Heterosexual Idealism

If you compare the ideals of today’s society to the ones held by Americans half a century ago, you would be able to realize just how drastic of a change we have experienced. In the 1950’s, women were expected to be the perfect housewives: a stay-at-home mom that spent her day cleaning and had a flawless meal waiting for her husband and children when they arrived home. The man was the bread winner who cared for and provided for his family. A couple was seen as a union between a man and a woman. Individuals that were attracted to members of the same sex where shunned from society and thought to have a serious psychological disease. Flash forward if you will to the year 2009. Homosexuality has long since been removed from the psychiatric profession’s list of mental illnesses (D’Emilio 226). About six states in the U.S. have legalized same-sex marriages and many other states are pushing for a reform in their legislature. Men and women who choose to lead a life style that doesn’t comply with the standard heterosexual view are better accepted by their peers.

It is evident that “there are more [people who are homosexual] than one hundred years ago, more… than forty years ago” (D’Emilio 234). The expansion of the lesbian/gay/transsexual/bisexual community can be greatly attributed to the influence of the media. Ellen DeGeneres is an outspoken lesbian who has her own talk show. Television shows such as “Will and Grace,” “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and “Queer Folk” have broken the barrier that used to be held up against them because the ideas they expressed were taboo. Pop icons Sir Elton John, Lance Bass and Lady Gaga have led the way for others, celebrity and non-celebrity alike, to come out of the closet and be comfortable with their true sexual identity.

The advancement of technology in modern medicine has allowed for people who are unhappy with their sex to undergo a surgical procedure and easily change that. Women begin the process by taking androgens (male hormone) and men are given estrogen and progesterone (female hormone). Afterwards, surgery is required to make the change final and complete. The procedure is fairly simple and allows the individual who wants the transformation to be done to lead the life that s/he desires. As a result, we can see that more and more people are going through with the surgery. Decades ago, such a radical alteration was only thought about, but never actually thought to be possible.