HD-487A Ruiz !

Ethnic & Cultural Stance on

Gay Marriage
Research Paper

Moises Ruiz

Pacific Oaks College

HD-489

March 15, 2016

HD-487A Ruiz !2

Introduction

In the Untied States, after a long struggle, marriage equality has become the law of the

land. Same-sex couple no longer have to be denied marriage certificate and government ac-

knowledgment, we are finally allowed the basic right as other citizens. Now that this issue has

been brought to the fore front of American politics and society, it has caused some good and bad

outcomes. I want to write about a small yet integral part of overall acceptance, if that can ever

happened and tie it in with culture. My theory is that ethnic/cultural biases and generational gaps

do change the stance of acceptance of gay marriage.

The reason I chose this issue is not solely on the newness of it, but because very soon I

too will be tie-ing the knot and I feel that this topic will help me understand how others view

my relationship, what I can do (if any) to educate other, and know what kinds of hurtles I will

face in the future. As an human developmentalist I feel this will help me understand how I view

other and how other will view me. Being a gay man is not entirely who I am, yes it is a part of

me, an aspect of my personal life, but being an educator is just as important and equally the other

half of who I am. I want to convey that differences not matter what or who or where you come

from should not be the sole reason to be biased towards or against another individual. If I am

liked and respected its because I earned that respect and admiration.

What Id like to learn about the outcome of my theory is how to approach others when

interacting with people of different cultural backgrounds and age groups. I want another tool in

my arsenal of knowledge to help myself, and others get through personal and professional hur-

tles. There is a saying actors use always know your audience. I want to know my audience
HD-487A Ruiz !3

and be successful in being able to teach and educate, and in the process promote an air of toler-

ance.

Methodology

I have decide to poll the people that I know the most, my friends. I trust their honesty and

theyre ability to convey true thoughts and opinion is a rational manner. Additionally I know

their family and background and I can get an honest response from those who raised them as

well.

I decided to use a
Gay Marriage & Ethnic Stance over a Generation.
SURVEY
Likert Scale to
Section I: Base Information
Age Range: Ethnic Background Sex: Religion:
18-25 Asian Male Atheist
create a survey for
25-30 Black Female Christian
30-35 Pacific Islander Transgender Jewish
35-40 Latino/Hispanic No Response Muslim my participants to
40-45 Native American Buddhist
45-50+ White/European Hindu
Prefer not to state Other ________________ Other _________________
do. The first part
Please take this quick survey and be has honesty and truthful as possible. Id like your opinion on
the left-side first. Then think about your parents opinion and mark them on the right-side.
of the survey I
Section II: Please rate your answers on a scale from 1-5.
My Personal View My Parent View
1- Strongly Disagree, 2- Disagree, 3- Neural, 4- Agree, 5-Strongly Agree wanted to get
A. Marriage only as between a man and women.
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
some basic infor-
B. Accepting of a same-sex couple who are married.
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
C. Accepting gay couples to adopt children. mation such as;
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
D. Bothered by neighbors who are a same-sex married couple.
age range, ethnic
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
E. Bother by co-worker who is married to a same-sex person.
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 background, gen-
F. Bother by befriending a married homosexual couple.
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 der and religion.
G. Willing to discuss the issue of Gay Marriage.
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
H. Religion factors into acceptance of Gay Marriage. The second part of
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
I. Age is a factor in acceptance of Gay Marriage.
the survey was the
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
J. Acceptance of Gay Marriage is culturally based.
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 rating scale. I
K. Bothered by a same-sex couple showing affection.
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
HD-487A Ruiz !4

posed eleven comments and asked the participants to rate from 1-5, one being Strongly Disagree

to five Strongly Agree. I decided on this format because it was easy and fast, the last thing I need

is to over complicate the survey and make it needlessly long for the participants. I figured since

most online and restaurant survey use a likert scale it be the best, fast and easy for the partici-

pants.

The survey will help the base of my theory and have a strong foundation to support my

theory that different cultural and age background will affect their opinion on gay marriage

stance. The survey will give me a general idea of what the views are currently in our state and at

this point in time. The survey will address the key point of age, ethnic background to determine

who the participants are in the survey.

The first section, or base information, will help figure out who is taking the survey, which

also goes across gender and religion lines. The reason I added the last two section was to deter-

mine if gender and religion factor in the participants opinion. I do believe that they also do play a

role and the lines between culture and religion are sometimes blurry at best.

The second section of the survey was divided into 2 parts, one was for the participant to

answer (right-side) and the other part (let-side) was for their parent/grandparent to answer. Thus

giving me 2 answers for each of the eleven questions or statements posed to them. One answer

will be a form the participant

Below is the template used for the survey

Critical Assessment of Research Design

There are many limitations to the research for this paper. One being the time limit

and the short time it was allowed to complete this task. With more time I believe I could of come
HD-487A Ruiz !5

up with a better theory, create a better survey and a wider selection of participants. Two, the

sample of participants was rather small, I wanted to get a wider range of individuals and more

diverse set of participants. I would of like to survey their family individually rather then have

them do it, and also having the participants relay those question does create a problematic issue.

By that I mean that the participants could of change or soften a response given to them and there-

for creating a flawed measure of the answer I needed. Some ethical concerns that I could of come

across with the subject of gay marriage itself. In some culture it is not polite to ask those kinds of

question and some participants can be offended at the notion. Thus is would create an issue with

me trying to take a survey from those individuals whom are not comfortable discussing the mat-

ter.

Ethnic and culture ranges form my sample group was diverse enough. I was satisfied with

the ethnic and cultural range I used. I was able to sample participants from 4-5 different ethnic

backgrounds including; German, Filipino, Armenian, Black and Latino. The down side with the

group is that most are first generation, but that is also ideal because of stronger cultural ties with

someone who is second generation and has less cultural ties. I was able to obtain the generational

gap (or age range) data from their families in one survey instead of breaking it up to two or more

surveys.

Collecting objective data is another factor that is an issue. When sampling participants

that are close to you on a personal or professional level it can create a biased effect. Participants

might not be so truthful when the person giving the survey is their friend/co-worker and there-

for the data can be skewed. Participants might not feel comfortable giving honest responses, es-

pecially if I am in the same room. Another factor is collecting objective data is the participants
HD-487A Ruiz !6

responses with their frame of mind. If a participant is irritated or stressed they can give a differ-

ent answer than they would if they were relaxed or intoxicated. Objective data is difficult to

come by when collecting data from opinions of individuals rather than measurable factors.

Results

The following charts and tables is a tabulation of my information gathered from 4 partici-

pants that used a likert scale type survey. These are my summary of finding form those surveys

broken up in sections.

Section I Base Information:

Age Range: Tally Marks Results: Ethnic Background Tally Marks: Results:

18-25 0 0% Asian 0 0%

25-30 II 2/4 or 50% Black 0 0%

30-35 0 0% Pacific Islander 0 0%

35-40 I 1/4 or 25% Latino/Hispanic II 2/4 or 50%

40-45 0 0% Native American 0 0%

45-50+ I 1/4 or 25% White/European II 2/4 or 50%

Other 0 0%

Sex Tally Results: Religion Tally:

Male I 1/4 or 25% Atheist 0 0%

Female III 3/4 or 75% Christian III 3/4 or 75%

Transgender 0 0% Jewish 0 0%

No Response 0 0% Muslim 0 0%

Buddhist 0 0%

Hindu 0 0%

Other I 1/4 or 25%

HD-487A Ruiz !7

Section II Part A: Participants Personal Stance 1

Question Scale Tally Percentage

A: Marriage viewed only as a man and women. Strongly Disagree II 50%

Disagree I 25%
Neutral I 25%

B: Accepting of a same-sex couple who are married. Strongly Agree IIII 100%

C: Accepting gay couple to adopt children. Strongly Agree IIII 100%

D: Bothered by neighbors who are same-sex married Strongly Disagree IIII 100%
couple.

E: Bother by co-worker who is married to the same sex. Strongly Disagree I 25%
Strongly Agree III 75%

F: Bother by befriending a married homosexual couple Strongly Disagree II 50%

Strongly Agree II 50%

G: Willing to discuss the issue of Gay Marriage Strongly Disagree I 25%

Strongly Agree III 75%

H: Religion factors in acceptance of Gay Marriage Strongly Disagree II 50%

Neutral II 50%

I: Age is a factor in acceptance of Gay Marriage. Strongly Disagree II 50%

Neutral I 25%
Strongly Agree I 25%

J: Acceptance of Gay Marriage is culturally based. Neutral I 25%

Agree II 50%
Strongly Agree I 25%

K: Bother by same-sex couple showing affection. Strongly Disagree II 50%

Disagree I 25%
Neutral I 25%

1 Data entered in Scale, Tally & Percentage columns is only relevant data, the missing sub scales are zero or 0%.
HD-487A Ruiz !8

Section II Part B: Participants Parental Stance 2

Question Scale* Tally Percentage

A: Marriage viewed only as a man and women. Disagree I 25%

Neutral II 50%
Strongly Agree I 25%

B: Accepting of a same-sex couple who are married. Disagree I 25%

Strongly Agree III 75%
C: Accepting gay couple to adopt children. Disagree I 25%
Neutral I 25%
Strongly Agree II 50%
D: Bothered by neighbors who are same-sex married Disagree II 50%
couple. Neutral II 50%

E: Bother by co-worker who is married to the same sex. Disagree I 25%

Neutral III 75%

F: Bother by befriending a married homosexual couple Disagree II 50%

Neutral I 25%
Strongly Agree I 25%
G: Willing to discuss the issue of Gay Marriage Neutral I 25%
Agree II 50%
Strongly Agree I 25%
H: Religion factors in acceptance of Gay Marriage Strongly Disagree I 25%
Neutral I 25%
Agree I 25%
Strongly Agree I 25%
I: Age is a factor in acceptance of Gay Marriage. Strongly Disagree I 25%
Neutral II 50%
Strongly Agree I 25%

J: Acceptance of Gay Marriage is culturally based. Neutral II 50%

Agree I 25%
Strongly Agree I 25%

K: Bother by same-sex couple showing affection. Neutral I 25%

Agree II 50%
Strongly Agree I 25%

2 Data entered in Scale, Tally & Percentage columns is only relevant data, the missing sub scales are zero or 0%.
HD-487A Ruiz !9

Analysis

First amongst my same age generation there is a more openness about gay marriage, al-

lowing same sex couples to; be neighbors, adopt, work side by side or willing to discuss that

matter. Religion according to the data does not play a major factor is the acceptance of gay mar-

riage 50% are neutral about it and 50% strongly disagree that religion factors in. In question G-

The willingness to discuss gay marriage was a bit surprising as to why it was complete opposites,

3/4 in favor of discussion, to 1/4 saying they strongly disagreed with discussing it. To answer my

question if culture plays a role in gay marriage is 2:4 reported that cultural background is a neu-

tral factor. 2/4 agreed and strongly agreed that culture does factor in to acceptance of gay mar-

riage. I thought I get more polarizing response from religion than culture.

Secondly when it came to the generational gap and parental attitudes towards gay mar-

riage I noticed some trends but some results were surprising. Did culture play a role in accep-

tance for the previous generation? 50% were neutral about it in both age and culture categories

(questions A & J). 50% also stated that they were neutral about the gay marriage, but were more

accepting (75%) of gay coupled who were already married. In the religion factor (question h) it

was across the board with a range of answers. 2:4 participants strongly agreed and agreed the

religion plays a force in acceptance, 1 neutral and 1 strongly disagreed. Public displays of affec-

tions (PDAs) were not tolerated with 2 neutral votes and 2 strongly agreeing and agreeing.

Something that did stand out to with the results was about acceptance of gay couples adopting

children (question C) in Part A is was 100% in favor of and in Part B it was 50% in favor with

25% neutral and only a quarter saying they disagree.

HD-487A Ruiz !10

When collecting some of the survey I was told by 2 of the participants that some of the

questions were reversed in the wording and they wanted to make sure they were clear about the

responses. Questions D, E & F were the ones in question, by posing the question as a negative

the participants were somewhat confused about their responses and had to re-read it and one

changed their responses when it was explained. Upon further analysis I too get confused when

certain questions are posed in a reverse or negative way and my response is the opposite of the

previous questions. Another question I had about a survey was with Part A questionG, one of

the participants had a opposite response than expected . Most of the responses in Part A followed

a trend, except for question G. In that question 1:4 was not willing to discuss gay marriage

rather than the 3:4 were willing, why was this? I would of liked to further investigate this trend.

With question A the participants and I got into a side discussion about why some gay & les-

bian couples do not want to get married because they feel that it is exclusively a hetero (het-

erosexuals) tradition and they do not want to conform to those standards society has placed.

Foot note: in the results pages in the column of scale, tally and percentage I did not in-

clude any answers that were zero (0) or 0% due to the fact that it was not necessary and did not

factor in to overall theory or affect it in any was shape or form.

Conclusion

The insights I have gained from the date collected that is that cultural background (and

age) are factors in acceptance of gay marriage. I had expected more of a black and white re-

sponses, by that I mean extreme ends of the survey spectrum, but I did get a lot more of neutral

responses than predicted. Adding the religion factor was just a secondary question to see if they

tied in with ethnic background, which in some cases its seems to mirror each other; religion may
HD-487A Ruiz !11

or may not play a role as I previously thought. Overall I got some expected answer, or trends

and some unexpected and surprising answers. The fact that some were neutral speaks volumes

about the possible acceptance rather then a negative view. Times are changing and Im sure that a

decade from now they will reflect a different tone.

If I had more time to fully analyze the theory I would have to rework the survey by

changing some of the question format and go further in depth with why questions and omit

other questions to get to the heart of the answer. Also with more time allowed I could increase

the amount of participants and location to get a better sample of actual and diverse opinions.

A worthy side note worth mentioning for further or future discussion was the question

K; in that when the participants turned in there survey they stated they are uncomfortable with

PDAs from any couple no matter the orientation of the persons involved. Which probably says

more about our societys overall comfort with showing affection for one another.

It was gratifying to see the evolution of thoughts and opinions over a single generation

living here in the United States. I understand that this was a small sample of participants, but that

fact is that as humans we are willing to see further than marriage between the sexes to more of

marriage between individuals. I can only guess what the differences will be in ten or twenty

years, but I feel there is progress being made and it will continue further whether we agree with

it or not. Times are changing in many ways and we need to adapt to continue to prosper. So long

as we keep educating and learning about other and ourselves as humans.