Fearing Societal Standards In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Fearing Societal Standards
All around the world, a segment of the population is judged based on its ethnicity and sexual orientation. However, many agree with Malcolm X’s quote, “I am not a racist; I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.” There is great discrimination against members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community which has an adverse effect on their lifestyle choices. The people in this community are targets of hate crimes and an unreasonable degree of alienation of their basic rights. Dealing with such aversive situations may lead to mental, physical, and emotional instability. Some individuals opposed to …show more content…

As written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and become a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence, too” (Hawthorne 178). Like the letter, same-sex marriage holds much more power than it should because it causes chaos and introduce problems to the world. Equality of The Sexes says, “Men acted as a driving force in society” (Haughton 4). Men are seen in authoritative positions and have a sense of superiority. Although some men are gay, a majority are opposed to same-sex couples and same-sex marriage. A statement by Pat Robertson expressed, “The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians” (Haughton 28). Although the statement is absurd, it is still an eye-opener. By relating lesbians with other negative associations, this statement re-awakens the idea that same-couples and gay individuals are not