Orozco 1

Maria Orozco
Professor Rudd
English 104
03 June 2016
The Right to Be You
Recently, there has been more attention drawn to certain communities that used to be
completely hidden away. The most prominent of these being the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) community. Lately there has been more acceptance nationally for people
who identify themselves within this community. Due to this, many have been finally choosing
to come out. However, in spite of these steps forward that many have taken, there is still a
stigma against the people of this community. This is an issue that must be dealt with because
too often closed minds get in the way of this freedom. The LGBT community should be given
the ability to function freely within society as their sexual identity should not inhibit their
ability to live a normal life.
When bringing up this sensitive topic, many tend to get offended or defensive. Much of
the opposition states that the members of the LGBT community chose to live this unnatural
lifestyle and often do not hold back their opinions when with someone in this community. This
offence stems from the heterosexual norms ingrained in modern society which shape the way
many people think; causing them to have a closed minded opinion on the situation. Seeing as
people of this mindset think it is a choice, they make attempts to convert LGBT members.
These conversion therapies can often leave the patient mentally scarred. This practice has been
seen as so cruel and unusual that currently, some states are going through the process of
banning the use of this practice on minors. As shown by the Movement Advancement Projects

Orozco 2
(MAP) webpage, which is dedicated to LGBT research, there are only 5 states (and
Washington DC) who have adopted such a law (Conversion Therapy Laws). This small step
could save many from the emotional trauma that can result from this supposedly reparative
therapy.
There are also plenty of other negative effects that can come from attempting to come
out. Due to the fear of losing loved ones, or being shunned from society as a whole these
closeted members choose to hide away in secret. Seeing as there are still many closed minded
people, this fear is not an irrational one. There is still much discrimination towards the LGBT
community, it is not unheard of that someone is denied a job just because of their sexual
orientation. Even in public, the members of this community often receive intimidating looks or
comments. There are also times when members of this community are physically harmed by
others just for being who they are.
Often, this taunting and mental duress can prove to be too much to handle. Some
teenagers claim that they often choose to choose self destructive actions because they believe it
to be a relief from the position of shame that they experience in their day to day life. A work
written by Elizabeth McDermott and her colleagues presents this kind of struggle through
various forms of research. McDermott provides the statistic stating LGBT youth are four times
more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual counterparts (817).
I have seen firsthand what the pressure of heterosexual norms can do to an LGBT youth.
It was only a few years ago when my older brother was still in the closet. I recall him saying
that he was so afraid of living as a gay man because he thought that it would make him a
monster. He was so afraid of this monster coming out that he had often contemplated taking
his own life away so as to avoid releasing the monster as well as the harsh criticism he

Orozco 3
expected from those around him. Conversion therapies along with discrimination from society
are examples of how closed minded people often prevent LGBT members from living a normal
life.
Much of the opposition is stuck to their ways because they claim that LGBT households
will completely ruin the family dynamic. They claim that a marriage is something that can only
be upheld by a heterosexual man and woman together, anything else is does not meet the
necessary unions constituted by the heteronormative society. They also state that if even they
were to consider them married, they should not be allowed to raise children. This belief is often
held due to social norms as well as assumptions made which predict that children will be
mentally scarred due to living in an LGBT household. However, these two claims that the
opposition makes have been refuted through much philosophical debate and various forms of
research.
Many supporters say that in order to consider them married, we should cease to think of
the bodily union of marriage and think of the emotional union. This makes it seem that it is only
the emotional part that can make a same-sex couple be considered married. However, this still
puts down the idea of same-sex marriage because it implants the thought that they cannot have a
marriage as complete as that of a heterosexual couple. Rebekah Johnson wrote a journal
arguing that LGBT couples can achieve that complete marriage. It covers many details about
the metaphysics of what the opposition believes to be considered a true bodily union.
However, Johnson goes into detail attempting to refute this claim argues:
The [opposition] may object that even if we grant that sensation is structurally
parallel to acts of a reproductive kind in terms of its ability to ground bodily
union, sensation is not a basic good and thus it cannot serve as a reason to choose

Orozco 4
to engage in sexual activities acts of a reproductive kind are not basic goods
either the accounts remain parallel more importantly, the basic good that
serves as a legitimate reason for action both in sexual activity qua reproductive
and in sexual activity qua sensory, is marriage; specifically, ones reason for
action in these cases is that such actions constitute the bodily union aspect of the
marriage relation, which is, for the [opposition], a basic good. (308)
Johnson interprets what the opposition would normally consider a true marriage and through
much work shows that it is logical that sensation is equivalent to reproduction, as well as
marriage being the common good in both cases. In this case, same-sex couples can be considered
married just as heterosexual couples are.
Another central aspect of the family dynamic is the ability to raise children. The
opposition often argues that LGBT couples should not be allowed to raise children as it could
scar or confuse them in regards to their sexuality. This claim makes it seem as if only
heterosexual couples have the ability to raise healthy children. Yet, research has been done that
proves that LGBT households can also raise healthy and happy children. Susan Golombok and
her associates conducted research upon various same sex-families and heterosexual families
from the United Kingdom with adopted children and compared how the children lived within
their respective households. As far as the parents are concerned, gay fathers were shown to have
lower levels of depression and parental stress, and also showed higher levels of affection than
their heterosexual counterparts (Golombok 462). This shows as far as the parents are concerned
they are happier with their parenthood and ability to raise a child. As far as the oppositions
worries about the childrens sexuality being heavily influenced, Golomboks research showed no
significant change in sex-typed behavior (463). The children overall were shown to have fewer

Orozco 5
externalized problems within same-sex families (Golombok 464). These factors all present that
children can actually lead happier lives when adopted by same-sex couples rather than
heterosexual couples, disproving the oppositions claim that being raised in such a household
would scar the children. This along with the ability to be considered married shows that in no
way LGBT couples destroy the family dynamic, rather they make it better. With the ability to
make a family the LGBT community is more likely to feel that they can freely function to live a
normal life.
There are also parts of the opposition that believe that the LGBT community should not
be given such courtesies because they claim that being gay is a choice. They state that they are
simply choosing to live this sort of life in order to rebel from the norm and live an unnatural
life. Therefore, by supporting the LGBT community one is simply fueling this choice to live as a
member of the LGBT community. Although, it is rather doubtful that so many would suffer so
many mental problems that eventually lead to suicide, as mentioned earlier, just because they
simply made the choice to do what they want as a member of the LGBT community. It seems
more likely that there is more of a biological process at hand that causes people to be born of a
certain sexual orientation or sexual identity.
There has been mass amounts of extensive research done trying to find the answer to this
conundrum. Some of the most promising pieces of research often include some kind of change of
the brain or hormones. C. Gorman wrote an article about research done on the brains of men of
different sexualities. The research mentioned showed that there was a difference within the
structure of the brain in which the brains of gay men were formed in a way more like that of a
womans brain; this part of the brain, located at the front of the hypothalamus, is linked to sexual
behavior in men (Gorman). The research conducted shows that being gay is not a simple choice,

Orozco 6
rather it is something that comes from ones biological makeup. Taking this into consideration, it
is not just to treat the LGBT community with such discrimination. They should not have rights
taken away simply because of having a different sexuality, therefore they have the right to live a
normal life just as anyone else would.
In spite of many steps forward that have been made towards the goal of allowing the
LGBT community to live peaceful lives, there is still much to be done in order for them to obtain
their right to live a normal life without any obstacles. In order to do so the conservative public
must be educated concerning the lives of the LGBT community. They must learn the effects that
their discrimination has on them along with what type of life they are taking away from them.
This would be the first step of many to assure that there is no longer a stigma against the
community. Following could potentially more states providing laws that protect members of this
community from the trauma of conversion therapies that tell them that they way that they are is
the incorrect way of being. No person should have their rights taken away because of something
that it out of their hands. This goes for those in the LGBT community and anyone else who is
discriminated against due to the ignorance of others among the public.

Orozco 7
Works Cited
Conversion Therapy Laws. Movement Advancement Project. Movement Advancement Project,
n.d. Web. 31 May 2016.
Golombok, Susan, et al. "Adoptive Gay Father Families: Parent-Child Relationships And
Children's Psychological Adjustment." Child Development 85.2 (2014): 456-468.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 12 May 2016.
Gorman, C., and J.M. Nash. "Are Gay Men Born That Way?." Time 138.10 (1991): 60.
Academic
Search Premier. Web. 3 June 2016.
Johnston, Rebekah. "Marriage And The Metaphysics Of Bodily Union: Framing The Same-Sex
Marriage Debate." Social Theory & Practice 39.2 (2013): 288-312. MasterFILE Premier.
Web. 12 May 2016.
McDermott, Elizabeth, Katrina Roen, and Jonathan Scourfield. "Avoiding Shame: Young LGBT
People, Homophobia And Self-Destructive Behaviours." Culture, Health & Sexuality
10.8 (2008): 815-829. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 May 2016.