Judging how advanced a society is

[Eddi]

My thesis: How well a country treats its LGBT people is directly proportional to how advanced that country's society is.

It's an indicator. It's something you can judge an entire nation or culture on.

There is a continuum:

At one end there are societies that execute LGBT people. This is the least advanced end of the continuum.

And at the other end, the other extreme, there are nations where LGBT people enjoy full equality with their heterosexual peers. This would be the most advanced end of the continuum.

Of course, most societies probably fall somewhere between these two extreme positions, that are polar opposites of each other.

I think it can be used to judge people too, in a similar way.

A handy litmus test.

 

[Polymath257]

There is an old saying that the way to judge a society is in how the least favored are treated in that society. Unfortunately, in all too many societies, LGBT fall into that category.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

There is an old saying that the way to judge a society is in how the least favored are treated in that society. Unfortunately, in all too many societies, LGBT fall into that category.

Yeah, but you know, who is still left out in most western ones? We are getting there, but it is worse than how LGBT is treated.
So who is left out?

 

[Polymath257]

Yeah, but you know, who is still left out in most western ones? We are getting there, but it is worse than how LGBT is treated.
So who is left out?

The homeless?

 

[dybmh]

My thesis: How well a country treats its LGBT people is directly proportional to how advanced that country's society is.

It's an indicator. It's something you can judge an entire nation or culture on.

There is a continuum:

At one end there are societies that execute LGBT people. This is the least advanced end of the continuum.

And at the other end, the other extreme, there are nations where LGBT people enjoy full equality with their heterosexual peers. This would be the most advanced end of the continuum.

Of course, most societies probably fall somewhere between these two extreme positions, that are polar opposites of each other.

I think it can be used to judge people too, in a similar way.

A handy litmus test.

I concur almost 100%.

I would add that in-addition to the litmus test you proposed, an additional indicator would be how open is the judicial system in each nation / culture.

For example: here in the US, contrary to popular belief, much of the Legal System is hidden from the public and is lacking oversight by the press and by concerned citizens.

Additionally, an example from the LGBT+ perspective: Iran, executes people who are found guilty of Homosexuality. When this happens ( and it is relatively rare ), there is no oversight. The Iranian gov't claims that the execution was for many various crimes against Allah, and only one of those happens to be Homosexual behavior. But still, there is no real oversight to ensure that this is the case.

So, I think you're correct. A good litmus test for how advanced a society is, would be looking at how LGBT+ folk are treated. But in addition to that, another good benchmark would be: how open is the culture to oversight by its citizens.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

The homeless?

Yes, and what are most of the homeless?

 

[Sirona]

Letter: Quote from Humphrey, not Gandhi

This is supposedly about the original quote. Interesting.

 

[sun rise]

I don't agree with the OP. Iran accepts transgender people because the Ayatollah said so. They don't accept gays.

So it's more complex than a simple test.

 

[Eddi]

I don't agree with the OP. Iran accepts transgender people because the Ayatollah said so. They don't accept gays.

So it's more complex than a simple test.

I don't think it is

I think that simply means that on balance Iran is not as extreme as places that don't allow transgendered people to exist in addition to not allowing gays

 

[PureX]

What makes the acceptance of alternative expressions of gender or sexuality "advanced"?

From what, toward what?

 

[Heyo]

My thesis: How well a country treats its LGBT people is directly proportional to how advanced that country's society is.

It's an indicator. It's something you can judge an entire nation or culture on.

There is a continuum:

At one end there are societies that execute LGBT people. This is the least advanced end of the continuum.

And at the other end, the other extreme, there are nations where LGBT people enjoy full equality with their heterosexual peers. This would be the most advanced end of the continuum.

Of course, most societies probably fall somewhere between these two extreme positions, that are polar opposites of each other.

I think it can be used to judge people too, in a similar way.

A handy litmus test.

Not really a litmus test but more like the Big Mac Index - Wikipedia. A quick'n'dirty first view that is correct in most cases but may fail on closer inspection.

 

[Tambourine]

What makes the acceptance of alternative expressions of gender or sexuality "advanced"?

From what, toward what?

Good point. They should have simply said "better".

 

[Twilight Hue]

My thesis: How well a country treats its LGBT people is directly proportional to how advanced that country's society is.

It's an indicator. It's something you can judge an entire nation or culture on.

There is a continuum:

At one end there are societies that execute LGBT people. This is the least advanced end of the continuum.

And at the other end, the other extreme, there are nations where LGBT people enjoy full equality with their heterosexual peers. This would be the most advanced end of the continuum.

Of course, most societies probably fall somewhere between these two extreme positions, that are polar opposites of each other.

I think it can be used to judge people too, in a similar way.

A handy litmus test.

That depends upon what your interpretation of advanced is.

I'm speculating you're referring to advanced in terms of a diverse culture's acceptance and stability compared with other cultures that are diverse, but not as tolerant and unstable.