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| LBGT Rights by Country |
Path "2" USA is a website made for people from India who plan to visit or immigrate to the US. One section of the website lists what to do and not to do upon visiting our country. I urge everyone to take a look at this list. It is fascinating to see customs that are second nature to us, written out in a step by step guide for foreigners.
One theme I noticed throughout the list was dos and don'ts that involved homosexuality. "Do not walk or sit with arms around the shoulders of someone of the same sex. You may be mistaken to be a "a Gay" or "a Lesbian"" was one that stuck out to me. Also the sites clear warning to not wear a pink shirt unless you want to be perceived as gay.
It seemed to me that through the emphasis put on avoiding looking homosexual in American society, the site is making a statement on the amount of prejudice toward those who associate as gay in the US. The way that they used the words "a Gay" instead of just "gay" makes it seem like homosexuals are in a separate race of their own, and that Americans always have an eye out trying to spot someone who could associate with this group.
While the US has more freedom regarding same sex marrige than many countries in the world demonstrated by the map shown here, my findings make Americans out to seem homophobic and judgmental. Most interestingly enough, the people that that the post are targeted at are emmigrating from a country where it is deemed a "penalty" for being homosexual. Do you think that the US is more homophobic than other nations, regardless of the fact that we federally rocognize same sex marriage? How do you see us globally compared to other countries on this issue?
Wow! Interesting post, Carolyn. I read the list that you linked from the "Path2USA" website. I found the list to incredibly interesting. I agree with you that it is extremely shocking that it would say something like "avoid putting your arm around someone of the same sex unless you want to be perceived as 'a Gay.'" I am not sure I would say that this list is exactly accurate, however
ReplyDeleteI do think that many people in the USA still, sadly, have strong prejudices against gay people. Though I am not really sure, I think that Indians probably use the term "a Gay" not because they think the US is homophobic, rather because they are.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the list of items was very strange to read. It made me think about how some people will perceive immigrants who are lost or out of place as strange without ever thinking how strange every aspect of their new life is. If this feeling is so strong about one person in some people, imagine having to live with it every time you looked at any new thing in your life.
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