I think the material that we have covered in this unit regarding Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgenders, has been very interesting thus far. This is an issue that we do not talk about on a day to day basis so it has been more eye opening compared to the other units. Many of the students, including myself, have thought of this material to be "weird" because it is such a different lifestyle than what we are used to. Individuals who fall within any of these categories face closed doors because it is seen as morally wrong against the society we live in today. I have noticed that any individual who is gay or lesbian who i interact with is looked down upon and made fun of because of their choice in sexuality. I believe that this makes it very difficult for these people to interact with others and fit in any group in our society today. Just because they chose to be sexually attracted to the same sex doesn't make it right for people to think that they are so much different than other people.
One thing that does get to my nerves is gay individuals who display affection for the same sex in public. I do not really mind if gays get married and live a happy lifestyle, but I think sexual actions in public by them is very disturbing. If these individuals chose to live a gay lifestyle and that is what truly makes them happy that is okay, but i do not feel the need to be lectured about gay rights because it does not apply to me personally. I am able to interact with homosexuals in the real world but i would rather not get involved in the issues of sexual equality that they face.
We watched a video clip in class about the Westboro Church and their thoughts regarding gays. I found this video to be quite shocking and rediculous. The information that they presented and their reasons for protesting gay relationship weren't even relevant or true. The preacher's wife was convinced, and the other followers, that our soldiers were being killed over seas because of the allowance of homosexual relationships in the United States. How could this even be a possible reasoning? I thought of this to be very disrespectful to our troops and their families who serve and die for our country and the church group was seen as ignorant and rude. I thought of church goers and servicers to be caring and good spirited? She also tried to make the point that being gay was against the Ten Commandment and that it relates to committing adultery. In now way shape or form is being gay seen within the Ten Commandments which is just another false reasoning that they tried to bring to terms.
Middlesex focused more on the trouble of Cal who was transgender. Raised as a girl and originally called Callie, noticed various feminine and masculine traits which made her double guess her sexuality. Callie had sexual experiences with her best friend, The Obscure Object, and her brother at age 14. She must have lived a troubled lifestyle and her head must have been all over the place from time to time. I think it would be hard growing up in a lifestyle like this because you would never truly know who you are and would have to figure it out from experimenting with different sexes. The fact that the main character was transgender made the book more interesting as I read because it constantly gave me an image in the back your head about what Callie was going through.
