People’s Different Attitudes Towards Homosexuality

Abstract Homosexuality is a unique culture phenomenon with clear distinct connotation. The rise of homosexuality is due to the liberation of western homosexuality. Today， with the concerted efforts of many friends， homosexuality in China is gradually becoming clearer and clearer .In this thesis； the author introduces Chinese people and Western people’s different attitudes towards homosexuality because of their different cultures.

Key words Homosexuality culture， Homosexuals， Discrimination， Chinese's Attitude， Western’s Attitude

中圖分類號：C913 文獻標識碼：A

I Introduction

Homosexuality phenomenon is a basic pattern of behavior prevalent in the history of mankind and all kinds of cultures. As a fringe culture， homosexuality has its unique and divorced identity from the mainstream of culture. Homosexuals， as a marginal culture group， have unique standards of behavior and ways， whether in the highly developed industrial society or in the cruel primitive tribes， either in the 21st century or in ancient times. In this thesis， the author introduces Chinese people and Western people’s different attitudes towards homosexuality because of their different cultures.

II. Chinese's attitudes towards homosexuality

The earliest record of homosexuality in China can be traced back into Emperor Huang， the first emperor in the history of China. After the founding of New China， people’s attitudes towards homosexuality were much more strict and serious， resulting into a lot of miscarriage of justice. Some gays were caught to parade， and some were expelled from the office. People regarded gay’s behaviors as degeneration， prohibition， and even criminal.

With the reform and opening up， China develops diversified cultures， and gradually homosexuality becomes the concern of the whole community. People came to develop an understanding of homosexuality， that homosexuality is a sexual problem. Some people accepted it with sympathy and magnanimity. But there are still some people who do not understand homosexuality and even discriminate it. On February， in 1993， on the Valentine's Day， the gays organized a “man’s world” gathering in the Haima dance hall in Xidan， Beijing. And finally the officers concerned were caught and punished. This event indicates that gay in China has not openly achieving official recognition.

Since 1990s， there were more and more gays in China. On one hand， with the development of the pluralistic culture， one’s sexuality is no longer a topic to be discussed， but is regarded as one’s privacy which should be protected. On the other hand， people are more and more educated， and a lot of gays can face their own sexuality and admit it. Even though they there wasn’t a law to identify their sexuality as legal， but they could hold gatherings in few public places. That is to say， although the gays in China haven’t got official recognition， but more and more Chinese people can accept it now.

The sociologist Li Yinhe put forward law and legislation to protect gay’s rights. She believes that in modern society， homosexuality is still a vulnerable group. Such as \"Women's Rights Protection Act\"， as it should be more of a gay rights protection law. She believes that homosexuals should own their own rights and make their own requests. Then forty million homosexuals in China， begin to have the rights to dignity and a decent life； have the right to publish their sexual orientation without fear of insults and extortion； and like most people， they have the right to work and study without fear of any prejudice and discrimination； they have the right to same-sex love a love， or even have the right to marry the person he loves， and asks the law to recognize and admit their marriage. Again in 2006 professor Li Yinhe， \"same-sex marriage proposal，\" turned over two of the country， although still failed， but she is always worthy of admiration.

III. Western's Attitudes towards Homosexuality

In the early 20th century， as a result of historical forces converged， homosexuality is still considered in the American society as both a medical diagnosis of cases， and has been regarded as criminal and illegal. After the World War II， some activities held by homosexual appeared in U.S. cities. In 1950 Los Angeles took the lead for the protection of the establishment of the first gay rights organization \"Mattachine Society\". In 1955 San Francisco established lesbian organizations， \"Daughters of Bilitis\". In 1959， gays protested police’s harassment on their Cooper's Donut gathering in Los Angeles. In New York in 1964， gays were in protest against the treatment of homosexuality， conducting the first \"Gay Pride Match\".

But， on June 27th， in 1969， the New York police raided a gathering called the Stonewall gay bar， also known as \"Stonewall incident.\" The incident has Gay Liberation surfaced. Many homosexuals joined the gay organizations， and established the radical gay liberation front organizations. The organization quickly spread around the world. The United States held gay \"Stonewall event\" anniversary parade on June 27th ， 1970 in New York and made June 27th and 28th as Gay Pride Day. In 1973， the American Psychological Association， American Psychiatric Association revised the definition of homosexuality， not that homosexuality is a mental illness， and remove same-sex sexual orientation from the official list of mental and emotional disorders to.

Till 1970s， having undergone several gay liberation movements， the United States urged the gay community and playback of various media in reporting news with a gay homosexual replace homosexuality. Until 1989， one of the U.S. mainstream media， \"New York Times” finally accepted the term used to refer to gay men's homosexuality. American society accepts homosexuality as a normal behavior of people.

And the American society's attitude about homosexuality changed from a normal offense， some of the more tactful approach is to regard homosexuals as vulnerable. And we should respect and to protect their rights， including the right to work. With the changing times and the research development of psychology and psychopathology， people's attitudes and understandings of homosexuality are changing. From the perspective of historical development， Western society's attitudes and views on homosexuality has gone from corruption， illegal， crime， disease， moral degradation process to no longer be illegal， nor is the understanding of crime and disease， but few people’s normal lifestyles， people should give their understanding， tolerance and acceptance. From the semantic perspective， homosexuality has gone from words derogatory term， crime， and medical science terms to the neutral words. These words reflect people's attitude and understanding of homosexuality， and social and cultural values and understanding of homosexuality in the different times.

IV. Conclusion

For a long time， people have been taking different attitudes towards homosexual. Meanwhile， homosexuals do not want to expose themselves. As a result， it seems that homosexuality does not exist. Few homosexuals who are in peoples vision， are either seeking medical care or guilty of a crime. This has strengthened people’s idea that homosexuality is a kind of disease， crime and social transgression. In the world homosexuality has been arousing an extensive debate. Various cultures have denounced and rejected such act， and the western societies also used to show great horror on homosexuality because of AIDS. But with social progress and understanding， people are starting to accept these people gradually. This allows homosexuals to have more space， and also makes their own culture.

The cultural differences are the greatest distinctions between people. Different cultures are born in different environments. In these cultures， people are born， die， and marry， but there are always the cause and effect which can be justified. So it is not right to consider that some people’s culture is superior， while some other people’s culture is inferior. It would be better to say， there are all kinds of people and they have all kinds of ways to live their lives. The culture of homosexuality should also be treated in such a way.

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