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| Homophobia, taken literally, would mean "irrational hatred or fear of homosexuals or homosexuality". But this term is used rather in two ways: | |||
| ''Homophobia'' construed literally or etymologically means ''fear of ].'' More usually it is taken to mean hatred and fear of ]s. Among some homosexuality advocates and their sympathizers, the term is used even more broadly, to mean ''any'' sort of disapproval of homosexuality, whether subtle or explicit, unconscious or conscious, completely unreasoning or in some way principled. | |||
| 1. As a quick shorthand for "opposition to homosexuality" or "the belief that homosexuality is sinful" and so on. The media prefer short words to cumbersome phrases, so the term prospered. | |||
| Religious groups and some others strongly deny that their disapproval of homosexuality, often allegedly based on religious scripture or principles, constitutes homophobia. They claim that the term "homophobia" is used by advocates for social change to indiscriminately lump together true homophobes (i.e., those who actively fear and loathe homosexuals) with those who merely disapprove of homosexuality, perhaps on principled or religious grounds, in order to shame the latter into abandoning their disapproval. | |||
| 2. To imply that it's irrational or hateful to oppose homesexuality or to call it sinful. | |||
| :What's a true homophobe? I've never heard of anyone who feared homosexuals. Also, it's rare especially among Christians to hate sinners of any stripe. If this is meant to be an encyclopedia entry, let's be clear about what is meant. In comman parlance, homophobic and homophobia are used purely as shorthand for opponents of and opposition to (a) the gay agenda and/or the idea that homosexual isn't sinful. | |||
| However the term is understood, ] beliefs and attitudes can be held by people independent of their sexuality. In ]s, ]s and ]s ] can result in lifelong suffering of depression, low self-esteem and a stunted love life and sexuality. For straight people it can lead to anything from unthinkingly marginalising ] people to violent ]s. | |||
| Homophobia has been taken to ludicrous extremes, one example being the 1999 "]" of the ] character Tinky Winky. | |||
| The cause of homophobia in society has been widely debated. | |||
| :Here the sense of the word <i>homophobia</i> has flipped back from "disapproval" to "irrational hatred/fear". Was this deliberate? | |||
| Some religious organisations and individuals actively oppose homosexuality, which--depending on one's definition of "homophobia"--can either directly or indirectly foster homophobia. Some religions will not ordain those lesbians and gays who have come out of ]. | |||
| Some gender theorists interpret the fact that male/male activities or relationships often incites a stronger reaction in homophobics than female/female (]) activities or relationships as meaning that the homophobic feels threatened by the subversion of the ] in male/male sex. Homophobics often express strongly ] view and tend to focus on the sexuality of lesbigay people to the exclusion of all other traits, in much the same way as ]s tend to define people exclusively by their ]. | |||
| To combat homophobia the LGB community uses events such as ]s and ]. | |||
| Also see: ], ], ], ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 21:20, 29 November 2001
Homophobia, taken literally, would mean "irrational hatred or fear of homosexuals or homosexuality". But this term is used rather in two ways:
1. As a quick shorthand for "opposition to homosexuality" or "the belief that homosexuality is sinful" and so on. The media prefer short words to cumbersome phrases, so the term prospered.
2. To imply that it's irrational or hateful to oppose homesexuality or to call it sinful.