The reactions evoked by AIDS are determined not only by its biological nature as a disease but also by historically produced meanings attached to sex, health, and disease (Kaplan, 1990, pp. 337-351).
Purpose of the Study
The assumption is that the position of gays in American society has changed over the last three decades or so and that much of the militancy in the gay community has been successful enough to achieve greater acceptance, a reduction in discrimination (at least in most communities), and that the concerns that come to the fore today are different from those that were given most emphasis in the same community in the past. The purpose of this study is to compare points-of-view of the current generation of homosexuals and lesbians with those of the older generation to see what the different concerns may be and to consider why these changes have come to pass.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
Based on a reading of the literature and an analysis of the changes in the gay community over the last three decades or so, certain testable assumptions are made about the changes in concerns that will be seen among the people of the community:
1) AIDS will be a major concern where it was not thirty year ago.
2) Fear about exposure of the fact of being gay will have diminished but not disappeared.
3) Persistent concern about stable relationships and the discrimination against gay partners in terms of insurance, visiting partners in the hospital, inheritance, and so on.
4) Reduced concerns about health services for gay people as a group.
5) Increased willingness to live openly as a gay in the community.
6) Higher aspirations for success in business in the gay community.
7) Increased political involvement.
8) Increased support for gay marriage as a solution to certain issues.
Limitations/Delimitations
The survey comparison will not show how many changes have taken place in American society or in the gay community itself, only how members of that community perceive their situation and what issues they believe remain of import to themselves and their neighbors. The fact that a group perceives an issue to be cogent does not necessarily mean that it is or that they are taking the right position with reference to it, but it is indicative of a concern that likely has some cause.
Definitions
Of necessity, the gay community described herein refers to the openly gay community and not to those who are hiding their sexual preference. For one thing, only those who are open about being gay can be easily reached for such a survey, and of course this also means that what is being tested is the issues of importance to the openly gay community and not to those who do not admit their orientation. The latter might have very different concerns, one clearly being a concern with keeping their orientation secret from others. The younger generation is defined as those 30 years of age and below, while the older generation consists of those over 55. The difference is selected specifically to compare a pre-AIDS to a post-AIDS sample.
Importance of the Study
This study is important first for what it shows about the concerns raised in the homosexual and lesbian communities today. It is important as well to show how the current generation differs from the older generation, which might indicate differences in the problems faced, or differences in how the problems are viewed. The changes might suggest areas where progress is still to be made as well as areas where progress has been made, but it could take more data and more analysis to decide
Chapter Two: Review of Literature
Barak, Flavin, and Leighton (2001) note how anti-gay behavior extends even to the police and is a national problem, and they staste that police officers often tolerate the homophobic attitudes of other offices and of members of the public alike. Even as society began to give more rights to some groups in society, decisions such as that in the case of Bowers v. Hardwick upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law that made homosexual sex a crime. Escobar (1988) considers this case and its consequences and sees an erosion of the right of privacy that is intolerable. Escobar finds a new reason to fear the tyranny of the majority in this decision:
the opinion makes clear that the right to privacy is quite narrow and may now be limited to those associations and behaviors of...
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