https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijbovskICjk Attached is a public service video f
ID: 3497477 • Letter: H
Question
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijbovskICjk
Attached is a public service video from the 1950's discussing the perceived threat of homosexuals in society. This video is outdated and offensive, but also demonstrates how perceptions have changed regarding sexual orientation. Watch the video, citing the messages and images used. What stereotypes does this video support, or spread? Also discuss how these types of videos may have affected people who watched them, specifically how they view and think about homosexuals.
Minimum 350 words.
Explanation / Answer
Societal attitudes toward homosexuality vary greatly in different cultures and different historical periods, as do attitudes toward sexual desire, activity and relationships in general. All cultures have their own values regarding appropriate and inappropriate sexuality; some sanction same-sex love and sexuality, while others may disapprove of such activities in part. As with heterosexual behaviour, different sets of prescriptions and proscriptions may be given to individuals according to their gender, age, social status or social class.
Homophobic attitudes in society can manifest themselves in the form of anti-LGBT discrimination, opposition to LGBT rights, anti-LGBT hate speech and physical attacks targeting (presumed) LGBT persons.
Many of the world's cultures have, in the past, considered procreative sex within a recognized relationship to be a sexual norm—sometimes exclusively so, and sometimes alongside norms of same-sex love, whether passionate, intimate or sexual. Some sects within some religions, especially those influenced by the Abrahamic tradition, have censured homosexual acts and relationships at various times, in some cases implementing severe punishments. Many countries have also seen rising support for LGBT rights in modern times (including the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination laws, and other such rights).
Contemporary scholars caution against applying modern Western assumptions about sex and gender to other times and places; what looks like same-sex sexuality to a Western observer may not be "same-sex" or "sexual" at all to the people engaging in such behaviour. For example, in the Bugis cultures of Sulawesi, a female who dresses and works in a masculine fashion and marries a woman is seen as belonging to a third gender; to the Bugis, their relationship is not homosexual (see sexual orientation and gender identity). In the case of 'Sambia' (a pseudonym) boys in New Guinea who ingest the semen of older males to aid in their maturation, it is disputed whether this is best understood as a sexual act at all.
Adolescents and young adults mainly hold a negative perception of homosexuality. The most common and important predictors for a respondent's perception of homosexuality were his or her knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and how traditional his/her values may be. Greater attention needs to be paid to the popularization of knowledge about sexual and reproductive health including homosexuality—and to efforts aimed at instilling more liberal attitudes to improve adolescents’ and young adults’ perception of homosexuality. This could then reduce the marginalization and stigmatization of the homosexual, and thus improve his/her health.
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