Homophobia

[Incompl te]

Why is it that people suffer from homophobia? As part of the gay community I've had to deal with the usual verbal/physical assault based around the person/s being homophobic. I've always wondered what exactly it is that causes people to react the way they do around/with gays/bisexuals/etc..

And generally speaking, men tend to be more homophobic than women; why is that? And why doe people in general see lesbians as okay but male gays as freaks of nature? The first thing that comes to mind would probably be the whole 'lesbian acts being a turn-on' thing. But it still doesn't make much sense.

As a warning, if you are homophobic and you aren't going to contribute to this thread positively, don't contribute at all. We don't need flaming going on here.

 

[Jabbawocky]

Why do most people fear anything that's not dangerous? Because they do not understand.

 

[Inverse Skies]

Apparently the people who are most homophobic are those that are often covering up for their own blatant homosexuality. If you're truly comfortable with who you are who cares if someone else is gay? Homophobic people seem to have the impression all gay guys want to jump them, which is laughable. It's sad that it still exists but unfortunately it does.

 

[Jimmyjames]

I'm not very homophobic, but I am slightly put off by really queeny guys that are obviously trying to act that way. At Comic-Con waaaayyyyy back in 2001 in the Spider-Man panel, I was sitting in front of a guy that kept LOUDY talking about what he wanted to do to Tobey Maguire. Just a little obnoxious.

 

[Fangface74]

Don't try and apply logic & reason to irrational behaviour, after all; HomoPHOBIA, like all phobias, is an irrational fear. People will conquer their fears eventually.

 

[NubletInc]

Fear of the ultimate unanswerable question, Why? Because in the end you can try as hard as you want to justify anything but will never give a good enough reason for it to be accepted by all.

 

[NubletInc]

wow that turned out sounding really Wannabe fortune teller or something eh?

 

[Beefcakes]

I would naturally assume it stems from one or both of two things:

Religion: As sex is seen only for spreading your seed and furthering the human population, a gay couple would be seen as waisting your god given right/duty to further the human race. People frown upon this, and somehow think that hating them will make them turn straight.
(Note: This is not all religions, but there are a fair few like this)

Biological: Its part of the human genetic structure to have sex with the opposite gender to further create and multiply. If people aren't doing what is considered as 'normal' (genetically speaking of course), then the get scared and don't know how to react, which usually leads to frustration and so forth. This may be under dispute, as seen by the 'Nature vs. Nurture' thread floating around.

I myself am not a homophobic, this is just the reason I believe some people are homophobic.

 

[MoganFreeman]

Men, on a basic level, feel threatened by the possibility of being labeled "gay" by their peers because it will render them at a severe disadvantage when attempting to "make it with the ladies".

And, just like the boys who used to publicly pick on those considered uncool on the school yard, the easiest way to try and distance yourself from a label you feel might be applied to you is to attack those associated with it publicly.

 

[Incompl te]

I would naturally assume it stems from one or both of two things:

Religion: As sex is seen only for spreading your seed and furthering the human population, a gay couple would be seen as waisting your god given right/duty to further the human race. People frown upon this, and somehow think that hating them will make them turn straight.
(Note: This is not all religions, but there are a fair few like this)

Biological: Its part of the human genetic structure to have sex with the opposite gender to further create and multiply. If people aren't doing what is considered as 'normal' (genetically speaking of course), then the get scared and don't know how to react, which usually leads to frustration and so forth. This may be under dispute, as seen by the 'Nature vs. Nurture' thread floating around.

I myself am not a homophobic, this is just the reason I believe some people are homophobic.

In theory, should we all not be scared of people who use any kind of contraception?

 

[lazy_bum]

I would naturally assume it stems from one or both of two things:

Religion: As sex is seen only for spreading your seed and furthering the human population, a gay couple would be seen as waisting your god given right/duty to further the human race. People frown upon this, and somehow think that hating them will make them turn straight.
(Note: This is not all religions, but there are a fair few like this)

Biological: Its part of the human genetic structure to have sex with the opposite gender to further create and multiply. If people aren't doing what is considered as 'normal' (genetically speaking of course), then the get scared and don't know how to react, which usually leads to frustration and so forth. This may be under dispute, as seen by the 'Nature vs. Nurture' thread floating around.

I myself am not a homophobic, this is just the reason I believe some people are homophobic.

Pretty much how i see it. tbh i've never understood this whole homophobia thing, but then i was brought up in a pretty open minded family and then social groups. On the other hand my step brother is spectaculary homophobic but he cant explain why?

 

[Beefcakes]

I would naturally assume it stems from one or both of two things:

Religion: As sex is seen only for spreading your seed and furthering the human population, a gay couple would be seen as waisting your god given right/duty to further the human race. People frown upon this, and somehow think that hating them will make them turn straight.
(Note: This is not all religions, but there are a fair few like this)

Biological: Its part of the human genetic structure to have sex with the opposite gender to further create and multiply. If people aren't doing what is considered as 'normal' (genetically speaking of course), then the get scared and don't know how to react, which usually leads to frustration and so forth. This may be under dispute, as seen by the 'Nature vs. Nurture' thread floating around.

I myself am not a homophobic, this is just the reason I believe some people are homophobic.

In theory, should we all not be scared of people who use any kind of contraception?

I think that maybe my above posted reason should be edited to include the fact that stubbornness affects how we think greatly, and thus how one would consider homosexuality in a rational sense.

 

[Ushario]

Some homosexuals just take things a step too far.

Sure be proud of who you are and yadda yadda whatever.

Just try not to be a jackass about it, act like you're better than others, and push it in people's faces. If you want to be a queen thats fine with me, but don't go talking about some guys ass where people who don't want to know are forced to listen. I don't stare at every good looking woman and go "wow thats a great set o' tits laddies!".

So to sum it up, I find the idea of being attracted to men mildly repulsive, but don't activley give anyone a hard time about it. I do however, as one poor fool found out, reserve the right to hurt you if you pinch my ass.

 

[jymkata]

I like to wait until one of my friends makes a slightly homophobic joke, then tell them I am gay.
They backtrack soooo fast.

Seriously though, I think that people are homophobic just because other people are.
It is passed down through words, not genes.

 

[Legion]

Why is it that people suffer from homophobia? As part of the gay community I've had to deal with the usual verbal/physical assault based around the person/s being homophobic. I've always wondered what exactly it is that causes people to react the way they do around/with gays/bisexuals/etc..

And generally speaking, men tend to be more homophobic than women; why is that? And why doe people in general see lesbians as okay but male gays as freaks of nature? The first thing that comes to mind would probably be the whole 'lesbian acts being a turn-on' thing. But it still doesn't make much sense.

As a warning, if you are homophobic and you aren't going to contribute to this thread positively, don't contribute at all. We don't need flaming going on here.

Not an all encompassing answer but here's a few answers I came up with:

For some people it is a fear of the unknown, the same reason some people automatically dislike Punks/Goths/Emos. They may not understand the appeal, they may have been told by others bad things about aforementioned groups, what it boils down to is that they are not a part of it and therefore they dislike it.

For others it's parenting, the same way that racist parents frequently pass on their racism to their kids. The film 'American History X' shows this pretty well.

Religion sadly, also sometimes plays a part. In Christianity, Islam and Judaism for example, homosexuality is forbidden and so these teachings are passed down through religious families. Not only that but the world was a much more religious place even 50 years ago and as such a lot of people would have followed a religion that forbids it.

Then there is stupidity, people don't understand the simplest of things and so hate anything they are too thick to comprehend. Similar to my first point but based on intellect rather than knowledge. People sometimes make idiotic assumptions that gay men are paedophiles because they like other men; the logic failing because that would mean all straight men like little girls. Just plain stupidity.

Repressesion. This one is simple; some people are confused or repress their homosexuality and to 'cover it up' they try and distance themselves from them.

Why it's men more than women?

Easy to explain, but hard to be concise. If I can think of a short way to describe it I will edit it in.

As for why lesbians being acceptable?

The turn on answer is because most male homophobes are not completely homophobic, they just do not like guys being gay. Why? A few possible reasons:

- Repressed sexuality
- The desire not to be picked on by other guys for potentially being gay
- Stupidity

There are other reasons but that's all I can think of right now.

 

[Teraj]

people are always afraid of what they dont understand
and they dont understand that love can come in many forms
not just heterosexuality

 

[Ushario]

I like to wait until one of my friends makes a slightly homophobic joke, then tell them I am gay.
They backtrack soooo fast.

Seriously though, I think that people are homophobic just because other people are.
It is passed down through words, not genes.

Just out of curiosity, do you believe you are homosexual due to nature or nurture?

 

[pigeon_of_doom]

I don't really like the term homophobic. Its ended up being a term for anyone who disagrees with homosexuality in any way. Its not fair to discard peoples views as being part of a mental disorder. A homophobe to me, would be someone who has an unprovoked aggressive or fearful reaction towards homosexuals.

I don't really have any answers about the OP's questions though. Except the whole 'people hate what they don't understand' line. I disagree with the idea that most homophobes are struggling with latent homosexuality as well. There are many factors that could lead to their issues with gay people.