Why I Am Not Gay

Swartz, Aaron. "Why I am not gay." The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, vol. 20,

no. 2, 2013, p. 5. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=nhmccd_main&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA321899989&it=r&asid=98b4957cecf64e1ff4a59d27d7d77d22. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.

Lately, men participating in the act of intercourse with other men has been deplored in American society( Swartz par. 1 ). Truly, deplored isn't really the correct word:

it was immoral, illegal, disgusting. People who did it lived in secrecy, under the constant threat of blackmail for their actions. In the tumult of the 1960s, various out-groups--blacks, Chicanos, Native Americans--begun organizing themselves and demanding to be respected and given their due. And men-who-had-sex-with-men decided that they were an out-group--they were gay--and they deserved rights too. In doing so, they transformed an action (having relationships with someone of the same gender) into an identity ("being gay"). And, using the normal human mechanisms for distinguishing between people in your club and those not in it, they closed ranks. Gay men didn't have sex with women. Those who did weren't gay, they were "bi" (which became a whole new identity in itself)--or probably just lying to themselves. And straight men had to be on constant guard against being attracted to other men--if they were, it meant that deep down, they were actually gay.( Swartz par. 2 and 3 )

I plan to use this in the background section of my research paper. The part where it talks about how the Native Americans were gay, or bi, or whatever their sexual orientation was; is a useful piece that can lay the foundation of choosing sexual orientation. I can also use this in the arguments, examples, and reasons part of my essay.

Dzmura, Noach. "A progressive religious agenda toward gay rights: a response to

'ten reasons why gay rights is a religious issue' Jay Michaelson." Tikkun, Sept.-Oct. 2010, p. 72+. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=nhmccd_main&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA235719680&it=r&asid=86063f52caa5903280605d0a9fc8e58c.