Sexual Orientation

All But 9 States

All but nine U.S. states have bans on same-sex marriages which deny gay couples numerous legal protections.

Genetic Links

Biological perspectives have focused on genetic links.

Sexual Perspectives

Biological, psychological and sociological perspectives on sexual orientation.

Partnerships

Civil unions or gay marriage partnerships are legal in Belgium (2002), France (2000), Germany (2001), Netherlands (2001), Spain and Canada (2005), and South Africa (2006).

Conflict and Feminist

Conflict and Feminist theorists point out that heterosexism, the assumption that heterosexuality is the norm, encouraging discrimination in favor of heterosexuals and against homosexuals, leads to heterosexual privilege, the set of privileges or advantages granted to someone because of their heterosexuality.

First Country to Recognize

Denmark, in 1989, was the first European country to recognize same-sex unions.

Bisexuality

Emotional and sexual attractions with persons of either sex.

Heterosexuality

Emotional and sexual attractions with persons of the opposite sex.

Homosexuality

Emotional and sexual attractions with persons of the same sex.

DOMA

Federal legislation such as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), abstinence only sex education, and healthy marriage promotion and fatherhood programs deny LGBT persons of their rights and needs.

Florida Forbids

Florida is the only state that explicitly forbids adoption by unmarried gay, lesbian, or bisexual individuals.

Functionalists

Functionalists identify how society upholds heterosexuality and a marital union between a man and a woman as ideal normative behavior to which our legal, political, and social structures work in harmony to support these ideals.

Gay Rights

Gay rights have progressed in the U.S. and globally.

Homosexuality is Punishable

Homosexuality is punishable by incarceration up to 14 years in Uganda and lawmakers recently considered instituting the death penalty for some homosexual acts.

Prejudice Continues

Homosexuals continue to face prejudice and discrimination in the U.S. and globally.

DADT

In 1993, President Clinton signed the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" (DADT) policy which has led to over 13,000 service members being discharged from the military through 2006.

The First State to Recognize

In 2000, Vermont became the first state to recognize same-sex civil unions.

First State to Allow

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriage.

The First State to Legalize

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Federal Pension Protection Act

In 2006, the Federal Pension Protection Act became law extending financial protections to same-sex couples and Americans who leave their retirement savings to non-spouse beneficiaries.

Joint Chiefs Declare Support

In 2007, retired army general and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shaliskashvili declarded his support for the repeal of the DADT policy.

Grant Gay Rights

In 2009, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to grant gay individuals protection under hate crime laws: President Obama signed the legislation into law.

California Battles

In California, a contentious battle continues over the state of same-sex marriage.

Transgender

Individuals whose gender identity is different from the one assigned to them at birth.

Interactionists

Interactionists examine how sexual orientation is constructed within a social context and Katz 2003, argues that acknowledging heterosexuality as a social invention which is time bound and culturally specific - challenges the power of the heterosexual ideal.

LGB Families

LGB families are stereotyped to not be in need of any economic, social, or health- related services because they are assumed to be childless, have fewer family responsibilities, and thus higher overall incomes than heterosexual households.

LGBT

LGBT often refers to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals as a group.

Some Provide Protection

More than 88 percent of all Fortune 500 companies, 21 states, the District of Columbia, and several hundred U.S. cities and counties provide protections against public and private workplace discrimination because of one's sexual orientation.

DADTs End

President Obama pledged in his campaign to end DADT.

Radical Feminists

Radical feminists reject marriage outright on the bases of marriage as an oppressive institution while liberal reform feminists support the choice to marry on the understanding that men and women (or same-sex couples) can conduct their marriages in nontraditional ways.

Homosexual Identities

Recent psychological perspectives have focused on homosexual identities.

Research Shows

Research shows that there is no significant difference between children of homosexual and heterosexual parents in measures of social and psychological adjustment, such as self-esteem, anxiety, and depression.

First State to Legalize

Since Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the District of Columbia have all have legalized same-sex marriage.

Social and Structural Factors

Sociological perspectives examine the social and structural factors that affect sexual orientation.

Sodomy Laws

Sodomy laws, overturned in 2003, were more vigorously applied against same-sex partners.

The First Country to Ban

South Africa became the first country, in 1996, to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Sexual Orientation

The classification of individuals according to their preference for emotional-sexual relationships.

Not a Federally Protected

Though sexual orientation is not a federally protected category, it has been found that homosexuals that reveal their sexual orientation risk loss of income and lower chances of promotion.

San Fran Allowed Gay Marriage

Though the mayor of San Francisco allowed gay couple to marry in early 2004, the California Supreme Court later that year declared the licenses invalid.

Families Privilege

U.S. Census definitions of families privilege marital unions over domestic partnerships.

Various Studies

Various studies have been used to estimate what percent of the population claims to be homosexual.