Discrimination- The LGBTQ Community

Discrimination- The LGBTQ Community

One of the groups that I have a strong attitude toward is the LGBTQ community. This group has been on the receiving end of various discriminatory acts, campaigns, and even laws in the recent past. In Florida, the recently signed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill tends to ban classroom discussions or instruction of LGBTQ matters for kindergarten through third grade (Britanny, 2022). This has caused demonstrations as this is basically discriminating against the group. No group should be discriminated against based on their sexual identity, and equal treatment in education or any other places should be given to all.

Some people are totally accepting of the group while others are not, and by creating legislation such as the one passed in Florida, governments could be potentially encouraging the group’s unequal treatment. This could be based on the fact that people are unsure of what could happen if this group was highly accepted or LGBTQ instruction was increasingly encouraged in schools. For instance, maybe the number of the LGBTQ community would increase. According to Tversky & Kahneman (1974), most judgments tend to be dependent on convictions regarding the probability of uncertain occurrences, for instance, the guilt of a defendant, the result of an election, or the dollar’s future value.

One of the cultural factors that encourage discrimination against the LGBTQ community is the fact that being straight is considered the norm in many communities, and most cultures are not willing to accept the “abnormal”. Additionally, some cultures view gays or lesbians as immoral or rather unorthodox to societal ethics. It could also be associated with religious aspects since many religions discourage or prohibit same-sex affairs. For instance, in the Christian faith, the act is addressed in terms of sodomy, with dire repercussions for people who engaged in the act. As such, the same gender relationships and engagements are considered evil, uniting most people against it. One of the situational factors encouraging LGBTQ discrimination is the perception of marriages. Typically, marriage is regarded as a matrimonial ceremony between parties of different genders, in most cases, to bear children. On the contrary, gay partners can only get kids through non-natural means such as adoption. Some of the set laws limiting this group also tend to encourage discrimination.

According to the cognitive dissonance theory, underlying psychological tensions tend to be formed once people’s conduct varies from their beliefs and thoughts (Harmon-Jones & Mills, 2019). Typically, the underlying tension then encourages people to make an attitude modification that could bring consistency between behaviours and thoughts. In this case, the emotions of mental discomfort regarding being gay are evident in cognitive dissonance. This can be explained by the fact that people’s beliefs tend to clash with their behaviour and actions. A person could be born believing that people should be straight but still become gay, which causes internal conflict, making them feel bad. The conviction that people should be straight has caused immense discrimination against the LGBTQ community. As far as representativeness is concerned, there is an assumption that LGBTQ individuals are wrongdoers compared to other people, which causes their judgment.

In professional settings, the negative attitudes toward the LGBTQ community tend to cause bias, which has led individuals in this group to fall into depression while others end up committing suicide. As a result, people from this group can be unproductive at work, leading to poor performance and eventual job loss. In conclusion, bias against any group based on their sexual identity should be eliminated. This can be attained through laws encouraging the inclusion of all individuals regardless of their social orientation and equality for all.

References

Britanny. (2022). Equality Florida joins a lawsuit to challenge the ‘Don’t say gay’ law. Equality Florida. https://www.eqfl.org/eqfl-joins-lawsuit-against-dont-say-gay-bill

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases: Biases in judgments reveal some heuristics of thinking under uncertainty. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131.

Harmon-Jones, E., & Mills, J. (2019). An introduction to cognitive dissonance theory and an overview of current perspectives on the theory.

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To prepare for this discussion, please read Chapter 4: Attitudes, Attributions, and Behaviors; Chapter 5: Making Judgments; and Chapter 6: Prejudice of your textbook, and Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases Download Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases and Intergroup Contact Theory (Links to an external site.) articles. In addition, watch A Class Divided (Links to an external site.).

In this discussion, you will consider theoretical perspectives on the formation, maintenance, and change of attitudes and the cognitive processes that support these thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Choose any group toward which you have a strong attitude, positive or negative.
Possible dimensions from which you may select your group include: appearance, race or ethnicity, gender, social class, nationality, sexual identity, (dis)ability, rural versus urban status, geographic region, religious belief, political ideology, incarceration/criminal history, occupational status, military status, and so on.
Relate stereotypes (thoughts about), prejudice (feelings toward), and/or discrimination (actions) directed toward members of this group on a societal or cultural level, explaining potential causal mechanisms (categorization, social norms, inequality, etc.; see Chapter 6). You may elect to identify your own implicit and explicit attitudes, as well, though this is not required.
Use concrete examples to illustrate (e.g., advertisements that depict members of the group in a stereotypical manner, statements you have overheard expressing affective reactions to the group, policies that discriminate in favor or/against the group, etc.). Consider both negative and positive elements.
Identify situational and social/cultural factors that may influence attitudes toward this group.
Analyze attitudes toward this group using one or more relevant theoretical perspectives (self-perception theory, cognitive dissonance, theory of planned behavior, etc.; see Chapter 4).
Examine the use of heuristics (availability, representativeness, etc.) and errors in judgment (belief perseverance, confirmation bias, illusion of control, etc.) with regard to this attitude (see Chapter 5).
Consider how positive or negative attitudes toward this or another group might be implicated in a professional setting (see A Class Divided). Identify realistic suggestions to eliminate as much bias as possible in this context (see Pettigrew, 1998).
To fully demonstrate content knowledge and critical thinking, in your Social Thinking discussion

Interpret course concepts explicitly, applying them to your personal experiences/observations, and cite the required readings as appropriate.
Be thorough and specific, structuring your work intentionally (with an introductory and concluding sentence or two), providing clear context, and concisely and precisely explaining relevant course concepts.
Use personal examples to illustrate as appropriate, but do be sure to provide an objective analysis too, referencing required materials and using additional sources as needed to support your insight.
Use your own Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.
Review APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) for more information.
Your original post should be a minimum of 300 words.
Apply relevant concepts from the readings to your own experiences and/or cite appropriate outside sources to support your insight whenever possible. Be sure to use your own academic voice and apply in-text citations appropriately throughout your post.