LGBT and New Civil Rights

LGBT and New Civil Rights

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LGBT and Civil Rights
In the United States and some nations, there has been legislation and championing for lesbian, gays, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Civil Rights. Despite such legislations, discrimination of LGBT individuals and stigma has been real and some individuals live in hiding. The following is a discussion of two essays on LGBT Civil Rights as well as benefits of countering discrimination of LGBT through social activism. Why has legislation of LGBT Civil Rights not ended discrimination? In the articles by Dan Savage and Urvashi Vaid’s, they use a group-based accommodation model as social activism. In the essay, I argue that liberty and equality of LGBT Civil Rights and other groups cannot be separated in law. Could the activism escalate segregation or lead to assimilation in the society?
Ken Yoshino in his essay, “The New Civil Rights", argues that, individual behavior is prone to “covering”. Yoshino defines covering as “toning-down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream” (539). Additionally, he argues that the rights of LGBT have been formulated on the basis of equality to rather than liberty (543). Also, Yoshino says that Civil Rights are intended to unite people but not to drive apart (540). Thus, with possibilities of numerous groups asking for Civil Rights protection, legislation based on law cannot solve LGBT stigma and covering tendencies. Thus, the author says individuals Civil Rights discussions should occur out of court in order to have a consensus on the assimilation of LGBT and other groups (546).
The second article has two writings; “It Gets Better” by Dan Savage and “Actions Makes it Better” by Urvashi Vaid. Savage talks about how a video uploaded by him and the husband, Terry on YouTube gave hope to fellow LGBT and enabled a conversation of LGBT on various forums including legislators. In the video, the gay couple narrates their lives. They talk about the bullying when they were in high...

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