Homosexual Identities

Homosexual Identities

            Ellen Lee DeGeneres is one of America’s most popular TV hosts famous for her TV show named The Ellen Lee DeGeneres Show. The 62-year-old American begun as a standup comedian and progressed to launch her daytime talk show. Today, over 15 years since her debut, her show has enjoyed remarkable success competing against other renowned TV shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show for ratings and viewership. The Ellen Lee DeGeneres Show has been produced to comprise of celebrity and non-celebrity interviews, pranks, games, conversations with the audience and jokes, among others. Besides her professional life, Ellen has also been in the limelight since 1997 when she came out as a lesbian. Eleven years later, she married her girlfriend through a 2008 wedding ceremony. Ellen marks one of the key personalities in the United States who have identified as homosexuals and advocated for their rights. This essay compares the massive stigmatization of homosexuality as a sexual identity before the 21^st century and the increased recognition of their rights and freedoms after the turn of the millennium in the United States.

On the surface, homosexuality is defined as sexual relationships between people of the same sex. However, beneath the umbrella of same-sex relationships, there exists many different behaviors and preferences that alter how homosexuals identify themselves. The most common forms of homosexual identity are gays and lesbians. The word gay is used interchangeably for both females and males. However, when differentiated from lesbianism, gay refers to identification by males as having romantic or emotional feelings towards fellow males. At the same time, lesbians identify as having romantic or passionate feelings towards fellow females. Both gays and lesbians identify as part of homosexual identity.

Before the 21^st century, the United States was a society that largely stigmatized homosexual identity. The society acknowledged heterosexual identities only and thus, did not recognize any other sexual identities. However, homosexual attitudes existed long before American institutions began to define and conceptualize the term. From time to time, some people organized their lives around alternative forms of sexual behaviors that did not typically revolve around the traditional nuclear family set-up and reproduction practices. This was especially common for people who were organized along with same-sex groups, for instance, in the military. However, homosexuality, alongside other unconventional sexual practices, was deemed as deviant and categorized under the sodomy laws. In most cases, participants who vor engaged in homosexual activities were punished through fining, whipping, and were excluded from federal jobs such as working for the military. For instance, Apuzzo (2014) explains that homosexuals were perceived as immoral and as threats to the nation’s security, and suspicions about their existence led to an investigation by the F.B.I through an initiative called the Sex Deviate Program. Even though a few individuals and groups created movements to advocate for tolerance towards homosexuals, the U.S climate was still largely anti-gays.

Towards the turn of the millennium, things began to look up for the gay populations as the stigmatizations towards their sexual identity begun to reduce. More than any other time in the past, more people are ready to “come out” about their sexual orientation. A study that explored three different generations, one born in the 1960s, and another in the 1980s and the last one at the turn of the new millennium reveals that the youngest generation realized their sexual identity at an earlier age and came out about it at an earlier age, as well (Meyer, 2018). Even though this report was inclusive of bisexual identities, it demonstrates increased openness towards unconventional sexual identities such as homosexuals. Besides, at the beginning of the 21^st century, state governments began to legalize gay marriages, and thus they were entitled to certain rights and not viable for punishment. For instance, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Californian governments and courts ruled pro-same sex marriages in 2001, 2004, and 2008 respectively. In the same vein, sodomy laws that previously criminalized homosexual activities were outlawed. Homosexual identities gained access to federal and non-federal jobs without discrimination; for instance, in 2003, the first openly gay bishop was ordained to office. Unlike any time in the past, the 21^st century saw the recognition of homosexuals in home and work environments, thus leading to significantly less stigmatization than they faced in earlier centuries.

The perception and attitudes about being a homosexual have significantly changed over the years. Before the 21^st century, homosexuals faced massive stigmatization since they were treated as outcasts and even punished by law. At the turn of the millennium, the stigmatization significantly reduced with general recognition of their rights and, thus, legalization of gay marriages in some states. The nation may still have a long way to go in creating a more inclusive environment for homosexuals. However, led by personalities such as Ellen, the future appears bright for sexual identities that were historically perceived as unnatural.