Homophobia

Background and History

Seeking to label the prejudice toward homosexuals, psychologist George Weinberg (1972) coined the term homophobia to explain the “irrational fear or hatred of homosexuals.” Consistent with this term, early applications framed homophobia as an individual attribute, in which antigay prejudices are rooted in a person's psychological makeup, without regard to wider structural sources of antigay prejudices and variations in attitudes held toward gay men and lesbians. Critics of the term argued that its suffix, phobia, implies that such fears and attitudes are inherently irrational and dysfunctional.

While earlier scholarship typically employed the term homophobia to describe the antigay attitudes of individuals, currently it is more often used to refer to the attitudes, social ideologies, behaviors, and belief systems of groups. At the societal level, the term homophobia has been used in congruence with the terms heterosexism and heteronormativity—all of which refer to the social opposition to samesex desire. Gender theorists further assert that this opposition is highly associated with patriarchal ties and male dominance.

Homophobia is manifested at both the individual and social levels. At the individual level, homophobia is the fear of being identified as homosexual or as valuing homosexuality. However, the individual level and social level are linked, since society and culture dictate what is considered to be “gay” or “homosexual” and the treatment of certain classes of people. Thus, when homophobia occurs at the individual level it is still nested within the social level.

Attitudes toward homosexuals and homosexual issues are not evenly distributed among individuals and subgroups in society. Empirical research suggests that attitudes toward gay men and lesbians vary based on sex, age, race and ethnicity, social class, education, political and religious affiliation, and whether or not an individual has known a gay person. Cross-culturally, men are generally more homophobic than women. Studies in the United States consistently find that individuals who are older, less educated, and reside in rural areas express relatively high levels of prejudice against gay men and lesbians. Also, those with fundamentalist religious affiliations, those who frequently attend religious services, and those affiliated with conservative and Republican political parties tend to have higher levels of antigay prejudice. Individuals who have personally known a gay person manifest the lowest levels of prejudice, especially if the person is a close friend or family member. Individuals with lower levels of prejudice, such as women and the highly educated, are more likely to experience interactions with an openly gay person. Research exploring levels of prejudice among racial and ethnic minorities is less consistent. It suggests that racial and ethnic minorities are more prejudiced against gay men and lesbians than are their White counterparts. It has been suggested that this difference is due to White women's [Page 408]more favorable attitudes toward gay men and lesbians; however, there may also be a spurious relationship with class and education. Research also shows that interpersonal contact may not be as significant in shaping attitudes in all cultures. For example, the belief that homosexuality is a choice is a greater predictor of Black prejudices against gay people in America than the lack of interpersonal contact.

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