Ceilie's Essay #7

Ceilie Moore
Mr. Salsich
English 9
November 20th, 2008 

Infectious Discrimination: 

An Essay On Heterosexism and Stump Olsen

1. Heterosexism seems almost like a verbal plague. 2. It is rapidly infecting the world with its symptoms being ignorance towards different sexual orientations and wounding words being spat out of their mouths every day. 3. This disease is also contagious, spreading from person to person because hearing these discriminatory remarks is almost normal and saying it is practically out of habit. 4. Heterosexism does not require a vaccine or a prescription to cure it, but an eye-opening lecture from a homosexual herself and a new awareness on what your saying actually means.

TS It seems today that we live in a world where heterosexism is a common thing to come upon. SD In the general dictionary definition, heterosexism is a type of prejudicial belief. CM It is discrimination against homosexuals and other sexual orientations that are not heterosexuality. CM Heterosexuality is believed to be the “normal” sexual orientation among people and anyone who’s sexual attraction agrees otherwise, is discriminated and prejudged. SD These days it seems heterosexism is progressively affecting people’s views on people being different, especially among youth. CM In middle schools and high schools heterosexism is displayed on a daily basis and in most cases, the derogatory words that are thrown around aren’t even used in the correct context. CM Youth today sees the difference in people’s sexual orientation and hurtful slurs that are used against them as something to joke around about in day-to-day conversations and these words as adjectives to something unrelated to homosexuality. CS In the end, heterosexism is more than just another type of unfair prejudice, but also a new era of supposed jokes and slang words being used in the hallways and even classrooms in educating facilities all over the country.

TS Ms. Stump Olsen, a representative from the Rhode Island Youth Center, came to visit with both the eighth and ninth grade to talk about homosexuality, heterosexism, and the power of the words we use when referring to the two. SD Stump came in and greeted us with a welcoming smile and a positive attitude, prepared and ready to educate us. (Absolute) CM First, she gave us a background story and what her childhood was like as she grew up as a homosexual. CM After that, she was more than willing to answer any of our questions, of which we had many. SD The talk from Ms. Olsen really got me thinking about a couple of things, one would be the impact our words really had on people. CM Ms. Olsen talked about how she was younger, the words she heard that referred to homosexuality were all negative and that these negative words are being taken out of their original context and used even more dismissively today. CM As she absorbed these hurtful words that were referring to homosexuals, she was “being told very actively that there was something wrong with [her]” (Quote) meaning that the words and saying people often use to make reference to gay people are gaining crueler meanings than originally intended. SD Another thing I thought about after I left the boardroom after the lecture was how much different Pine Point is from other schools. CM As I walk the halls at Pine Point, I can’t recall a recent time in which I have heard a homophobic remark or a slur towards homosexuals being uttered. CM This situation is most likely uncommon for other schools, where these words are used almost daily, proving how lucky we all are to be a part of a community that does not judge, nor disrespects people with a different sexual orientation than our own. (Participle) CS Ms. Olsen is nothing less than an admirable role model for young people because she taught us that in a world full of hate, all we need is a little support to get us through the confusing and questioning times in our lives.
1. Heterosexism is like a disease, and this past Monday, Stump Olsen seemed to be the cure. 2. She shared her first-hand experience with being tormented for being gay and expressed to us how truly painful it is to be harassed for your sexuality. 3. Ms. Olsen’s talk left us all not only shocked, but able to see heterosexism in a new light and how it affects everyone. 4. Whether you’re a victim of heterosexism, the person discriminating a homosexual, or just a mere stander-by, watching and letting this unjust prejudice happen, the world needs to eliminate heterosexism all together and learn to accept that we are all different.
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Self-Assessment

1. I am continuing to work on eliminating unnecessary words in my writing. I am also continuing to work on polishing my work and carefully looking for errors.

2. Some strong points I see in this piece of writing are the first two paragraphs. Both the introductory and first body seem clear and strong, getting straight to the point of what I am trying to say. 

3. Some weak points I see is the concluding paragraph. It's a little weak and kind of rushed. 

4. The grade I would give myself would be a B+ or maybe even an A-