A History of LGBT throughout History: Dream Free

• Greece (Athens)
• Macedonia
• China
• Congo
• Lesotho
• Ancient Peoples of the Americas (Two-Spirit Individual)
• Aztecs
• Mayans
• Japan
• Rome
• Persia (Dance of the Bacha or Bacca)
• Melanesia
• Among Many Other Ancient Peoples

LGBT, an initialed term that defines Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders, have had a hard road, but it's time to set some things quite right. Throughout history, those that have had these feelings, depending on their culture and/or Ethnocentric attitudes of those around them, have either been accepted or met with fierce opposition. Many cultures around the world can use the words of an ancient religious precede to dictate that Homosexuality is wrong and unforgiving, whereas a Heterosexuality is right and morally right. The words of Plato, who gained much of his teaching from the great Socrates, stated the following:

"Homosexuality, is regarded as shameful by barbarians and by those who live under despotic governments just as philosophy is regarded as shameful by them, because it is apparently not in the interest of such rulers to have great ideas engendered in their subjects, or powerful friendships or passionate love-all of which homosexuality is particularly apt to produce."

Through this, we see that when a city-state, as was Athens and much of Greece at the time, developed philosophies and though processes that eventually lead to great freedom of one's self, which included sexual practices.

So, universally speaking, once a culture becomes quite open minded and enters a state of well-being, whether it be on an academic level, as the island of Lesbos refers. A great and vbery well known poet, Sappho, was known for her over-achievement in obtaining great educational distances for her students on the island. She also preached extensively on the notions of same-sex relations, both on a personal and fundamentally changed way. A small piece of poetry found with her destroyed works over the many a neglected years exclaims the following:

"Come back to me, Gongyla, here tonight,

You my rose, with your Lydian Lyre.

There Hovers forever around you delight: A Beauty desired.

Even your garment plunders my eyes,

I am enchanted: I who once,

Complained to the Cyprus-born Goddess,

Whom I now Beseech.

Never to let this lose me grace,

But rather bring you back to me.

Amongst all mortal women the one,

I most wish to see."

-Sappho

There are some that truly believe that homosexuality is wrong, religious values that one may or may not hang onto with true regard. Under the tone of Christianity, leaders of the faith use the Bible speak out against Homosexuality, as a few passages explain from within:

"You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; It is an Abomination."

-Leviticus 18:22

"But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband."

-1 Corinthians 7:2

As a Christian myself, I find myself confused about these passages, as I'm Bisexual, if not completely practice homosexuality myself, so this is found to be very contradicting to traditional belief. Much of history that dates further than this text defines it as a normal occurrence, and so if one were to religiously follow this text, the following would have to be done:

"But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you,"

-Leviticus 11:10

Now, I myself love shellfish, but once again, a religious text demands that you do not eat a certain way, nor can I practice the sexual orientation that makes me happy as an individual.

As the world entered the 1700's-1900's, culture in the LGBT communities became almost non-existent, many different ethnocentric cultures began a genocide of sorts that targeted Homosexual tendencies. It was through Christian and Muslim religious facades that one could potentially seek to kill a couple of same sex relationship without even facing persecution. It was often rewarded even by some societies, from Puritan to Shiite and Sunni culture. In the later 1800's Emily Dickinson became known as a flighty woman, one of great poetical delight both in the heterosexual and homosexual sense, as can be seen below:

"The wind blows and it rains, I
hardly know which falls fastest, the
rain without, or within-Oh Susie, I
would nestle close to your warm
heart, and never hear the wind blow,
or the storm beat, again. Is there any
room there for me, or shall I wander
all homeless and alone?"

- Emily Dickinson

In theory, because of Emily and other focused females of the century that was just behind the 20th, it became apparent in 1968 that the Equal Womens bill of Rights came about. It did not outline that women could marry in part, because church and state still had theoretical hands in places it shouldn't have been, keeping places like the US from participating in same sex marriages. Over the course of the more recent years, marriage of same-sex partners has become more common and much more existent than in the times from the 1600's through the 1900's.

So as the Modern part of the turn of this century, we have the opportunities to actually change the gender in which we wish to be. Whether we wish to be Male or Female, doctors have the ability to make it possible. There is much discussion that has caused a lot of turmoil in modern day societies, from whether it's ok to use the male or female bathroom after becoming post trans. I personally think one that wishes to leap over that gap to reach the other side is one of the strongest individuals this world has, to make a display of bold, courageous change that others may be seeking. To quote a fearless transgender:

"For me, it was never a question of whether or not I was transgender. It was a question of what I'd be able to handle transitioning and having to do it in the public eye. One of the issues that was hard for me to overcome was the fear of that."

-Chaz Bono

To even display as a transsexual means to show empowerment and a passion to do what feels right, regardless of what others may think. There is so much hate and anger that seems to really engulf around a transsexual or a transgender, whether from those that hold strong religious beliefs or simply due to ethnocentric causes. In the end, they have just as many rights as do anyone else, and hold the same humanitarian grounds as any other human that walks this earth we call home.

In reality, it is a very long road ahead indeed, as many states in the US still have gay rights and marriage banned under a state mandate. Around the world, there are many that still despise and hold a grudge under the banner of Religious belief or a confused state of Ethnocentric crumbling that the world was once almost completely this way or that, and must stay that way. To bring things back into proportion, history has shown that the LGBT culture has been strong since the beginning of time, with many cultures more than accepting of it as part of daily life.

History will time and time again repeat itself, and the LGBT communities may never be completely safe, but I'm sure many will still fight for the cause as long as we stay human. As a supporter and Bisexual or Gay myself, whichever you may place me, I stand firm in saying that all humans can and should be free to choose how they feel, no matter what others think or say to contradict them. Dream free and live with pride and true regard to your character and remember, we are who we are because we want to be, not because someone makes or forces us to be.