Relationships with an emotional foundation tend to have longevity, whereas more peripheral relationships are less stable, and dissipate over time (Hutchison, 2015). During adolescence, one is apt to learn as much as they can about the world. Thus, adolescents tend to have many relationships which changes in middle adulthood. Middle-aged adults report having fewer friendships than their younger counterparts, however, these relationships can still be impactful. For example, having close friends at the age of 50 for men predicts better physical health by age 70. Further, women at age 50 with close female friends report a greater sense of well-being than women who do not have such interpersonal relationships (Hutchison, 2015). According to the text, friends are particularly important within the gay community at midlife (Hutchison, 2015). After growing up in a homophobic society, oftentimes, gays and lesbians look to a ‘chosen family’ for support and care, and within this community, caring for friends is often seen as a responsibility (Hutchison, 2015). This is prevalent throughout Milk. The gay community in the film is tight-knit and bonded. They support each other through public harassment, including the violent incidents that took place in a gay club in San …show more content…
synthetic-conventional faith Universalizing faith is Fowler’s final faith stage. It dictates that individuals lead selfless lives based on the tenants of love and justice. Many people do not reach this stage. Synthetic conventional faith, Fowler’s first faith stage, is the idea that the spiritual authority exists outside of the individual. In this stage, individuals look to religious leaders to define morality for them. Many people stay in this stage for their entire lives (Hutchison, 2015). Spirituality and religion play a major part in middle adulthood. According to a national survey of middle-aged adults in the US, a positive correlation has been found between regular participation in religious activities and volunteering in community service, largely in the area of making monetary contributions to charity. This ties into the overarching theme of generativity in middle adulthood, as it emphasizes a need for contributing and social belongingness (Hutchison, 2015). According to Fowler’s faith stages, many adults do not transcend passed synthetic conventional faith. This is seen via the character Anita Bryant, a religious zealot who represented a Christian political movement that villainized gay people. She believed in treating gay members of society like they were criminals and regressing from legislation that protected homosexuals from discriminatory practices. Anita’s motivations stemmed from her steadfast and quite literal interpretation of