Homosexuality is attracted to members of the same sex. Same-sex marriage rights vary around the world. Some countries have legalized it for years, others only recently, and still others have not yet accepted homosexuality as a norm. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get an original essay As a personal connection to this topic, I have a very close friend who happens to be a Vietnamese exchange student studying at UNITED STATES. After knowing her for a few years, she revealed to me the main reason that pushed her to come study in the United States: she is a lesbian. His coming out wasn't really a surprise, but his story was. She came out to her Vietnamese family when she was just 12 years old and, frankly, the family rejected her. But not always in the face. She began telling me disturbing stories about her experiences in Vietnam, from being randomly beaten in the street (by people hired by her parents) to being written out of the will of his parents. It was a shock to me because I had met his parents and they were the nicest people ever. I told her this and she almost defended them saying they had to do it because of Vietnamese culture. The LGBTQ community is not very accepted there. What's even more interesting is that she lives with her family in the United States. Except that the family members here who have experienced American culture are much more tolerant. She came to America so she could live her life the way she wanted. I really think she kind of embodies the cultural differences around acceptance of homosexuality around the world. The United States Supreme Court recently legalized same-sex marriage, but it didn't happen overnight. Groups fought for generations for these rights, and they were finally achieved on June 26, 2015. In the United States, there were not many attempts to achieve this goal until after World War II, although s There were signs of gay communities in some places. like Harlem and Greenwich Village in the 1920s. World War II allowed people to come into contact much more frequently. This allowed gay men and women who may not have previously had much contact with other gay men to come into contact with others. This, along with investigations by Senator Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s that, along with other groups, targeted homosexuals, inspired early political demands for fair treatment in mental health matters, of public policy and employment (Morris). The 1950s then saw the emergence of organizations and groups. who supported the gay community. Namely the Mattachine Society, One, Inc. and the first lesbian group, Daughters of Bilitis. These groups truly opened the floodgates and were able to support and reach thousands of people through their meetings and publications. Other studies and publications were done in the 1950s in support of the gay community, but at that time they did not receive much attention. It was not until the 1960s, after the success of the civil rights movement, that greater attention was paid. In the 1960s, the first gay rights protests took place in Philadelphia and Washington DC. Just a few years after these protests, a major event in this movement followed, the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots Happenedin Greenwich Village in 1969, when patrons of the Stonewall protested constant raids at the bar. This is a major moment in the gay rights movement (Morris). The gay rights movement also continued to gain momentum in the 1970s; more organizations and political support began to appear. The first openly gay and lesbian representatives (Elaine Noble and Barney Frank) were elected, as well as the first march on Washington for gay rights in 1979. The 1980s brought more attention to the gay community for a slightly different reason. different, because of the AIDS epidemic. However, this attracted many more gay rights supporters. Eventually, same-sex unions were recognized in Vermont in 2000, and Massachusetts became the first state to legalize marriages in 2003. The Lawrence v. Texas 2003 also removed the criminal qualification (Morris). progress has been made. Same-sex marriage is permitted in all states thanks to the Supreme Court's ruling on June 26, 2015. This does not mean the fight is over, but it has certainly resulted in a lot of progress. That day, or even that week, thousands of people were using #LoveWins on almost every social media platform. The move garnered huge support from the gay community. However, not everyone agrees and many people still disagree with this decision and the idea as a whole (Chappell, 2015). Although the fight is not over, the gay community has more rights in the United States than in many other parts of the world, but in the same breath, the celebration can be considered late. The first country to gain gay rights was the Netherlands. . The movement was sparked by Catholic psychiatrists who reported large numbers of severely depressed homosexual patients who complained of discrimination. Discrimination against any person in the Netherlands was outlawed in 1983, which later inspired a campaign for same-sex unions. In 1998, the Netherlands then passed a law loosely modeled on the Dutch law passed in 1989 allowing civil partnerships, including between people of the same sex. However, discrimination and the separate but unequal social status of this social partnership exerted additional social and political pressure, culminating in legalization on April 1, 2001 (Reflecting on 12 years of same-sex marriage in the Netherlands, 2015). A study was carried out a few years ago. years after the legalization of same-sex marriage in the Netherlands, on how these couples felt before and after. Many people have said that before same-sex marriage was legal, they felt very excluded from the institution of marriage and essentially decided that it would never happen to them. They also said that after legalization, they felt more accepted and more normal. Those who actually married reported feeling more accepted within their families (Badgett, 2011). Portugal won the right to same-sex marriage before the United States, but the United States also played a role in sparking the movement there. The movement was almost non-existent until the 1990s, but it accelerated very quickly. It is a movement that was triggered, just like in the United States, by the AIDS epidemic. However, it quickly grew from there. After Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2003 and Spain in 2004, Portugal's leading LGBTQ organization began pushing for change and gained widespread support. Then, in 2006, two women askedto marry and were rejected, causing an uproar. This outcry attracted the attention of politicians (Vale de Almeida, 2012). In October 2008, two proposals were submitted to the Portuguese Parliament in favor of homosexual rights. Both led by small left-wing parties, both failed due to socialist dominance in the Portuguese government. However, due to immense pressure, Portugal's then socialist prime minister declared in 2009 that the September elections would include marriage equality. Soon after, gay rights became one of the most talked about topics in Portugal. On June 5, 2010, same-sex marriage was legalized in Portugal. The movement in Portugal appears to have gained momentum much more quickly than in the United States. The author also comments on the fact that Portugal is considered a Catholic country. He writes that “according to a very recent study carried out by the Catholic University5, 31.7% of Portuguese go to church once a week, although 79.59% identify themselves as Catholic. It should not surprise an anthropologist that there may be a significant difference between self-labeling and the belief and obedience to the norms supposedly embedded in the label” (Vale de Almeida, 2012, p. 27 ). China is on a very different side of this issue. The process of gaining gay rights and legalizing same-sex marriage seems to be in the very distant future. However, some progress has been made thanks to the Internet. A surprising idea given the Chinese government's extensive control over what its population has access to. However, more and more members of the gay community are discovering that they are not alone. This was one of the first steps in the gay rights movements in many countries. More and more people can access and share information in what have become these online communities easily and without revealing their identity. When it comes to the general public, very little, much less accurate, information is provided to people about the gay and lesbian community. These online communities have attracted Chinese scholars, and they will likely remain popular until the social costs of “coming out” are not so high (Chase, 2012). Besides online communities, there is also a theory that rural-urban migration has helped some identify because they have been separated from their families and can escape their family's traditions and expectations. (Haochu, Holroyd and Lau, 2010) These online communities do not seem to do much in the way of legislation, however. These strong online voices will rarely appear in traditional media. There are many restrictions on political speech and media content in China. However, one researcher is working very hard to change China's marriage law and legalize same-sex marriage. Her name is Li Yinhe and she has tried to persuade the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee almost every year since 2001. She has had no success, but she and her people have engaged in many activities that generate publicity. However, the effects of these activities are still mainly visible online. Online activism has proven to be very effective due to the lack of access to traditional media. There has been a recent movement to increase awareness of the gay and lesbian community and give it a more positive outlook (Chase, 2012). The gay community in China has also, as in many other countries, received a lot of negative criticism due to the HIV epidemic (Haochu, Holroyd, & Lau, 2010). Homosexuality is far from being the norm in.