Homophobia

[DandJforever]

Homophobia isn't a fear. Phobia is a fear. Homophobia is hatred. When you bully or harass someone who is gay, that is homophhobia. You are fearing them, you are committing an act of hatred.

Homophobia and unacceptance isn't just about someone ridiculing someone else because they are gay. This person may be homophobic for a number of reasons, which include: They were raised in a homophobic or religious environment, they are being homophobic due to peer pressure or they want to try and act cool and impress their friends, they are insecure about themselves, or they think that because they are supporting someone who is gay, that they are gay themselves.

Acts of homophobia are not just through words. They can also be through violence. Homophobic verbal abuse and violence leads to emotional and physical hatred in the victrim, self-harm in the victim, and thoughts or attempts of suicide on the victim. Homophobic violence doesn't just stay with you short-term. It stays with you long-term and it is hard to forget.

Homophobia has gotten better and people are become more accepting of others, but, we still have a long way to go. If we want to conquer homophobia, we all have to stick together and stand up for one another.

If you see someone who is being bullied because of their sexual orientation, stand up for that person. We can make a difference by helping one person at a time. If everyone in this world stood up for even just 1 person, it would be a better place. It would make a big difference. It show to the victims that they are not alone and they have someone there for them.

We need to educate the people who are doing the homophobia by educating them about the gay community and how gays are just as equal as anyone else in the world.

Do your part and stand up! Do not get caught watching!

Daniel

[DandJforever]

Why what? What do you mean?

[Bowyn Aerrow]

If any of those studies that link homophobia to those individuals who have a leaning toward gay - then the motivation is fear.

Fear of their own thoughts of 'homosexuality', fear of being known as one of 'those people'.

[DandJforever]

Well, my point is that homophobia isn't a fear. It is hatred. It is unacceptance and ignorance.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

My point is that hatred is often rooted in fear.

https://www.google.com/#psj=1&q=hatred+i...ed+in+fear

My point is a bit more valid simply because many in the mental health profession will say pretty much the same thing.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/...freud.html

[Pix]

Reasons people fear gays:

1. Scared men will treat men the way many men treat women and that women will treat other women better than men do. I know this is said as a joke but I think there's some truth to it.

2. Some think tolerating gays is a slippery slope to tolerating every other "deviance" and these types often assume that someone gay is in fact a child molester (among other things). When you want to grab your children and run away then that's pretty fearful and phobic.

3. Scared exposure to gays will turn their own kids gay. I knew a mother upset that a fan made slash of a Disney cartoon would be seen by her daughter and then she wouldn't be into men at all because she thought that was ok...never mind all the heterosexual examples out there in both media and real life for her to see. She struck me as terrified of this. I asked her why this scared her (she didn't know I'm gay) and she got annoyed with me for asking such a stupid question and then gave me a really stupid answer of her daughter never having a family of her own (because she thinks that shouldn't be allowed), would be ostracized (because of people like her), and that her daughter wouldn't end up with her in Heaven. And this over a single video on YouTube. That strikes me as pretty phobic.

4. Believing gay men would destroy military cohesion and discipline...this fear is so intense that the Pentagon has actually tried to develop a "gay bomb" to TURN PEOPLE GAY to use on enemy forces!




Can't say whether it's more stupid than it is phobic or vice versa.

5. That while gays themselves may not be fear worthy, God IS, and God will destroy America just as He did Sodom if gays are tolerated. 9/11? Religion wasn't to blame but gays (and liberals, feminists, etc) as it removed God's protection from America and was a warning. (Btw, Westboro operated with impunity crashing gay funerals for like 10 years without a word of protest from the Christian community, it was only after they started crashing soldier funerals and thanking God for 9/11 that Christendom rose up collectively and said, "They're not with us," the point being enough Christians outside Westboro are fine with if not downright sympathetic to their "God hates gays" message.) My own family warned me to stay out of LA and Frisco saying God was going to destroy those cities in a major earthquake for their open tolerance of homosexuality. In short, God will nuke us if gays are tolerated, and that sounds phobic to me (if not homophobic then maybe God phobic?).

[southbiochem]

Well, my point is that homophobia isn't a fear. It is hatred. It is unacceptance and ignorance.

True, but phobia does not just mean "fear"

the greek word φόβος also means "aversion" so the word homophobia is well constructed.

much like the word "hydrophobic" which is a property of hydrocarburs

it doesn't mean they're afraid of water, rather it means they "don't like" water, as in they don't mix with water...

true enough a lot of Homophobes have taken the "aversion" part to outright hatred.

Some have been raised that way, sadly; some have taken their views on "normalcy" to the extreme...

As the newer generations take over and knocks down the uneducated, squared-minded people within older generations, a chance will be on the wait for us to educate those that follow into acceptance and tolerance of different racial groups, different social "status", etc, etc...

[Wade]

I've stopped trying to understand homophobes. I have no hatred for them, unless they act out violently or try to interfere with my life. I figure I'll just live my life the way I choose and wait patiently for the homophobes to calm down... or die out, whichever comes first.

[dfiant1]

Homophobes are homophobes, just like racists and sexist. Nothing will change, they will be around for as long as time exists because some people will never want everyone else to be happy.

I don't fear these people, I feel sorry for them, I feel sorry for what they are missing out on. I also feel sorry that in this changing world, those that hate are the ones that are the minority now and their attitudes reflect poorly on the people that they are rather than reflect poorly on the people that they fear.

[nfisher1226]

just like racists and sexist.

What's wrong with being sexy?

Sorry, someone had to.

But seriously, I do know it's not a funny topic. I could have had a much different life had I not been so scared when I was younger.