Gay Marriage Movement

The other day in my American Studies class we were discussing one of the hottest topics in Illinois right now; the legalization of gay marriage. We also talked about how the Civil Rights Movement had such a big impact on it and how it made the gay marriage movement possible. In an article from NBC (the link to which is: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Illinois-Gay-Marriage-Vote-230660881.html), the author, Mary Ann Ahern, wrote “Supporters' speeches echoed themes of equality and civil rights.” This quote shows how the two movements are related in that the CRM was a precedent because it demanded equality for blacks, which parallels how the gay marriage movement demands marriage equality for homosexuals.

I thought this picture was really moving because it shows the great similarities between the problems that blacks battled and the problems that are now facing gays. It used to be illegal for a black person to marry a white person just as it is currently illegal for gays to marry in many states. Both of their struggles are extremely unfair, and it makes me angry to think that they are not allowed the same rights as other citizens. It is absolutely ridiculous to deny someone the right to marry another simply because they are different from the average American. Being different does not make them any less deserving of basic rights, and I am glad that our state has finally realized that.

            Although the Civil Rights movement no longer is as great as it once was, there are still some lingering goals that need to be met, and it obviously still has effects on our society. One of those goals was to have the first African American president elected. When this happened, it was a huge step forward for the U.S., helping our nation move on from its history of racial discrimination. After talking about this in class, I started to wonder what the positive consequences of the Gay Marriage Movement could be.

I researched some areas that I thought might produce some good material, and sure enough, I found a really interesting article from the Huffington Post titled Transgender Model Carmen Carrera Responds To Victoria's Secret Petition: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/carmen-carrera-victorias-secret-transgender_n_4260557.html. The article describes a transgender woman, Carmen Carrera, who is trying to become the first Victoria’s Secret transgender model. Because Victoria’s Secret is one of the biggest clothing manufacturers in the U.S., it would obviously be a huge deal if Carrera became a model for the company, just as it was a huge deal when Obama became President.

In fact, in the article from the Huffington Post, Carmen even compared her situation to that of Mr. Obama’s, saying “What do I think about those opposed to the idea of the first transgender VS angel?...hmm...they said there would never be a black president.” Here she is referring to the doubts that many had before Obama took office. He proved them wrong and hopefully she can too. Carrera also might benefit from the recent Gay Marriage Movement in Illinois; after citizens saw how gays were treated unequally and how they struggled in fighting for their rights, people might be encouraged to stand up for Carrera and the unequal treatment that transgender people often get. Just as Obama’s election is clearly a result of the CRM, perhaps a result of the Gay Marriage movement will be the selection of Carrera as a Victoria’s Secret model.

I understand if the clothing line does not select Carrera to be a model simply because there are other candidates out there that are more qualified and have more modeling experience, but it would go against the basic principles of our nation if she was not selected simply because she is transgender. It is the same idea as was argued in the CRM and in the Gay Marriage movement; because someone is different does not mean they deserve to be discriminated against or treated any inferior.