Conclusion

The same podcast put forward an argument for what they believe is responsible for this monumental shift in public opinion. The crux of their hypothesis is familiarity. As representation of LGBT people increased in the media, more and more queer people began to feel comfortable living their life authentically. It is not, however, the increase in fictional queer characters that is responsible for the shift. But instead, the increase in the openness and visibility of real life queer people. People came to the realization that they have a gay family member whom they adore. People learned that their favorite coworker lived with a same sex partner and was gay. People found out that their childhood friends were gay. In other words, people began to realize that gay people are just people no different from anyone else, people they interact with on a regular basis, people they have gotten to know, people they like, people they love. 

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It's harder to let a difference define a person when you see them as a member of your group with more similarities than differences. Public perception just needed to realize that gay people are people who make up society and hence were a part of it. People who had their own stories and dreams and fears. People who work and socialize just like the rest of us. People who have differences with each other to the extent that they could be grouped separately from other gay people. People not defined by their sexual orientation.

I’d like to draw attention to one commanity between gay people as a group, and mentaly ill people as a group. Both people in sexual minorities and people with mental disorders are embedded within the fabric throughout all of society. Gay people are present in all groups by which people are typically categorized into and considered as distinct, whether it be ethnic or racial or economic or gender or religious differences. This fact along with the revelation that gay people are friends, family, coworkers or anyone else one may identify with, made it harder to homogenize gay people as an out group.

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Mental illness is no different, the prevalence of many mental disorders is relatively consistent across all cultures and continents. They differ in respect to one attribute compared the the majority, but the differences between individuals within that group and the similarities between individuals within that group and not within that group take away the meaningfulness and validity of the categorization itself.