Sexual Orientation

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Pages: 3

From the very introduction of Choudhuri’s chapter on sexual orientation, I was involved in the text because of the writer’s perspective. To begin with, in regards of the coverage on the topic of sexual orientation the writer stated, “Rather than being the norm from which other sexual orientations are deviations, we will consider the possibility that particular orientations fall along the continuum.” (Choudhuri, p.198). This challenged me not to view heterosexuality as the only norm and instead begin to understand that sexual orientation is on a spectrum. Heterosexism stems from basing minority sexual orientations as “other” and the majority group as the universal norm or in-group. This mindset further divides people from empathizing with one …show more content…
For instance, if the world was hypothetically entirely accessible, having a mobility disability would just be treated as another one’s aspect of difference and not as a disability. Similarly, if there were more representations of the LGBT in modern media such as lesbian, gay, or bisexual relationships in TV shows, perhaps there would be less of a stigma behind identifying with a particular sexuality. Thus, Choudhuri’s text encouraged me to critically analyze how social context alters the perceptio¬¬n of sexual orientation. As the text stated, it is more socially acceptable in Thailand to be a transgender male desiring to be a woman than to be a gay male. This exemplifies how viewpoints can be socially constructed because in another society, it could be the opposite where the gay male is more socially accepted, or even both situations may be seen negatively. Ergo, one must begin to question the root of their judgment or negative preconceptions about a particular population of people especially in regards to the LGBT community. It makes me wonder, were negative stereotypes taught by a religion or internalized through institutions and societal makeup? I do not believe that someone is born homophobic, thus it is most intriguing to me that these prejudices are truly the result of