So society's attitudes, particularly among men, seem to be changing. Of course, we have thought that all along with gay TV shows, movies, and new discussions of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Mr. Blow references a new Gallup report on American's Views on Homsexuality.
Mr. Blow concludes with the following in his last paragraph:
Professor Savin-Williams says that his current research reveals that the fastest-growing group along the sexuality continuum are men who self-identify as “mostly straight” as opposed to labels like “straight,” “gay” or “bisexual.” They acknowledge some level of attraction to other men even as they say that they probably wouldn’t act on it, but ... the right guy, the right day, a few beers and who knows. As the professor points out, you would never have heard that in years past.
Be sure to review his article and the Gallup poll information. Then leave your comments below.
Be sure to review his article and the Gallup poll information. Then leave your comments below.
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3 comments:
You always find the most interesting topics to post about. I do think homosexuality has become more acceptable in more liberal areas of America. The South has never been very accepting of anything except whites and heterosexuality. As a rule, it is still a very homophobic and racist area, but things are changing. In the south, it seems that the most accepting areas are those with college campuses, it must be all those radically liberal professors and students, LOL. However, TV shows like "Will and Grace," "The Ellen Degeneres Show," and "Sex in the City," movies like "Brokeback Mountain," openly gay singers like Adam Lambert and Ricky Martin, and openly gay actors like Neil Patrick Harris have all made the visibility of normal gay men and women apparent to even the most blind in America.
Treating homosexuality as something other than the comic relief and showing that it can be normal is the best way for attitudes to change. You can't force something on someone. I think the Gay Rights Movement is, hopefully, finally learning this.
I found the most interesting thing about the Gallup poll was the nurture v. nature poll. When I was born, 56 percent of Americans believed that it was environmental, whereas, only 13 percent believed people were born gay. It appears to be constantly fluctuating in the last 10 years with roughly 40 percent believing that people are born gay and another roughly 40 percent believing it is environmental (I found the yearly fluctuations to be fascinating, but it appears to be a statistical dead heat). Those who think it is a mixture of the two have remained slightly above 10 percent for the past 32 years.
I think in years to come, the number of people who see gays and lesbians as being morally acceptable will continue to be on the rise. I hope that one day, this will not even be an issue.
Joe, thanks for your lengthy explicit comment. We can only hope as you said, "that one day, this will not even be an issue."
I really think that as our older citizens pass away, things will change more rapidly towards lgbt people being much more accepted. I also think that the days of being only straight, or gay will fade too. I believe that we are headed, thankfully, into a future where sex and love are considered to be normal no matter what the sex of the people involved are.
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