LGBTQ Equality Rights Movement Analysis

Introduction The LGBTQ equality rights movement has been prominently featured on the news and social media, especially within the last few years. Public scrutiny has forced some countries to develop an increased level of acceptance of so-called “non-traditional” lifestyles, while some other countries have remained steadfast in their beliefs that being an LGBTQ individual is socially deviant. A label of deviant is applied to LGBTQ individuals on the basis of their gender or sexual orientation. This label is prescribed by society’s official authority, the government, as well as its unofficial moral authority, which is the Catholic church. Societies react to LGBTQ deviant behaviour very differently depending on each society’s values, morals and
It is in fact the complete opposite. LGBTQ people do not get to choose what sexual orientation they innately are, however they do control what they display to society. This was confirmed by the American Psychiatric Association, who stated that a person’s sexual orientation is caused by many things, including “biological and behavioural roots which may vary between different individuals and may even vary over time” (Scasta & Bialer, 2013). Furthermore, a person’s sexual orientation also is not fixed. As one writer puts it, sexuality and sexual orientation is a journey, with no definite starting point and with no end in sight (Ambrosino, 2016). While a person cannot outright choose their sexual orientation, there is some flexibility in terms of evolving from one sexuality or gender to another. However, LGBTQ people absolutely do not get to decide if they are deviant from society’s moral or socio-legal
332). Because Christian values are so prevalent and authoritative in some societies, it can be said that it is the Catholic church itself that defines LGBTQ individuals as morally deviant. However, the Catholic community is starting to change its view on LGBTQ individuals, as evidenced by Pope Francis’s numerous public acceptances of the LGBTQ community since 2014 (Hale, 2015). In certain areas of Western society, notably the American Deep South, have stronger religious based ideals, and consequently have stronger negative feelings towards the LGBTQ community in comparison to more liberal areas of the United States (Baunach & Burgess, 2013, p. 1319). While religion does not have a legal or official moral authority, it is hard to deny its strong influence on societal behavioural standards (Desmond & Kraus, 2014, p.11). Therefore, it is within the scope of the Catholic church’s authority to define LGBTQ individuals as deviant because the church is the unofficial moral authority in