Why the M Word Matters to Me by Andrew Sullivan - Literature review Example

“Why the ‘M’ Word Matters to me” Introduction Andrew Sullivan wrote an article d “Why the ‘M’ Word Matters to Me” that was published in the Time Magazine on February 8, 2004. The article is a personal expression of the challenges that the author experienced as a gay person. Sullivan provides insights into the troubles he experienced living as a gay man. According to the article, Sullivan grew up in a conservative and traditional home. During growth, he realized that his feelings towards girls were different from the feelings of other boys towards girls. He did not receive guidance or advice on how to handle his divergent feelings towards girls. As a result, he was isolated. He felt that his family neglected him. After a few years, Sullivan realized that he was gay (Sullivan 1). His friends also found out that he was gay. According to Sullivan, and his experiences as a gay man in a conservative society, when people talk about gay marriages, they divert from important points to trivial arguments. Sullivan feels that discussions about gay marriages have taken a wrong direction. The article appeals to gay people not to feel isolated. Andrew Sullivan’s article encourages gay people to fight for their rights and seek marriage. The context of the article is social cultural. One of the themes explored by the author is gay marriages, homosexuality and the way people grow up as gays. In this case, gay marriage is a major social cultural issue. The article shows that most of the people in the author’s society are fighting against homosexuality. They give a number of reasons to support their fight against homosexuality. According to the author, the society expects its members to form a family based on love between two people of the opposite sex. The family should be connected and give back love to the society. However, this was not the case for the author because he was not sexually attracted to girls. The author notes, “All the emotions and social rituals and bonding of teenage heterosexual life eluded me” (Sullivan 1). Religious groups fight homosexuality because they state that homosexuality goes against their religious teachings. The article provides insights into the character of the author. It is evident that the author is openly gay. Additionally, the author is an activist because he fights for the rights of gay people. Andrew Sullivan is a British blogger, author and editor. He has written for magazines such as The Atlantic, Time Magazine and The Daily Beast. Currently, Sullivan is an independent writer who provides his materials through a subscription-based outlet (Sullivan, 2014, 1). The author’s conservatism is based on his Catholic background (Sullivan 1). Andrew Sullivan is a conservative who supports different libertarian positions. He supports the establishment of a limited government. He also opposes the use of affirmative action. After researching the author, it is possible to state that he is credible. Andrew Sullivan is a highly educated writer who has a degree in Arts in modern languages and history. Additionally, he has a Masters degree in Public Administration and a Doctor of Philosophy in governance. Though the author is controversial, his article is credible because he has educational degrees from reputable institutions such as Harvard University (Sullivan, 2014, 1). The purpose of the author in writing this article was to persuade the gay community to fight for their rights and seek marriage. Additionally, the purpose of the author is to refocus discussions on homosexuality. According to the author, most of the people who contribute to discussions on homosexuality miss the point. He wants people to consider gay marriages as a form of marriage where people can find love and create families. The author also wants people to stop using religious connotations to fight homosexuality. According to the author, gay marriages should receive civil marriage licenses (Sullivan 1). The author is motivated by the fact that continued stigmatization of gay people limits their abilities to achieve human needs. This leads to the creation of a wall that separates gay people from their families. The intended audience includes gay people and people who fight homosexuality. The author wrote the article in order to motivate gay people to stop living in seclusion or hiding. For many years, the author was forced to hide his sexual orientation because he feared that his friends and family members would disown him. He realized that hiding his sexual orientation affected his ability to express himself (Sullivan 1). In this case, the author asks gay people to celebrate their happiness. In the case of people who fight homosexuality, the author seeks to persuade them to stop using religion as a tool. The author’s argument is that though religion is against divorce, the practice is still a civil option. The main argument in this article is that gay people need the freedom to marry. The author accepted his sexual orientation, and he was willing to start a relationship. He also told his family members and friends about his sexual orientation. According to the article, marriage should be the greatest and happiest thing to happen in the life of a person (Sullivan 1). Therefore, depriving gay people the right to marry is considered as an infringement of their happiness. The author also asks churches to end their discrimination against gay people. This argument is important to the article because it supports the idea that love, regardless of orientation, has dignity. According to the article, love can only be dignified through marriage. The article is organized using a structure that appeal to readers. The article has an introduction, body section and a conclusion. The introductory part provides an overview of the author’s ideas. For instance, a reader is able to identify the main themes of the article as homosexuality and gay marriages. The introduction also shows that the author holds high esteems for marriage. The body section discusses the author’s ideas in details. The body discusses the author’s environment when he was young and how he learnt that he was gay (Sullivan 1). The section also discusses how the author handled his sexual orientation, and how he came to accept his sexuality. The conclusion provides an overview of the article. This structure is appealing to readers because it provides opportunities for the article to flow. The article uses inflammatory language, which intends to stir-up emotions. The author focuses on emotional aspects such as love, marriage and love. For instance, the author states that the most important thing in life is the ability to love and form a family. The author also uses this form of language as a strategy to attack people who fight homosexuality. The language used in the article calls the society to accept gay people. The author uses the language because he believes that his friends and parents neglected him. He also believes that future generations should not experience the solitude he experienced because of his sexual orientation. In the conclusion, the author states, “I want to let him know that he doesn’t have to choose between himself and his family anymore” (Sullivan 1). This is an indication that the author wants people to live their lives without considering the perceptions of others. The author makes use of literary or historical allusions. These indirect but brief references to people, places, ideas, or things have literary, historical or political significance. These allusions act as comments, which assume that readers have the knowledge to grasp or spot the allusion in the text. In the introduction, the author states that his family was traditional (Sullivan 1). This gave the insinuation that his family was conservative and middle class and that life was simple. The author also refers to the Catholic Church, in order to portray the conservative nature of religion. He states that he grew up in a Catholic family. This means that readers should realize that he grew up in a conservative family. Conclusion The aim of this analysis is to examine Andrew Sullivan’s article. The article was split into subjects or topics. The examination of each of the topics was a process that helped in the appreciation of Sullivan’s work. According to the analysis, the thesis was, “gay people should be allowed to marry”. The themes of the article are homosexuality and gay marriages. Organization of the analysis is vital because each part of the analysis contributes to the understanding of the central ideas in the article. Reference Sullivan, Andrew. Why The ‘M’ Word Matters To Me. Time. 2004. Web. May 26, 2014. Sullivan, Andrew. Andrew Sullivan the Dish. The Dish. Web. May 26, 2014. Read More