right to express their sexuality, prohibiting an action that is purely natural and was openly practiced in the ancient world.
However, even with advancing conservatism that is more conservative on LGBT issues than many ancient societies, there are still small successes being made by LGBT individuals, who are gaining increased rights in more places, such as Europe, although a vast majority of countries still prohibit and punish LGBT interactions. Moreover, media and science are now accepting of LGBT individuals, like Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Harris, recognizing their sexuality as natural and as something that should not be criticized. LGBT themes and rights are therefore important points in popular culture, which is the modern “mythology” of film and TV; and there is a slow-growing acceptance of LGBT rights, a return to mankind’s more historical, natural roots against the Victorian, so-called “conservative” anti-LGBT tendencies that, when looking back at ancient cultures, are not even truly conservative. In fact, accepting LGBT rights and freedoms would be the real conservative course of action. However, despite contention, the growth of inclusion for LGBT individuals is a trend that society should accept, recognizing it as a way to bring greater individuality and freedom, as a development that could transform modern culture and belief in a beneficial way.
However, even with advancing conservatism that is more conservative on LGBT issues than many ancient societies, there are still small successes being made by LGBT individuals, who are gaining increased rights in more places, such as Europe, although a vast majority of countries still prohibit and punish LGBT interactions. Moreover, media and science are now accepting of LGBT individuals, like Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Harris, recognizing their sexuality as natural and as something that should not be criticized. LGBT themes and rights are therefore important points in popular culture, which is the modern “mythology” of film and TV; and there is a slow-growing acceptance of LGBT rights, a return to mankind’s more historical, natural roots against the Victorian, so-called “conservative” anti-LGBT tendencies that, when looking back at ancient cultures, are not even truly conservative. In fact, accepting LGBT rights and freedoms would be the real conservative course of action. However, despite contention, the growth of inclusion for LGBT individuals is a trend that society should accept, recognizing it as a way to bring greater individuality and freedom, as a development that could transform modern culture and belief in a beneficial way.
