Sexual Orientation Stereotypes

I must admit I didn't know my research on this part of my thesis would be so difficult. It has been a great challenge to gather information from many people inside the gay community because of the ignorant hate crimes and horrible scrutiny of gay people. Lets be honest when compared to other social groups homosexuals are still among the most stigmatized groups in the nation. This fear of being exposed and hated caused many people not to be as open and honest in my survey questions. As a result I made sure to put a disclaimer at the very top in bold letters that the survey is for thesis research only and your identity will not be made public and your answers will not be published or directly quoted. I'm hoping this will help get me more feedback. It's a shame that this ignorance reaches even as far as The White House where gay public officials even vote against the interests of the gay community because they're afraid to come out of their own closets and lose their position of power. Take a look at this trailer for the HBO documentary "Outrage" that I saw last year.



I myself being a heterosexual African American male, have not gone through hate crimes on the level that a homosexual male has. But there is a kinship between us because this sort of behavior was endured by the African American community not so long ago. But unlike the African American community, the gay lifestyle is still seen as taboo. Gay men and lesbians are still banned from serving openly in the US military service. Child custody decisions still frequently view gay and lesbian people as unfit parents. Gay and lesbian adolescents are often taunted and humiliated in their school settings. Many professional people and employees in all occupations are still fearful of identifying as gay or lesbians in their work settings. Gay relationships are not widely recognized in any legal way.

These hate crimes are evident even in the video game community. Take a look at this video where an openly gay gamer is continuously taunted with ignorant hateful remarks.



This is why many people will not openly admit their sexual orientation!