Sexuality and Law, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Sexual identity is the determinant to which sex one is attracted to and wants to have relationships with. It can also be regarded as unique inherent sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction to people of a particular sex, the opposite sex, same-sex, or both. Sexual orientation is primarily defined by the way an individual dresses, their hairs style, behavior, and clothing which define the external appearance of an individual and may not conform to the socially defined behaviors of the feminine and masculinity (Moser 2016). Gender identity is independent of the societal expectations following the emergence of several gender identities which did not exist in ancient times. In the past, gender identity was meant for recreation; therefore, relationships were restricted between males and females. Ancient tales and the bible strongly support the principal masculinity and feminine relations since the goal of getting into a relationship was to bear children. In these periods, sexuality was realized at birth, and different values were instilled in both males and females in preparation for their adulthood, where they could get married and bring forth children. Many cultures betrothed their children to ensure the family tree continuation and instill responsibility in their community.

Legal overview

Modernization did not spare gender orientation introducing several gender classifications other than the principal male to female (straight) relationship. Some of the forms of sexual orientations currently in the world include the principal straight relationship, bisexual, gay, and lesbian. Sexual orientation is quite different from gender identity since gender identity defines an individual’s sex, either male or female. In cases where a child is born with an intersex condition (has both male and female reproductive organs), clinical procedures are undertaken to determine the more powerful organ and suppress the other therefore defining the gender assumed by the child. Sexual orientation has nothing to do with the sex of an individual and can be related to one’s interests and feeling towards a certain gender. Attraction to a specific gender is a personal decision; hence cannot be controlled by external factors but can be influenced, especially through social media. Homosexuality is an old practice in human civilization with evidence from historical documents like the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah around 1700BCE, which was said to have perished in a fire following sexual immorality mainly homosexuality.

The existence of more than one gender traces back in history through the iron and copper ages. For instance, in the Pacific, long before Cook’s arrival, there were several gender traditions among the Kanaka Maoli society that referred to males and females to have genders orientations between male and female or both and had special roles as educators and tutors in traditional rituals. Another example is the native Latin Americans who worshiped a dual gendered god. Gender diversities have been growing through time, getting more specific which is now classically identified and classified into different categories. The gay practice is a sexual relationship between males, and lesbianism is the relation between women and the bisexual is the case where an individual is attracted to both male and female sexes. The idea of diverse gender orientations has not been received humbly by society. Due to the lack of power to control a person’s interest, it has criticized the practices regarding them as evil and treason in some cases treason.

Sexual orientation has been received differently by different communities following their diverse cultural beliefs, values, and practices. Some communities barely mind the practice leaving the sexuality orientation decision to be personal and barely judging them. However, since the introduction of diverse sexual orientation was introduced into the world by some communities, it has not been fully accepted by other communities, which perceive it as taboo and unrealistic (Schnabel 2018). Some argue that relationships and marriages are sacred and only meant for recreation and not for enjoyment hence disregarding same-sex relationships since they do not bring forth any offspring. The idea behind marriage is to bear children who will ensure the continuity of the community in the future, therefore, leaving the man-to-woman relationship to be the only legitimate mode of association. In such communities, sexual orientation is mainly dictated by societal expectations. Those found guilty of engaging in homosexuality or bisexuality get ex-communicated from the community or even face severe life-threatening punishments.

The perception of diverse sexuality has been factored much by modernization and technology since many have social media idols who seem to copy their lifestyles unconditionally. Social media platforms have made the world “small” by providing information, some of which is offensive to some societies’ norms, values, and beliefs. Since the internet is a free platform where everyone can choose what to decode, it is practically impossible for society to control the nature of information accessed by internet users. The ease in access to information and modernization has led to deviation from ancient cultural practices. Society in many parts of the world has criminalized homosexuality. Homosexuals and heterosexuals have been receiving capital punishments like death penalties in Russia (Muravyeva 2013). Doctrines commonly used by many communities like the bible and the Quran rebuke same sex-relations. According to the Sharia law, the Quran regards same-sex relations as Zina, which is illicit intercourse that earns a punishment of stoning to death.

The bible highly condemns the act regarding it as sin, with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah serving as a good example of the kind of punishment the people received for engaging in homosexuality and other sinful practices. Afghanistan and Russian are some of the countries where death punishment has been imposed through the judicial system under claims of societal intoxication. A search carried out across the globe on homosexuality acceptance has shown that a bigger percentage of the globe showed that many of the western countries have no issue accepting homosexuality while conservative countries like Russia, Nigeria, and Ukraine, among others, are against the legitimization as shown in the figure below. Being a new practice strange to many cultures, homosexuality has been branded as an evil practice since getting associated with devil worship in some communities leading to extrajudicial killings. Some cultures cannot find common ground to legitimize homosexuality following their doctrines; hence homosexuals living in their midst live under fear and stigma.

Figure 1global homosexuality acceptance.

Policy

The anti-discrimination law formulated in 1977, ruled by the unites state supreme court amending the civil rights act 1964, banned employment discrimination based on color, race, origin, and sexual orientation. The addition to section VII of the act specifically banned discrimination based on gender stereotyping, gender identity, and sexual orientation (Bishop et al., 2021). The act was passed in reference to a petition filed at Bostock, Georgia, by gay men fired following their sexual orientation. The employer had sent the two on a conditional vacation, asking them to establish true gender identity and return to work either as a woman or man. The judge stated that the employer who fires a homosexual, a transgender, or a homosexual individual fires them for their traits that do not affect other employees. This showed the invalidity of sexual orientation discrimination in society, although it is hard to eliminate since discrimination is individual-based.

Through the imposition of the anti-discrimination law, the federal government granted LGBT’s freedom to recognize and define their rights.  The employment anti-discrimination act (1977) was the first step towards protecting sexual orientation, aiming to provide equal opportunities to all American citizens regardless of their sexual identities. Gays were granted civil rights making them immune to criminalization or prosecution under federal law hence keeping them safe from the hating perception-based critics. Furthermore, the act banned sexual orientation employment-based discrimination prohibitions enacted in over fifty states in the United States. Recently, President Obama issued the 11478 executive order, which prohibited sexual orientation-based discrimination by federal contractors and employers. The act was a relief on LGBT persons since they were liable to hold public offices without discrimination which was regarded as an engagement on individual personal affairs like their DNA or cancer vulnerabilities. In this context, the government indirectly protects LGBT’s by showing the public the reality in life, encouraging them to be less concerned in personal affairs, and concentrate on coordination and cooperation towards effective productivity.

Additionally, the federal government’s human rights to protect LGBTs are redefined to show their relevance and equality to other members of society. Some of the policies protecting LGBTs include; the right to non-discrimination and freedom from harassment and violence, which had excluded LGBTs, has been enforced (Daniel & Bukes 20115). The right to life limits the death penalty to sodomy, freedom from sexual orientation-related torture, freedom of movement, especially in LGBTs with dual citizenship. The right to free association and expression significantly reduced the homophobic climate around LGBTs, the right to the form of a family which does recognize same-sex families, and the right to work, among others. These policies have been enforced throughout time, with their impact seen in figure 1 above, where most Western counties have accepted LGBTs in society. In addition, LGBT protection has been taken seriously following the freedom to mobility and business relations across the globe, leading to the formation of regional and international protection instruments.

International protection instruments take the form of treaties referred to as convections, protocols, or agreements. These treaties are set between parties (states) that agree on the instruments to be used and get signed for effective execution, where in some states take precedence over the national law. These treaties have been used to respect the relevant provisions for the human rights of LGBT’s a significant and effective approach to their social protection. Treaties, therefore, tie-down governments that do not want their international images tarnished, which can immensely affect their public relations and economics. In such situations, governments across the globe are left with no options but to adhere to the regulations avoiding greater losses. The United Nations (UN) has taken the matter seriously, protecting LGBTs indirectly by formulating treaties enacted to member state governments. A good example is convection against cruelty, inhumanity, punishment, and torture (1984), which ensured persons’ physical and mental health as it assured immunity against any form of discrimination. Treaties enforced through the UN have proven to be efficient in protecting gays and lesbians, especially in areas where such practices were highly criminalized with the imposition of capital punishment.

The UN has also adopted extra-convectional mechanisms which work on special rapporteurs. Two operational rapporteurs are the rapporteur on the extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions and violence against women. These rapporteurs are enacted through organizations such as the African Union. European Union, organization of American states, and the council of Europe. Through these organizations that gay rights are enacted in several states worldwide, where the conservatives are restricted by local court prosecutions against human rights (Holzhacker 2014). National protection agencies like the European Union’s Framework Directive also play a major role in the protection against sexual orientation discrimination through educating the public on gays and lesbians, enhancing their acceptability in society. The above strategies have worked effectively in ensuring the acceptability of LGBTs in society.

Argument

Lesbian and gay couples have been experiencing day-to-day social stigma and prejudice from people within the society and even discrimination. In some situations, they are regarded as worthless, social defectors, and cultural defaulters as the practice are branded taboo. Since sexuality orientation is a personal interest-centered decision, it is hard to externally transform or change an individual’s decision on which sexual identity to assume. Such people are left with no choice but to keep up with the situation, reported to harm their brains. Many gays suffer mental disorders following the stigma and pressure. A good example entails the social media platforms where homosexuals receive negative commendation and even threats from strangers, indicating how the practice is highly disregarded worldwide. The hate perception-based hate brought about by homosexuality is wanting and needs regulation to avoid conflict or unnecessary life loss. A country’s economy is dependent on the productivity of the citizens, which is a factor of cooperation and association towards a common goal. Homosexuals are no different from the rest of the population; it’s only that their sexual orientation is a minority in the society, therefore, requiring federal governmental protection.

Sexuality orientation is a personal decision, and like any other decision that an independent individual makes, it should be respected. Every person has a right to life and free to make their personal decision as long as it does not affect the well-being of any other individual. Society for a long period has been discriminating against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) persons to the extent of refusing them access to job opportunities. Since LGBTs do not affect any person in the community, it is; therefore, they cannot be found guilty of any crime thus not liable to punishment of any kind. Many countries across the globe have had a hard time protecting LGBTs following the pressure from the conservative communities within their borders. For instance, most African communities regard these practices as taboos or the effects of curses by their ancestors, making it hard for the government to implement gay protection strategies. Many countries are democratic; therefore, the critical decisions are left in the hands of the citizens through their representatives at the parliament. Some countries disagree with the legitimization of homosexuality but find no grounds for its criminalization since it is not a crime.

Governments have constitutions that agree with human rights terming them as basic and universal to every person. Governmental protection is therefore essential in regulating conflicting ideologies, especially when one of the parties crosses over to regulate and dictate the decisions and actions to be taken by the other independent party. Sexuality attractions are unique and self-centered because no one should be judged or criticized for their sexual orientation choices. Many of the socialite idols in the social media are LGBTs developing a notion of cultural degradation and luring in conservative communities to their members who take such trails. In such situations, the elders blame modernization for the “rot” in their members factored by technology. With such a perception, LGBTs are prone to suffer stigmatization and even murder when those with different ideologies develop hate. For instance, in 1998, Mathew Shepherd, a Wyoming student, was murdered in a violent hate crime on the perception of being gay. Gay students worldwide face discrimination and stigma as their adult counterparts get employment discrimination where they can even get sucked on realization. Gay discrimination had risen significantly across the globe, especially in employee hiring procedures, therefore classically suppressing them.

Humanity is not subjective to opinion since each individual is granted freedom of thought and choice. Gay and lesbians are common and normal people like any other in the world with the same genetic formation; thus need to be treated in the same manner as any other individual.  The globe has a high cultural diversity which reduces significantly over time following modernization and technological development. From the historical point of view, different cultures have been borrowing some practices like circumcision, which is believed to have originated from ancient Egyptians spreading all over the globe following the numerous benefits it accords, like the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Other practices like the production and use of medicines, modes of clothing, and religious practices have been adopted without question, following their benefits or sophistication. People adopt these intercultural practices independently without regulation or external influence, and should sexual orientation decisions be. According to human rights, each individual has the right to thought and decision-making; therefore, an individual decision concerning sexual identity should solely be a personal decision that must be respected.

Decisions concerning personal sexual orientations should be free from discrimination and stigmatization since it is the common cultural borrowing that has been happening over time. Since no culture is superior to the other, the practices and values of a particular culture cannot be perceived to be of lesser value. The choice should be left to the individual to gauge the importance of the value or practice they are adopting. The government should therefore ensure human rights are enjoyed by each individual regardless of their sexual orientation. Society should stop the stigmatization of LGBTs since their relations do not affect other people since it is more of an individual’s personal life than their social relations. Ideological conflict is a thing of the past that should not be prevalent in the 21^st century since it is a free world for every individual. The protection of social gender orientation is a crucial activity that the federal and local governments should protect under the passed acts and human rights to ensure a healthy and productive society free from stigmatization and discrimination.

References

Bishop, J., D’Arpino, E., Garcia-Bou, G., Henderson, K., Rebeil, S., Renda, E., & Wind, N. (2021). Sex Discrimination Claims Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act Of 1964. Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, 22(2), 369-416.

Daniel, H., & Bukes, R. (2015). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health disparities: Executive summary of a policy position paper from the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 163(2), 135-137.

Holzhacker, R. (2014). “Gay Rights are Human Rights”: the Framing of New Interpretations of International Human Rights Norms. In The uses and misuses of human rights (pp. 29-64). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Moser, C. (2016). Defining sexual orientation. Archives of sexual behavior, 45(3), 505-508.

Muravyeva, M. (2013). Personalizing homosexuality and masculinity in Early Modern Russia. In Gender in late medieval and early modern Europe (pp. 217-236). Routledge.

Schnabel, L. (2018). Sexual orientation and social attitudes. Socius, 4, 2378023118769550.