Why I Think Public Opinion About the LGBTQ Community Has Become More Positive During the Last Few Decades
By Julia A. Keirns
A great way to really see what the public opinion is about a subject is to check the latest Gallup Poll results. When asked if gay or lesbian relations between consenting adults should be legal or not, we can see that in 1987 only 32% of respondents thought it should be, as opposed to 2019 when 73% of people thought it should be legal.
Similarly, when asked if marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by law as valid, we can see that in 1997 only 27% of those polled agreed and in 2019 63% of people agreed. The poll goes on to ask many more questions regarding the acceptance of the LGBTQ community and we can clearly see that the results show a more positive opinion of this group of people now as opposed to 30 years ago (Gallup, 2020). So why are we seeing such a positive change in the public opinion of LGBTQ’s over the last few decades?
First of all, the change in public opinion has not come easy for this community of people. They have had to endure much discrimination and humiliation over the years. This community has had to fight their way to acceptance, and suicides have been as common as hate crimes. I believe the positive movement of the LGBTQ community can be somewhat attributed to media acceptance.
For many years the major networks kept same-sex relationships off the air and many families kept secrets in their closets. As people slowly began to open up and networks began to allow same-sex relationships on the air, the realization of sexuality became more normal and accepted. Along with removing taboos and hate, people have begun to see that just because the man next door has a husband instead of a wife doesn’t really matter when it comes to what kind of a person or neighbor he is. No longer do people want to be called homophobic.
It is also clear that the Gay Rights Movement has changed people’s minds faster than any other civil rights movement in history (Schmidt, 2019). Some of this can be attributed to more openly visible gay people in the media. Popular people like Ellen DeGeneres and Jim Parsons from The Big Bang Theory are so well-liked that people just don’t care about their sexual orientation. As well-liked celebrities speak up and “come out” to the world, public opinion softens.
I also believe the success of the LGBTQ plight has a lot to do with the fact that they engulf every single group of people on the planet. The gay community is not “white.” They are not just black, Mexican, Christian or any other minority group. The LGBTQ community contains them all. They are black, white, Mexican, Christian, and every other minority group you can think of. They are a part of us all. I believe that is the main reason why they have grown leaps and bounds in recent decades. Their community hits home to every other group of people in the world.
There will always be hate and discrimination in the world and every group of people who have something a little different about themselves will always be on the receiving end of some sort of wrath. It is only when humans begin to stick together as one group of people that we will ever overcome the small differences among us.
References
Gallup. (2020, January 31). Gay and Lesbian Rights. Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/1651/gay-lesbian-rights.aspx
Schmidt, S. (2019, June 7). Americans’ views flipped on gay rights. How did minds change so quickly? Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/americans-views-flipped-on-gay-rights-how-did-minds-change-so-quickly/2019/06/07/ae256016-8720-11e9-98c1-e945ae5db8fb_story.html