Why would you oppose gays
Attack on LGBTQ+ rights: The politics and psychology of a backlash
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rising star of America’s hard-right conservative movement, signs the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The measure limits discussion of gender and sexual identity in the state’s classrooms. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Some states are inquiring to ban college discussion and books that feature LGBTQ issues. Texas is targeting doctors and parents who provide gender-affirming medical concern to transgender teenagers. Florida has gone to war against Disney World, after Disney publicly opposed the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
All are flashpoints in a historic political and legal campaign targeting Queer communities, UC Berkeley scholars say, with hundreds of measures nationwide seeking to limit these groups’ rights and even their visibility after a decade of advances. The proposed laws would reach into schools and medical offices, bathrooms, locker rooms and libraries, even into the relationships between parents and their children.
And though California has been largely immune to the current backlash, they said, the harmful impact is
Why are some places gay-friendly and not others?
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
When Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex unions, hundreds of gay people marked the occasion by registering to marry.
It marked a significant change on the island, where the majority of people only relatively recently became supportive of same-sex relationships.
In many other places there has also been a shift - often a rapid one - towards more liberal attitudes.
For example, in 2007, one in five South Koreans said homosexuality should be acknowledged, - but, by 2013, that figure had doubled.
Attitudes among the public also appear to have softened in other places including Argentina, Chile, the US, Australia, India and many in Western Europe.
But these changes do not always mean full equality. In Taiwan, for example, the government stopped short of granting full adoption rights.
Elsewhere, some nations are bringing in stricter anti-gay laws and same-sex relationships continue illegal in about 69 countries. On Friday, Kenya's High Court upheld a law banning gay sex.
Pockets of opposition
In some countries, opposition towar
Why do LGBTQ rights meet so much opposition in Africa?
Francis, as he wants to be referred to, is a gay Ugandan who lives in fear monitoring the passage in parliament last month of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023. It calls for harsh penalties against anyone who engages in gay sex.
LGBTQ activists in Uganda said the bill's route triggered a wave of arrests, evictions and mob attacks against gay people.
Francis spoke to DW about how he and other queer people in the East African nation fear for their lives.
"We are going through a lot of difficulties," he said. "We've been harassed so much. Our rights are often abused, [we are] physically attacked and socially excluded."
'Draconian' legislation
Francis said he is in a mention of shock and misery due to such treatment.
"We feel as if we are not human beings here in Uganda, because the way we are being treated, we really think that maybe we are aliens in Uganda," Francis lamented. "Imagine, just because of our sexuality."
The draconian bill, if signed into regulation by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, would impose the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" and 20-
The Lies and Dangers of Efforts to Alter Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity
Organizational Positions on Reparative Therapy
Declaration on the Impropriety and Dangers of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts
We, as national organizations standing for millions of licensed medical and mental health look after professionals, educators, and advocates, come together to declare our professional and scientific consensus on the impropriety, inefficacy, and detriments of practices that seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender self, commonly referred to as “conversion therapy.”
We remain firmly together in help of legislative and policy efforts to curtail the unscientific and dangerous perform of sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts.
American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry
"The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry finds no evidence to support the application of any “therapeutic intervention” operating under the premise that a specific sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression is pathological. Furthermore, based on the scientific evidence, the AACAP asserts that such “conversion ther
Homophobes Might Be Secret Homosexuals
Homophobes should examine a little self-reflection, suggests a modern study finding those individuals who are most hostile toward gays and contain strong anti-gay views may themselves acquire same-sex desires, albeit undercover ones.
The prejudice of homophobia may also stem from authoritarian parents, particularly those with homophobic views as successfully, the researchers added.
"This study shows that if you are feeling that caring of visceral reaction to an out-group, ask yourself, 'Why?'" co-author Richard Ryan, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, said in a statement. "Those intense emotions should aid as a summon to self-reflection."
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The research, published in the April 2012 issue of the Journal of Character and Social Psychology, reveals the nuances of prejudices fond of homophobia, which can ultimately have dire consequences. [The 10 Most Destru