Today it is not unusual to see people of all different races, ethnic backgrounds or cultural groups living in one society. Our society is formed of a mix of different people and sometimes it is not easy to define ones self. Since we live in a society that is influenced by many social aspects expressing ones personal identity may be a hard task. Aspects of society that make it hard to identify ones self include a persons sexual orientation, their ethnicity and their lifestyles.
In society there are many labels that are put on people because of their sexual orientation. For years people have been taught that the correct way to live is to be in a heterosexual marriage. Andrew Sullivan states in his article What Are Homosexuals For? that "Heterosexual marriage is perceived as the primary emotional goal for your peers; and yet you know this cannot be your fate" (Sullivan 351).
Zora Neale Hurston, American author. Deutsch: Zora...
Zora Neale Hurston Photographer: Carl Van Vechten....
Mullins & Sullivan (LOC)By stating this Sullivan makes it apparent that being a homosexual presents a challenge for the individual because he or she is considered different then others because of his or her sexual orientation. Sullivan also inquires the idea that without homosexuals in today's society there are some things that would never be made sense of or even acknowledge. Sexual orentation may not be accepted by many in society, but it is a growing idea that people are becoming more adapt to because it is being exposed more and more in society.
Another problematic area to identifying ones self is their ethnicity. Society sometimes does not make it easy to express yourself if you are not white. What I mean by this is that sometimes because you're of a different race other then white like Spanish or African-American there may be disadvantages for you in society. For instance,