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ANALYSIS OF WIRED STRATEGIES SITE

For this essay I have decided to focus on some of the stereotypes that many gay and lesbian people are faced with. Much of the stereotypes come from the imaginations of the people who do not take the time to fully understand what being gay really is. To them it is something not normal and unacceptable. They have been conditioned to think that only men and women could love each other and no one from the same sex can. There are numerous reasons why people think so negatively about gay people. Two main reasons has to do with the way they were raised and religion which plays an active role.

Many religions do not accept homosexuality. It is seen as a sin  and the homosexual person will go to hell because of it. In the earlier  times a homosexual person was viewed as being possessed and therefor  burned at the stake. The type of wood used was called faggot, hence why  homosexuals are commonly referred to as faggots.

The site I found to use for the assignment is called Wired  Strategies. In this site they have many quotes that show the the  stereotypes many have of homosexuals. They are not only seen as  sinners, but as child molesters, perverts, mentally ill, into bestiality  and so on.

The main mission of Wired Strategies is to provide information to  help others especially those who are starting their own organizations.  The sire is provided for them to obtain information that they need to  start their organizations. However, I feel that it helps anyone who is  interested in gay issues and would like to know more about it. The site  is pro-gay, but it does contain information that makes it seem like it  is anti-gay. I honestly thought it was anti-gay, but after looking  around I discovered that it is actually pro-gay.  There are all kinds of different information that Wired Strategies  provides for their readers. It is geared towards those who are starting  their own organizations, by providing the information that they will  need. It is especially useful when they want to advertise their  organizations on the Internet. Wired Strategies has information on  lobbying & advocacy, grass roots organizations, and other fields of  interest. Basically they are responding to those that wish to start  their own organizations and would like to do it via Internet.  The site also contains the many stereotypes of the gay community  by providing quotes and links to many of them. These can be viewed by  linking to the hate Speech section of their site. In this section one  can find information on Matthew Shepherd who was an openly gay college  student in Wyoming who was tragically killed because of his sexual  orientation.

Wired Strategies is a political site that not only wants to help  upcoming organizations but also wants to make people more aware of some  of the things that occurs in the gay community. They provide  information to let the reader know that gay people are not the monsters  that many of the closed minded people portray them to be. They are  human and have the right to choose who they can and can not love.  The site includes anti-gay comments from people such as Jerry  Farwell, Ex-Gay Ministries, The Family Research Council, and others.  Here one will find the typical stereotypes that such people have about  gay people. They are after young children, they have sex with animals,  the are going to hell, they are demented, over sexed, they spread AIDS,  and one of the most popular ones God hates fags. These are just a few  in a very long list of stereotypes that are out about gay people. It is  sad to think that there are so many ignorant people out there that truly  believe in them and pass their negative views onto their children.  Wired strategies is an por-gay site and is against those who are  anti-gay. By providing the quotes and links to anti-gay comments, they  provide the reader with useful information to further understand why  people have such stereotypes of gay people. It also also shows why so  many gay people chose to keep silent about their sexuality and why many  also choose to end their life. With such stereotypes about gay people  it makes it hard for one to come out and say that they are gay or  lesbian. They have to live with the fear that they will get rejected or  dammed to hell because of who they are. The feelings that they must  endure is impossible for many to understand because of such negativity.  I feel that this site allows one to see into the minds of those  who are anti-gay. The comments that they have about gay people are  absoulty appalling. Instead of taking that time to understand homosexuals they are quick to view them as different and therefor be destroyed. The problem with anti-gay people is that they are afraid of what they do not know. They do not know gay people and for some reason do not want to. If they just happened to take the time to get to know a gay person they would see that they are human like everyone else. They are no different than heterosexuals. They go through the same feelings and pain like everyone else. As long as the anti-gay groups and people are out there, the stereotypes of homosexuals will continue on.


Last updated by Jessica on 3-11-99 and by Gina M. on 6-9-99, Copyright by UC Regents