Instructions:
Construct a 2-4 page paper that fully satisfies these two areas:
- Based upon your topic chosen in the first assignment, or based upon an entirely new topic of your choice, describe two organizations (Feel free to do your own independent research on these organizations) that is seeking to address this social problem. (1-2 pages). Note: If you do change topics please get prior approval from you instructor.
- Analyze two major ways that each organization is addressing the social problem you have mentioned. For example, are they helping to create homeless shelters, are they helping people receive drug treatment, or are they working with state and local authorities to curb suffering in some area?
- Use at least four concepts or theories from our text (not used in our first assignment) for each organization. Don't forget to include proper APA-style citation and reference. (worth 10% of total grade). Please define(from the textbook/other sources) and identify (bold or underline) (not used in our first assignment) for each organization. Don't forget to include proper APA-style citation and reference. (worth 10% of total grade).
Paper:
Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation is a social problem that has slowly becoming accepted in society. There are still many who disagree with this lifestyle, and there are many who fight against it. Due to the fact that there are still so many against this social problem, there have been hundreds of organizations and programs created to help individuals feel safe, and for others to understand acceptance. Due to the fact that there are so many individuals who have not yet acknowledged to others or in studies that they are homosexual or bisexual, it is difficult to give an exact idea of how many identify as such. In 2012, the Gallup Organization conducted a national survey of more than 120,000 Americans. In this study, it was found that 3.4% of the participants were either homosexual, bisexual, or transgender (Leon-Guerrero, 2014). There are two organizations that have a huge impact on this social group, though there are hundreds of organizations. These two are the Gay-Straight Alliance and the Equality Federation.
The Gay-Straight Alliance is a support group/club that is often ran in high schools and sometimes middle schools. This is a group that allows students to have a safe place to meet, support each other, and talk about various issues that are related to sexual orientation and gender identity. The students in these groups are not all homosexuals, there are also some who are heterosexual. It is part of what helps to end homophobia and transphobia (Gay-Straight Alliance, n.d.). The GSA group helps provide support to those who have experienced harassment as well as to help spread awareness. This is a group that shows respect for the community. Aside from the support groups in the school, this organization also has community events to help educate those in the community about sexual orientation and gender identity (Gay-Straight Alliance, n.d.). These events include Pride Week, LGBTQ Awareness Events, educational workshops, car washes, barbecues, pride celebrations, parades, movie nights, and more. This group has hundreds of supporters including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Southwest Airlines, Genentech, Inc, and many more.
The Equality Federation is an organization that also advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. This is done through three projects. The first is the Fairness Project. The Fairness Project is a project that is working towards ensuring that LGBTQ people are not discriminated against. This is done by offering a public place to allow comprehensive and inclusive nondiscrimination protections, engaged businesses in the community and offer guidance, assist in updating or introducing laws such as the Equality Act (Equality Federation, n.d.). They also have the State Leadership Project. This project is working towards building strong, resilient, and adaptive leaders. It also holds a Summer Meeting, which is an annual conference of LGBT movement leaders. State leaders some to Leadership Summits, and there is also a Boot Camp based on leading a successful state-based advocacy organization. The Lived Equality Project is a project which holds and provides various types of support including workshops, peer learning opportunities, healthcare, violence, marriage, and transition. The workshops also include HIV criminalization (Equality Federation, n.d.). These are all in an effort to help against discrimination.
With an increase in support and awareness the issues in regards to sexual orientation will begin to decrease as people begin to accept the lifestyle. The Gallup Organization performed another study in 2015. This study determined that support in same sex marriage increased by 5% since 2014, in 2015 it was 60%. It was shown that over the years, support for the legality of same sex marriage often ranged from 48% to 55%. This was a huge increase since twenty years ago there were only 27% who were for it (McCarthy, 2015). This helps to show that the acceptance has grown greatly and can continue to grow.
References
Equality Federation, n.d. Equality Federation Organization, Retrieved May 7, 2016 from https://www.equalityfederation.org/about/fairness-project/
Gay-Straight Alliance, n.d., GSA Network, Retrieved May 6, 2016 from https://gsanetwork.org/about-us/supporters
Leon-Guerrero, A. (2014). Social problems: Community, policy, and social action (4th ed.) Los Angeles, CA: Sage
McCarthy, J. (2015, May 19). Record-High 60% of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage. Retrieved May 07, 2016, from https://www.gallup.com/poll/183272/record-high-americans-support-sex-marriage.aspx