The Gay Culture
The Supreme Court of the United States allowed for same-sex marriages in the country in 2017. As a result, the number of gay members significantly increased after the legalization of same-sex marriage. Several misconceptions exist about gay culture. Also, some members of the gay culture in the United States face discrimination from society. To understand more about the gay culture, I interviewed a gay member on some critical issues about gay marriage. The interviewee showed understanding of stereotypes that people have about the gay culture. Use of open-ended questions in the interview assisted in understanding the values possessed by the gay members.
To gain an understanding of the gay culture, I interviewed a member of the gay culture. At first, I asked the interviewee on general information to have an understanding of his background. The interviewee was a thirty-two aged man who had stayed in the United States since his birth. The interviewee was born at Raleigh, North Carolina in the United States of America. The gay members have been accused of so many stereotypes where most of the stereotypes are not true (Vaughn, 2017). The main aim of the interview with the gay member was to establish how gay men deal with the stereotypes that exist about a same-sex relationship. The interviewee was aware of many common misconceptions of gay marriage. A common stereotype about gay marriage is that same-sex couple goes against the natural male-female pairing. The gay members are accused of going against the purpose of marriage. The interviewee was aware of these stereotypes, and he had responses about the stereotypes. The interviewee responded to the stereotype that identifies gay members as going against the natural marriage using examples of other animals. Animal species such as dolphins, giraffes, and swans pair up with same-sex partners. The interviewee uses this reality to deal with the stereotype by justifying that opposite-sex marriage is not the only natural way of marriage. The gay community embraces specific values that are different from the main stream culture values.
The gay members allow for values that are not accepted by the main stream culture. The gay members have different family and religion orientations from those of the opposite-sex marriage members as narrated by the interviewee (Pistella, 2016). According to the gay culture, both the partners in the relationship have equal family roles unless to the main stream culture where the male is more superior than the female in the relationship. The interviewee stated that he plays equal family roles just as his partner. Also, the interviewee revealed that in a gay relationship, each partner in the relationship aspires to make the other partner happy and better. Gay partners become parents through adoption or kinship care, which is different from opposite-sex couples who become parents through giving birth. The interviewee claimed that the gay community supports the continuation of generation by raising children through adoption. Also, the interviewee revealed that the gay community believes in the existence of supernatural forces just like most of the existing religious denominations. The mainstream culture focuses on the continuation of human generation by giving birth. The interviewee contributes to the main stream culture by also supporting the continuation of the human generation. The interviewee has adopted three children with his partner, which allows human continuation according to the main stream culture.
Different cultural communities in the United States have different views about gay culture. Most of the religious groups in the United States do not support gay relationships (Yarhouse, 2017). Christians in the United States identify gay members as lost generation according to the interviewee. The interviewee is not satisfied with the way the gay community is treated currently in the United States. The members of the main stream culture discriminate the gay communities in all the aspects of life something that irritates the interviewee. The interviewee is looking forward to the time when all different cultural groups in the United States will respect one other and leave in a discrimination free country. I and the interviewer have learned from the interview that different groups in the United States have different values and beliefs that cannot be matched. The distinct beliefs among different communities in the United States are the major sources of multicultural conflicts in the country. Therefore, to end multicultural conflicts, each community in the United States should respect the beliefs held by the other cultural community. Improving communication among diverse cultures can also solve the problem of multicultural conflict in the United States. Understanding different cultures, respecting beliefs of different cultures, and using a shared language among different cultures are strategies that can be used to improve communication among diverse cultures
In sum, the gay members in the United States have increased since the legalization of gay practices in the country. Several stereotypes exist about the gay culture in the Unites States. The interviewee developed various insights about the gay community in the United States. The gay members deal with the misconception that gay culture does not allow the continuation of the human generation by adopting and raising kids. The problem of multicultural conflict in the United States can be solved by using strategies to improve communication among diverse cultures. Developing a common language between diverse communities is an effective method that can be used improve communication among diverse cultures in United States.
References
Pistella, J., Salvati, M., Ioverno, S., Laghi, F., & Baiocco, R. (2016). Coming-out to family members and internalized sexual stigma in bisexual, lesbian and gay people. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(12), 3694-3701.
Vaughn, A. A., Teeters, S. A., Sadler, M. S., & Cronan, S. B. (2017). Stereotypes, emotions, and behaviors toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men. Journal of homosexuality, 64(13), 1890-1911.
Yarhouse, M. A., Morgan, T., Anthony, K., & Sadusky, J. (2017). Celibate gay Christians: Sexual identity and religious beliefs and practices. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, 71(1), 52-59.