There are many examples in the text about sexual orientation history. Some of them such as the book The Pink Swastika, and the law in Montana that required gays and lesbians to register with the police are shocking. Both of those are very recent and seem very outlandish to the world that we live in. Other examples such as Bayard Rustin, an adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. and an extremely influential leader in the civil rights movement, and how gays and lesbians were treated by Nazis are simply overlooked or glanced over in mainstream history teachings. Finally, examples such as Abraham Lincoln's sexuality and J.K. Rowling declaring Professor Dumbledore to be gay don't seem to matter very much in the big picture. Each character's historical (possibly fictional) influence does not depend on their sexual identity. Each event does end up raising awareness of many people's sexual identities, and possibly strains intercultural relations, especially when the personal and sexual identities are not previously known. Regardless of the example or the event, it seems not much is mentioned about the sexual orientation to the public after the event.
Perhaps each instance is dealt with and then does not need to be brought up again. Perhaps people are uncomfortable talking about the conflict or event. Perhaps the culprit of the event becomes embarrassed or does not feel it should be brought to light, or perhaps the sexual orientation histories do not at all influence national or cultural identity, as the text says the affect is unclear.
Indeed there is a monument in Amsterdam for the gay and lesbian victims of the Holocaust. It is also nice to see actions like the booing of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he denied having homosexuals in Iran. I think the best way to deal with this type of conflict is to address it with an open attitude, and not to make it a big deal if it doesn't need to be. That said, I can't think of an instance when someone's sexual identity should be a big deal. Also, I think it is important for the sexual orientation histories to not be forgotten, like Guy Hocquenghem suggests is happening. Then perhaps such an event would not bring any negative public attention.
References:
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2009). Intercultural Communication in Contexts. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
This was an excellent concept to shed light on. Sexual Orientation has been a topic that is sometimes avoided and, as you mentioned, sometimes hidden. I think that there needs to be some sort of resolution and closure to this subject. I think it would be interesting to also uncover some of the "hidden histories" on the matter. Great Work!
ReplyDeleteI somewhat agree with what you are saying here, but I believe that to some extend, the environment where we grew up also affect our sexual orientation. For President of Iran who's leading an Islamic country, it is reasonable for him to give such answer because he belief strongly to Islamic teaching that against homosexual relation. Nevertheless, I like your choice of concept sexual orientation that once, to be different is taboo topic.
ReplyDeleteI like your ending visuals. It's definitely one of my favorites. I'm glad you choose to highlight this concept and gave us quite a few prominent examples. Very well researched and outlined. What I'd like to see for future blogs is the selection and detailed expansion of one example. Describe it and then connect it back to your first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of formatting, make sure you cite the sources listed as references in the text of the blog. To do this use APA formatting of (Author(s), Year) at the end of the sentence.
Great point Fadhilah. It's in those examples that I really feel the dialectical tensions that Martin and Nakayama discuss. Sexual orientation equality is something near and dear to my heart, but I must be aware of my own ethnocentrism when I look at discussions in other nations and cultures.
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