CAPS #2
Kate Nevanen
We have learned from our text book that we have a history,
but we have learned wrong. There are many different histories that create us,
our communities, our countries, and the world. There are many different types
of history such as family, national, social and cultural-group that have an
effect on who we are. “These histories necessarily overlap and influence each
other” (Nakayama, 128). From learning that history is instead histories, lets
us realize that there is not one universal histories, and there is so many
histories out there for us to learn.
I chose the LGBT cultural-group to study the history
of because I am doing my cultural report on this cultural-group on our campus.
For this group I thought the March on Washington in 1993 was a very significant
time in history for them. The march was held in response to an increase hate in
hate crimes and discrimination against the community as well as the “Don’t Ask
Don’t Tell” Amendment 2. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” was a policy that allowed gays
to serve in the military but banned and homosexual acts. So on April 25th,
1993, somewhere between 800,000 and one million people marched on Washington
for LGBT rights. Notable speakers and performers included Jesse Jackson,
RuPaul, and Martina Navratilova. This event showed the country how much support
this cultural-group had. It was a huge act against the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
policy and informed people of the severity of their discrimination.
By shifting form history to histories we realize a
lot about the people around us and culture. We understand that everyone has
their own history and that there is even history that is hidden from us. It
helps us communicate easier and more efficiently with other cultures if we
recognize they have a different history than us. With a different history comes
different beliefs, norms, behaviors and attitudes. When we acknowledge this we can
become skilled communicators with anyone we meet.
Here is a YouTube video of some of the march as well
as other events that weekend:
Martin, Judith
N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts.
Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print.
I really liked how you are going to choose the group of the LGBT group to study and how they were included in our textbook. As having a friend who is a part of this LGBT community it makes me happy when others are wanting to learn about them more! I really like your ending paragraph, it really ends your post well.
ReplyDeleteAs a member of the LGBTQ community, I think you chose a great group to study. The march on Washington was really significant. Are there any other key events that you plan on researching? Like states' new policies on marriage?
ReplyDeleteGood question. That would be an important route to pursue. In the past year there has been progress in some states and regression in others. These would be important discussions to document.
DeleteI think its great that you are choosing to research LGBT! I think people are so against gay rights because they don't know enough about their history. That is true for most discrimination that goes on! I'm interested to learn more about LGBT and their events through your post.
ReplyDeleteThat was a good topic. The opener caught my attention very well. I think with this being such a popular topic that learning the history is very important, yet very unknown. This was good to read.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. I like the inclusion of the video at the end. Very informative. Keep track of these resources. I could definitely see them being helpful for your final blog and video.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your topic on LGBTQ, for it is extremely important to embrace the histories around "History". I feel this is a good subject to spread word of and continue to inform those about restricted rights and policies of discrimination against those of the LGBTQ community (for which my mothers are a part of). Great topic and a good read!
ReplyDelete