RUNNING HEAD: Researched Argument 1

Gender Issues
Melissa Chavez
University of Texas at El Paso
Paul LaPrade
Research Argument 2

Introduction
Gender issues has been a big topic in the world lately. There are many people who are

against the idea that a certain gender has to be dominant than the other and that people who have

difficulty adapting to their own gender do not have the same rights. Gender equality should be

practice by everyone and in order for them to provide equal access and opportunities to the

people without minding their gender.

Males and females are not the only ones having difficulty with these problems, but also

gays, transgender, bi-sexual, and other type of people have been rejected by many people in

society. These groups of people are usually called the LGBTs. This groups are trying to fight for

their equal rights even though they might not be the same as other people. Even though you

might not like the opposite sex or even feel comfortable being a male or female, a person still has

his or her moral rights. I am currently studying Psychology at the University of Texas at El Paso

and this issue is very intersting for me since I know people who have been going through

discrimination because of their sexual attraction and even their gender. This is why I want to get

in depth with this subject in order for me to know what the deal is with people who believe that a

certain gender has to be dominant over the others and find different ways to make society accept

the people.

Main Claim

I am against people who are not comfortable with the idea that a person has to be

dominant over the others. For example when people say that men are superior than woman or

when they mention that gays should not have the same rights as a men. I am against all these

things because people are trying their best in this world in order for them to fit in and make
Research Argument 3

something out of it. I am in favor of all those people who believe that they truly know who they

are and they know their purpose in this world, and if changing your sex or deciding to like the

same sex makes you feel better then you should go for it. In the "Gay, Straight, and the Reason

Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation" book by Simon LeVay mentioned that, "There has

been a long-running debate about whether gay people who want to become heterosexual can do

through some kind of intervention. Methods that have been promoted as helping people achieve

this goal include psychoanalysis, other forms of psychotherapy, and religion-based group

programs." As you can see people are doing the impossible in order to help homosexuals that are

feeling different and left out and feel the need to change themselves in order to get approve for

society. It is very sad to see why people make so many complications about these situations

when in reality is not that complicated . The best thing to do is help this kinds of people feel

comfortable in this world.

Conformity

When you are in love with someone a person doesnt really care what other people think

right? Then why would someone care if they were in love with the same sex. This has become

one of the biggest issues in the world and in my opinion if someone loves another person then

just let them be. If there are people who are not comfortable liking the opposite sex, why should

they be alone or pretend to love them in order for them to fit in with society? I believe it is very

unfair that people have to hide their true intentions because their best friend might not like them

or their parents will not approve of them. That is why I was in favor with the Gay Marriage

Legalization. In the "Gay Marriage in the U.S, One Year Later" article, Julie Goodridge said

"And its actually sort of distorting to have marriage in states where you can be kicked out of

your home, where you can be refused service, where you might be rejected from the bathroom of
Research Argument 4

your choice, and where you could lose your state job." In this article she talked about how many

states are still not alright with the idea of people being gay. There have been times in life where

the parent of a women might not have agreed to let the man marry her , but that didn't stop them.

So why should gay people who love each other be forced to be separated just because their

neighbors don't think it's alright or their parents. To be honest, when people make other people

stop doing what they want, they give them the urges to do it even more. When they passed this

law I was so happy for the world because people who truly loved each other where able to be

legally together. And one of the best things in this world is to be happy and if being with the

same sex makes a person happy then they should just let it be.

Another example can be when a patient kept having a urinary tract infection for several

weeks and even though the doctor kept giving her certain treatments he wasn't able to help her.

Suddenly the doctor decided to go and check her private parts and realized that this person was

transgender. Things like this happen every day and people feel that they cannot get the adequate

help they need since they feel they might be rejected by people such as doctors. Doctor Mitchell

R. from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston said "These patients need to feel that they

can tell their doctor they are gay and that their doctor will accept them. Even though this person

was not gay, she was a transgender and couldnt get the appropriate help she needed because the

doctors didnt know what she was and kept asking her the wrong questions. That is why people

should make these kinds of LGBTs feel comfortable in an environment where they can get the

help they need without being judged or rejected. Imagine if the doctor was against this and this

person wouldn't have received the care she needed, her conditioned could have worsen. This is

why I believe that gays, transsexuals, and others receive the same opportunity as everyone.

Everyone in this world deserves to be treated with kindness and fairness because we are all the
Research Argument 5

same. Just because people might not like the same person as you or is from a different gender it

doesnt mean you have to reject them just like Doctor Lunn said This is about being a good

doctor, because a trusting relationship is not just about a patients physical or even mental well-

being...Its about learning who that patient is.

Refutation

One issue that many people against same sex marriage have is the idea that their children

will never know their biological parent. For example many couples who have decided to have

babies know that they obviously need the other sex in order for them to have a baby. That is why

people decide to get surrogate or vitro fertilization. People against this say that their children will

never know what happen to their mom or dad and they will ask all kinds of questions to their

parents. I do understand why they believe that if people should have babies they should be raised

with their mother and father, but at the same time it is not always a bad idea to use different

methods. By having same sex marriage there has been an increase in adoptions of children. They

are giving new homes and families to children who did not have parents that were able to take

care of them. On the Lifelong Adoptions article it mentioned that "More than 16,000 same-sex

couples are raising an estimated 22,000 adopted children in the United States. Same-sex parents

in the United States are four times more likely than different-sex parents to be raising an adopted

child. Among couples with children under the age of 18 in the home, 13% of same-sex parents

have an adopted child, compared to just 3% of different-sex parents". Same sex parents are

making an enormous change in children's lives. Also gay couples who decide to get a surrogate

in order for her to have their children, they give a job to a woman who will be doing them the

favor of having their children and is just the same as people who decide to use the vitro

fertilization methods. In the future when this kids grow and start asking questions to their parents
Research Argument 6

about their "mom" or their ''dad" they can easily get an explanation about how times have

changed and that there are situations where couples will not always be of opposite sex. Children

will obviously be raced with the idea that same sex marriage is alright and that is pretty much

how different their lives will be.

Another issue people against LGBT is that people believe that gender is a biological

reality and not just an emotion or feeling people have. People are against this idea because they

believe that you are born, the way you are born. The people who have the biggest issue towards

this argument are religious people. Many religious people believe that God gave them the

purpose of being a male or female for a reason . They believe that there are going against God's

nature and they are violating his laws. In my opinion, in reality God doesnt mention anything

about gay or lesbians in the bible. Another things is that if God didn't want men to like men or

women to like women, they he would have probably not invented that possibility. A big cause of

this is that LGBTs are losing respect for religion since they are getting rejected. "LGBT

individuals may deny their sexual identities in order to perform effectively in and feel acceptance

from their religion." This quote came from an article from the "Loss of Religious or Spiritual

Identities Among the LGBT population". As you can see people have to lie to their own faith in

order for them to be accepted. This is not good for the person's mental health and if your

community is going to reject you why should you stay. This is why people have to understand

that God loves everyone not just straight people. Like I mentioned before, if a person is not

comfortable with his or herself, then they should have the right to do the thing that makes them

feel good about themselves. Would you rather be with a person who is depressed and confused

or with a person who is happy to know who he or she is and make te best out of it. In the end

everyone is human and we all are the same.

Research Argument 7

In the article by Karl Peltzer said " ..various studies among university students have

shown that LGBT people are at higher risk of mental disorder (depression and anxiety disorders)

,suicidal ideation, substance misuse (alcohol and other substance dependence), and deliberate

self-harm than heterosexual people (Batejan, Jarvi & Swenson, 2015)". This article mentioned

how people might be in a more depressed state if they are part of the LBGT group since these

people get rejected a lot by society. It says that there chance of committing suicide is higher

since they dont feel good about themselves and feel the need to relieve that pain inside. Even

though this might be true, a way to help this is by allowing them to be who they want to be.

Instead of rejecting them, we can help them by inviting them and making them feel accepted. As

you can see not only do LGBTs feel this way, but also teenagers or people who feel they don't

belong in a place. It is not okay that people should feel that we should only help the young or the

depressed and not the LGBTs who might be feeling this way too. A solution for this can be to

help them as they would, if they were a teenager with problems or a person suffering from

depression.

Conclusion

Even though people might not be okay with the idea of LGBTs roaming around the city, I

still believe that they are humans just as everyone else. They should not be treated different just

because they like someone else or they decide to dress differently. Everyone is the world has

their different personalities and we most of the times not reject them. So if we can accept our

sister or best friend just because they are different why can't we accept the LGBTs?
Research Argument 8

REFERENCES

Gender equality. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2017, from http://www.unfpa.org/gender-

equalityme
Chen, M. P. (2011, November 10). Medical Schools Neglect Gay and Gender Issues.
Retrieved April 27, 2017, from https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/medical-schools-
teach-little-about-gay-health-issues/?_r=0
Koren, M. (2016, June 26). Gay Marriage in the United States, One Year Later. Retrieved
April 27, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/gay-marriage-
scotus/488816/
Adoptions, L. (n.d.). Lgbt adoption. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from
https://www.lifelongadoptions.com/lgbt-adoption/lgbt-adoption-statistics

Marquardt, E. (2005). Between two worlds: the inner lives of children of divorce. New York:
Crown .
LeVay, S. (2017). Gay, straight, and the reason why: the science of sexual orientation.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Peltzer, K., & Pengpid, S. (2016). Minority Stress among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender (LGBT) University Students in ASEAN Countries: Associations with
Poor Mental Health and Addictive Behavior. Gender & Behaviour, 14(3), 7806-7815.
Wood, A. W., & Conley, A. H. (2014). Loss of Religious or Spiritual Identities Among the
LGBT Population. Counseling & Values, 59(1), 95-111. doi:10.1002/j.2161-
007X.2014.00044.x