Homophobia

George Weinberg, in Society and the Healthy Homosexual of 1972, coined the term homophobia to refer to the psychological fear of homosexuals and homosexuality. That definition, however, is limited in its focus, as it neglects wider structural sources behind the taboo of same-sex sexual relationships and the negative attitudes and intolerance shown toward any gender or sexual nonconformity in society. Additionally, this concept should also include internal manifestations of self-hatred in GLBTIQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, or questioning) individuals because of the stigma associated with their sexuality or gendered orientation.

Newer terms, such as heterosexual hegemony, come across as better expressions to describe an ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community. At issue is sexual prejudice, the negative attitudes based on sexual orientation, whether the target is homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual (e.g., “fag” discourse among boys). Unlike homophobia, it conveys no a priori assumptions about the origins, dynamics, and underlying motivations of anti-gay attitudes. Also, using the construct of sexual prejudice does not require value judgments that anti-gay attitudes are inherently irrational or evil.

Homophobia includes bias against family forms that do not conform to heteronormativity. One cited example of such bias was the threat by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to stop federal funding of a PBS kids' show, Postcards From Buster, because of a controversial episode. The airing of the 2005 “Sugartime!” episode (also called “Sugarland”) was halted because it featured a lesbian couple and their family on a maple sugar tree farm in Vermont. The show is about a cartoon character, Buster, who encounters real-life diverse families, as representative of different regions, religions, and racial/ethnic groups across the United States. The bias in U.S. society against same-sex marriage is also a form of homophobia, particularly with the “defense of marriage” policy arguments that these types of families will lead to the destruction of society.

Other structural examples of homophobia exist in the “don't ask, don't tell” policies used by the military to ban homosexuality; widespread lack of legal protection from anti-gay discrimination and hostility [Page 454]toward individuals and their families in employment, adoption, custody, health care, housing, and other services; the differential treatment of homosexual and bisexual people with HIV or AIDS; and the existence of sodomy laws in more than one third of U.S. states. Extreme forms of homophobia can also be found in hate crimes and anti-gay violence, such as the murders of Matthew Shepard and Billy Ray Gaither because of their sexual orientation.

Complicating any charges or discussion of homophobia is the fact that some people believe homosexual behavior is a sin. Believing that is not necessarily homophobic, but it often gets charged as such when a minority person's reaction might be that of sensitivity toward a perceived prejudice. It is a difficult issue we face as a society, as some people are unwilling to approve of a lifestyle or orientation that they do not believe in or understand, but that does not make them homophobic. However, there is a difference between remaining true to one's moral values and attempting to impose one's values or judgments upon others.

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