Homosexuality and Social Norms
English 101
October 15, 2013
What Are Homosexuals For? The world is always at a constant change. The social norms of today may not be the norms of tomorrow. As the world continues to spin, so do the minds of the billions of people living on this planet. Every day we see the creation of new ideas and social reforms. One of the biggest changes in society to take place within recent times has been the growth of gay rights in our nation. Fifty years ago the gay community was viewed more as a physiological issue than rather a sexual preference. One of the best things about change is that it washes away and brings in the new. Gays used to be considered weird and strange but recently they have received more rights and freedoms. Within the last few years the gay community has gained the right to get married in several states. This was a feat that just a few years prior was thought to be impossible. This article talked about the difficulties that come with the condition of being gay. Andrew Sullivan, the author, is gay. He tells us this in the first paragraph. I believe he does this to show that he is comfortable with who he is even though it was not always this way. The first story he tells us is about a man with few friends and who is immensely fat. The story goes that one day the man couldn’t get out of bed because he realized how empty his heart was. This feeling is the lowest a person can feel because they believe they have nothing to live for. The reason for him feeling this way is because deep down inside he knew he was gay but he spent his whole life suppressing it that he forgot who he was. After this day he declared his homosexuality proudly and began to live his life like he always wanted to. Sadly, just a few years later he died. Although his life ended abruptly, he was able to start living and stop hiding. I believe this is a major point in this article. Sullivan uses sexuality as the example to show us that we
October 15, 2013
What Are Homosexuals For? The world is always at a constant change. The social norms of today may not be the norms of tomorrow. As the world continues to spin, so do the minds of the billions of people living on this planet. Every day we see the creation of new ideas and social reforms. One of the biggest changes in society to take place within recent times has been the growth of gay rights in our nation. Fifty years ago the gay community was viewed more as a physiological issue than rather a sexual preference. One of the best things about change is that it washes away and brings in the new. Gays used to be considered weird and strange but recently they have received more rights and freedoms. Within the last few years the gay community has gained the right to get married in several states. This was a feat that just a few years prior was thought to be impossible. This article talked about the difficulties that come with the condition of being gay. Andrew Sullivan, the author, is gay. He tells us this in the first paragraph. I believe he does this to show that he is comfortable with who he is even though it was not always this way. The first story he tells us is about a man with few friends and who is immensely fat. The story goes that one day the man couldn’t get out of bed because he realized how empty his heart was. This feeling is the lowest a person can feel because they believe they have nothing to live for. The reason for him feeling this way is because deep down inside he knew he was gay but he spent his whole life suppressing it that he forgot who he was. After this day he declared his homosexuality proudly and began to live his life like he always wanted to. Sadly, just a few years later he died. Although his life ended abruptly, he was able to start living and stop hiding. I believe this is a major point in this article. Sullivan uses sexuality as the example to show us that we