Here is a report I did for my "Minority Studies" class. It was kinda funny, because we were learning about the hard times black people have faced in our country, and our report was supposed to be on black women, my teacher, knowing my sexual orientation, said "Chelsea, I want you to do a special report". hehe, and so was the birth of my Paper
Homosexuality is not a phase, a disease, confusion, or a choice. It is something that you are born with. It's no different than the color of your skin, of your hair, or of your eyes. It iis just part of who some peopel are. But, in today's society, people don't recognize the union of two people in love as legal, if you're with a partner of the same sex. The US government, unfortunately, determines and defines what love is, and which love is able to become married. Because of homophobia, homosexuals fear the simplest of things. An openly homosexual student rarely feels safe walking the halls of their own school, and an openly homosexual adult rarely feels safe walking the streets of their town. And I believe, they have the right to fear. Take Mathew Shepard for example, he was beaten and killed becuase of ignorance and hatred. Students are tormented everyday, some of which take their own lives, just to end the suffering other students put them through. Homosexuals have been tormented through all of history. The homosexual community is crying out for "special rights", but these rights they so desperately need, are no more special than those that heterosexuals enjoy from their unity in marriage.

First and for-most, homosexuality is not a choice, it chooses you. It is no different than the color of your skin or of your eyes. Nobody wakes up one morning and decides it's a good day to be tormented for who you are. Lately, studies have been done to see if homosexuality occurs amongst other animals. And yes, it has been documented that animals do engage in homosexuality acts. In Australia and New Zealand, out of the red-billed black swans, male couples tend to be the most successful parents. A male black swan pair, which can be mated for years or for live, take up territory. A male couple intrigued by fatherhood consorts with a female. After getting her to lay eggs, they get her to leave the area and the eggs (sometimes forcefully). Together, the male pair incubate the eggs. When the eggs give way to chicks, the male couple raises the baby chicks. The make couples success rate is extraordinary. The book "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" has evidence of homosexuality in more than 450 species. Lesbian rhesus monkeys play "kiss and run" and other flirting games. Among grizzlies, the only two-parent familes are those in which mama bears raise cubs together. If one co-parent dies, the other usually "adopts" her cubs. Nine percent of cubs have two mothers. The list of animals which engage in same-gender sexual activities reach far beyond those mentioned above.

Not only has homosexuality occured in nature, but it has occurred over thousands of years. The Greek military's attitude toward it was that it brought a sense of unity and increased protection. It was often believed that a person would fight harder to protect his unit if it included a lover. Although homosexuality amongst males was accepted while you were younger, they also wanted you to be attracted to women as well. The thought of surviaval was very important to them, and you had to be married with children by the age of 18, or extreme action was taken to make sure you were. Homosexuality is not a new "idea' , it has been around for as long as life has been on earth. But the problem with authority, is that history is recorded by those in an authority position. They record what they want remembered and neglect to record what they want lost and forgotten. A great record of homosexuality is in art. Many pieces of art date back thousands of years from today which depict homosexuality. One such piece of art was done by Miyakawa Choshun (1682-1753). This piece is a silk screen painting of two women kissing and holding each other.

Although it is clearly natural to be a homosexual, most of society does not see it that way. The torment and persecution of homosexuals has been wide spread. Even during the earliest of times, such as the Renascence, sexual relations between males was punished severely, often with burnings at the the stake. The pink triangle (now a symbol of reclaiming gay pride) comes from World War II. Homosexuals were forced to wear a pink triangle to identify themselves as being gay. The pink trianges identified those who were convicted of incest, homosexuaility, or of being a child molester. However, many of the men with pink triables had never been through a trial, they were sent on acusations or suspicion. Although they were not sent to death chambes, at least 53% of those who came in, died in work camps. Many were literally worked to death, or beaten to death, in camp. Homosexual men were separated from prisions with other color badges and not allowed to speak with them. Approaching closer than 5 centimeters to another prsion block was cause for punishment. Homosexual prisoners often felt isolated even among each other, because they were fearful of being accused of sexual behavior. Lights were kept on in the dorms all night. THey were required to sleep only in night-shirts with their hands outside of the blankets, regardless of the cold temperatures. Working ours were from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the summer's heat. In the winter, new arrivals were
"broken in" by ridculous heavy labor such as moving snow piles barehanded w/o shovles or wheelbarrows, from one side of the road to the other, and then back again. They were subjected to extensive verbal abuse and physical torture, focused on their sexual orientation. The actual number of homosexual deaths, however, remains controversial. The Nazi's killed 12 million people, 6 million were Jews. Many people do not realize that the Jews were not the only people killed during the holocaust.

***Theirs more to come, but it's so long, it's taking forever to type... stay with me....***

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