Persuasive Speech on Gay discrimination

[Greenherbz]

For my speech class I have to do a persuasive speech, the topic I chose was LGBT discrimination. Just was wondering if anyone had any points they'd like to add. I have to start the speech with an intro story or some sort of narrative along the lines of "Close your eyes and imagine....." trying to put the audience in your shoes (so to speak). I haven't come up with anything for this yet but was thinking maybe along the lines of saying "think back to middle school when people were teasing you, or how a teacher/preacher/parent was talking badly about LGBT people and you couldnt say anything for fear of being treated differently, or you first realize you were LGBT). any ideas?

then I have to do 3 common misconceptions and refute them. For example;
Some people think its okay because it isnt natural..... but according to this study we can see homosexuality in over 200 diff. species
(something along those lines for that).

Then i have to have some sort of graph (for which im totally at a loss because I havent found anything good yet that isnt about Gay marriage)

and then I have to close it up w/ fear-appeal. Basically, show examples of people who have either committed suicide or have been killed because of their being LGBT. Was thinking matthew sheperd and maybe some other people

So idk, was just looking for any ideas or if someone had some ideas, personal stories or really anything to add.
The speech is fairly open to whatever I'd like to do with it, but it needs to be persuasive. to give you an idea of what Im looking for my thesis is "by the end of my speech you will have a better understanding of what its like for LGBT people and why discrimination needs to end"
thanks a lot!

 

[Titanic]

Sounds like a good cause. I love graphs so I'll kick off with that. Just an idea, but I'm wondering whether you can do something on HIV prevalence. I believe the trends are that straight men are rising in HIV prevalence while gay men are decreasing.

 

[Greenherbz]

very good idea! I once was at a doctors visist for a light red rash on my arms and chest. When the doctor found out that I had a (protected) encounter with another male she instantly looked at me very concerned and said, "we need to do an HIV test immediately"
she scared the crap out of me, being a doctor I assumed she knew what she was talking about... thankfully I was fine and I think she was just assuming because I had sex with another man, it must've been HIV

 

[Titanic]

Heh that'll happen. My parents seem to think that any illness or injury I get is gay sex-related. Pssh, how many times do I have to tell people that the average gay man knows *far* more about sexual health than the average straight man.

 

[Benvolio]

I think most disapproval of gays arises from the belief that gay are straight but have chosen to be homosexual. Once people are convinced that no one chooses to be gate and gays do not have a choice most people will be tolerant. Google should lead you to studies showing it is not a choice.

 

[oakpope]

It's a very vast subject (alas).

Gay discrimination : I would give examples of discrimination. In job, in housing, in legal rights (marriage of course, blood donation, adoption, etc.). Just factual data. I would also talk about the gay disc. in the USA but also, briefly, what is the situation worldwide, from countries like The Netherlands where rights are advanced, to countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia when gays can be sentenced to death.

I would follow with the main causes of these discrimination. I would include it with disc. of minorities like black colored people or native Americans, even the history of the women rights.
Gays are discriminated against because of moral , because of tradition, because of 'some' religion views.
Against nature because it doesn't lead to procreation. Against nature because many people believed it didn't existed in nature. Not so long ago it was considered a mental illness if not downright a disease.
Against tradition, but it needs to be nuanced because the moral tradition of nowadays depend very much upon the moral values of the 19th century. Traditions that people take for granted as 'always' can often be shown to have appeared somewhat recently.
Some people discriminate against LGBT because of their interpretations of holy books. You could cite Leviticus ans the Letters of Saint Paul.

Then you can proposed arguments to refute these causes.
It is not against nature, because being gay in normal. There is no need to be a catastrophe, a shock to be gay. Give examples of twin brothers and non twins brothers born together (false twins). For the first, if one of them is gay , the second is more than 40% likely to be gay also. For false twins, the chance is in the 22%. But for anybody, it's between 3-10% (Personally, I lean
towards 5%). So genetics play a part, but nobody knows which. Hormonal exchanges in the womb seem also to have a factor.
The vast majority of gay people understood very young (5-7yo) that they were gays , even if they hadn't the word or the concept, but the attraction was there. So what numerous psychologists thought 40 years ago, that being gay was a problem during puberty is largely erroneous. We are not gay because we are stuck in the Freudian anal state

For tradition : you can cite the numerous cases of civilisation that are/were gay tolerant. Greeks/romans/native americans/chinese, there is many examples. And tradition must change when the values of society change. Cite the women right to vote, to have abortion, the end of slavery/segregation etc. Tradition is not a valid argument to oppose to changes of morality in Society.

for religion : you could say that it is silly to cherry pick a line of the Leviticus and not cite what is just next : a raped virgin must marry her rapist, a child cursing his parents must be put to death, don't mix fabric in clothes, etc.

Discrimination comes often from fear and from the desire to be 'right' and 'superior'.
Fear from what we don't know. Homosexuality was portrayed as very negative until very recently by media.
When people know many gays people they are far less inclined to be discriminating.
Parents used to forced left handed child to write with their right hand. Because it was the norm. Now we know it is not good for the child.
LGBT people are a minority, and when times are hard, it is always easy to pick a group and labeled them as the cause of the problem.
Arabic people face discrimination because some Muslims are extremists and mad men.
Republican target gay people as a mean to portray themselves as protector of 'society' (meaning 'normal' society of good heterosexual people). It's the scapegoat phenomenon.

I hope I could be helpful for you

Good luck for your speech !

 

[Fuzzy1]

Heres few ideas, A gay couple in a long term relationship, one of the couple dies, the deceased relatives can in some cases swoop in and lay claim to the deceased person's property ousting the surviving gay partner from his home, or depriving hime of pension or survivors benefits, Gay partners often do not qualify for medical benefits that straight couples would be entitled to, there are all sorts of benefits that gay people miss out on in places where gay marriage isn't allowed, I am from Canada and we are protected here but I know instances where the above has happened, both in the USA and in Canada prior to gay marriage becoming legal in Canada. For charts, increasing acceptance for gay marriage by age and the shift in the demografic over time, percentages of street kids identifying as gay and the reasons ie, families throwing their children onto the street when they find out they are gay., Gay suicide vs. straight figures. Bullying etc. One of the best speeches I've heard on Youtube was in Prayers for Bobby, given by Sigorny Weaver, Also right at the end of the movie Get Real, both are available on Youtube. Take a look if you haven't seen them, ... Hope these help.

 

[Greenherbz]

thanks everyone for your replies, it helped me get the ball rolling!

oakpope, thanks for taking the time to type all that out! i really wanted to go more in-depth than i was able, but because of the teachers specifications (VERY specific format for the powerpoint) and because of the time-limit I just wasn't able to. The twin studies was a very good idea, but was way too in-depth for a 7 minute speech. I had to be broad so that I could get my point across, unfortunately.

Anyways, I gave the speech today and it went really well! I have a video Im sending it to my mother, I think it will be informative for her haha.
It could've gone a little better, and I would've liked to go more in-depth on certain aspects but oh-well, the class seemed receptive

 

[Just_Believe18]

For my speech class I have to do a persuasive speech, the topic I chose was LGBT discrimination. Just was wondering if anyone had any points they'd like to add. I have to start the speech with an intro story or some sort of narrative along the lines of "Close your eyes and imagine....." trying to put the audience in your shoes (so to speak). I haven't come up with anything for this yet but was thinking maybe along the lines of saying "think back to middle school when people were teasing you, or how a teacher/preacher/parent was talking badly about LGBT people and you couldnt say anything for fear of being treated differently, or you first realize you were LGBT). any ideas?

then I have to do 3 common misconceptions and refute them. For example;
Some people think its okay because it isnt natural..... but according to this study we can see homosexuality in over 200 diff. species
(something along those lines for that).

Then i have to have some sort of graph (for which im totally at a loss because I havent found anything good yet that isnt about Gay marriage)

and then I have to close it up w/ fear-appeal. Basically, show examples of people who have either committed suicide or have been killed because of their being LGBT. Was thinking matthew sheperd and maybe some other people

So idk, was just looking for any ideas or if someone had some ideas, personal stories or really anything to add.
The speech is fairly open to whatever I'd like to do with it, but it needs to be persuasive. to give you an idea of what Im looking for my thesis is "by the end of my speech you will have a better understanding of what its like for LGBT people and why discrimination needs to end"
thanks a lot!

Sure, glad to help! Oration is a speciality of mine. Here's some suggestions:

1. Your topic is LGBT Discrimination. It may sound specific, but it's actually a very broad topic. For example, Transgender people are a subject unto themselves, and based on your perceived focus, you seem to want to focus more on gays and lesbians. I'd recommend focusing on just gay and lesbian people, as an 8-10 minute persuasive speech will not do bisexuals and transgendered justice.

2. For your introduction, "close your eyes and imagine" is a somewhat cliche opener. I'd recommend catching your audience's attention with an anecdotal story. Without mentioning the victim is homosexual, you can describe in great detail how they were gay bashed. There are many, many stories out there that you can use. Then towards the end of the story, you can mention the person's name, sexuality and state of residency. The point of the story is to get people to empathize in the suffering of another human being, and only revealing that victim's sexuality until you have completed that emotional catch.

3. As for the flow of discrimination, you'll want to order the progression of your speech that provides background, context, and then the main, persuasive message. Your first major point should focus on the history of discrimination towards gays and lesbians. I'd briefly mention how past civilizations were tolerant and accepting towards homosexuals before going into the lengthy history of discrimination. Here's a link to a great website by Dr. Rictor Norton:

Gay History and Literature: Essays by Rictor Norton

He has many essays that go into the history of homophobia and how discrimination towards gays and lesbians began. It's a lot of information, so you'll have to summarize it to leave time for your other points.

4. For your second major argument, I would focus on the negative impact that gay and lesbian discrimination has in our modern society. You can focus on couples, young people, and children. For children, I would definitely address the issue of bullying. You can even intensify the argument by stating that a majority of students discriminated by bullies of homophobia are actually heterosexual themselves. You can argue that discrimination hurts everyone, not just homosexuals.

5. For your final point, this is where you want to persuade your audience to change their beliefs. If you're allowed audience interaction, you may ask for a show of hands of classmates who have friends and family members who are gay. I guarantee you several will raise their hands. Once you establish that commonality, you can go into more detail about how gays and lesbians are people just like everyone else. It doesn't matter what race, religion, or culture, every family will be touched at some point by this natural sexual orientation that is present in many species of nature. Really hone in on the humanity aspect. If you have positive statistics to show that homosexuals live better and happy lives in states they are recognized more equally in, that would be great!

6. Your conclusion should be a summary of what you've covered and a final self-reflection on the topic. Let me know if you need any additional help.

 

[SLOPPYSECONDS]

Persuasive Speech on Gay discrimination

hint

ya audience giv alls need
how lands join UN centurys still spin out their assholes is a wonda spieces stil goin

there go

no it okay no gotta a tip it freebie!

thankyou

 

[oakpope]

oakpope, thanks for taking the time to type all that out!
Anyways, I gave the speech today and it went really well! I have a video I'm sending it to my mother

Glad it went well, and that I could provide a little help !

Could you upload your video on youtube, please, it would interest me greatly ! Thanks !

 

[AlmondMilk]

Sadness. I was going to offer some advice lol. But it's good to know it went well.