Homophobia

Homophobia is a negative attitude, indifference, or aversion toward homosexual persons or homosexuality in general. The term was first used in 1969 by American psychologist George Weinberg, who defined homophobia as the fear expressed by heterosexuals of being in the presence of homosexuals and the loathing that homosexual persons have for themselves. Homophobia stems from individual, social, and systemic prejudice and can result in hostility against, or an exclusion of, homosexual persons, both men and women, that has repercussions ranging from the daily to the lifelong.

The Fondation Émergence in Quebec created a useful typology describing nine ways in which homophobia manifests itself: (1) mind-set homophobia: a feeling of conviction that homosexual persons are abnormal or sick; (2) heterosexist homophobia: a belief that everybody is heterosexual and that heterosexuality is the only acceptable and legitimate form of intimate social organizing (this belief rests on the idea that majorities set norms); (3) speech-based homophobia: use of vocabulary and expressions that span from teasing to insulting; (4) behavioral homophobia: body language or attitude that shows discomfort, insecurity, or fear when in contact with homosexual persons; (5) institutional homophobia: institutional practices that put homosexuals at a disadvantage; (6) opportunistic homophobia: behavior of persons interested in homosexuality only for monetary or personal gain and who refuse all association with homosexual persons or organizations; (7) internalized homophobia: an unconscious form of homophobia that results from education and prevalent social values (homosexual persons are not sheltered from this form of homophobia because they receive the same education and are influenced by the same values as is everybody else); (8) homophobia by omission: a silent or passive attitude when faced with homophobia speech or behavior; and (9) violent homophobia: extreme manifestations of homophobia that lead to violence, from verbal aggression to hate crimes.

Geographers have demonstrated not only how homophobia shapes the human landscape but also how homophobia is a spatialized process. They have examined and documented the effects of homophobia at a variety of scales that range from the body to the global.