Approximately 300 million people live in the United States, and of the 300 million people, nine million people have identified themselves as homosexual. This number could be even higher since not every individual has identified themselves as homosexual. At least nine million people are subject to prejudice, hatred, or discrimination because of stereotypes society has placed on them. Stereotyping has led to discrimination, hatred, and prejudice of homosexuals. This extreme and irrational aversion toward homosexuality or homosexuals is called homophobia and is a major social problem. A social problem, according to Thomas Sullivan (2012), is “when an influential group defines it as threating its values, when the condition affects a large number of people, and when it can be remedied by collective action”. Homophobia is indeed a social problem because negative stereotypes are prohibiting gay males and lesbians from living an equal, free life like their heterosexual counterparts. Whether the homophobic acts are minor or major, all homosexuals are discriminated, ostracized, beaten, or murdered every day. Further discussion of how homophobic stereotypes affect homosexuals, who is considered to be homophobic, and potential solutions to stop homophobia will be described below through peer reviewed literature. The first article by Bhugra (2010) is a compilation of many different articles and describes homophobia as an irrational fear or intolerance of homosexuality and is socially determined prejudice. Homophobia can also be defined as a socially determined prejudice as opposed to a medically diagnosed fear. Homophobic attitudes are intolerant mainly toward males most likely due to the fact that male homosexuals are more visible. Homop... ... middle of paper ... ...a. Homophobic behavior can be driven by an individual’s fear, family, religion, culture, political affiliation, societal setting, and personal beliefs. All three articles made suggestions in order to prevent stereotypes and homophobia, and while many people are being educated and changing their beliefs about homosexuality, many more people may never change their beliefs and ideals. Educating people to change their minds takes generations, since many people are not so easily persuaded to think differently. People have been brainwashed to think certain ways. Even though society is beginning to accept homosexuality and homosexuals, society still has not broken the stereotypes associated. Stereotypes today are still prevalent, need to be addressed, and broken so homosexuals can have the same freedoms as heterosexuals and not live in fear of being discriminated against.
Internalized homophobia is when negative attitudes from the primary group, mainly family but also the surrounding community, cause negative homophobic thoughts in a person that has same-sex attraction, but may not identify with it. This kind of internalization creates lack of self worth for those that do not “come out”. Research supports that internalized homophobia contributes to lower self-acceptance, loneliness, depression, and the lessened ability to come out to others. Internalized homophobia has a high impact on lesbians because society’s norms are to be married to a man and reproduce, and this norm is the majority in small, rural communities. Because of this norm, lesbians try to maintain a “normal”, “acceptable” lifestyle, and get married and have children, while fighting within themselves about their identity. “A number of studies have found that the degree of internalized homophobia was inversely related to relationship satisfaction in lesbians” (Spencer, 2007, pg. 258).
Stop for a moment and think what if homophobia didn’t really mean what we think it means. What if it really meant the opposite? Michael S. Kimmel’s essay “Masculinity as Homophobia” explains that homophobia is actually the fear of being perceived as gay. Yes, this might come as a shock to some people, but let’s see why this actually might make sense. This essay discusses that men in order to look as manly as possible, they act in very different ways, and sometimes they even exaggerate their behaviors (103). According to Kimmel men are afraid of being humiliated by other men and they would rather jeopardize their health just to preserve their masculinity (105). The author states that society has a great impact on how one should behave in order to be perceived e real men. That’s why I deeply agree with Kimmel’s general idea that homophobia is actually the fear of being
Why would people develop a phobia of homosexual? There are certain ways in which the society expects people to behave and relate. Gender policy has been a major issue of concern because most people engage in things that are opposite to what are expected of them. Cultural globalization has changed many things and the way people think. This paper will summarize the story “Bros before Hos” by Michael Kimmel analytically and determine the reasons why people would develop a phobia of homosexual.
Over time, outsiders opposed to the LGBT ingroup have created cruel assumptions about the sex lives/health of gay men based on minorities. These assumptions are constantly in circulation; gay men can’t be monogamous, carry AIDS and can’t help themselves from hitting on straight men (Engle, 2017). These microaggressions that continue to harm gay men. Another assumption surrounding gay men that is translated into a microaggression is the idea that gay men sacrifice their masculinity for their sexual orientation. There is a general expectation around the behavioural traits expected in gay men; they’re weak, delicate, stylish, and associate themselves more so with women (Engle, 2017). This expectation is harmful, as closeted gay men may want to avoid the gain of this stereotype in avoidance of being told ‘you don’t act gay’ as if it’s an accomplishment. The Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health also saw gay men resenting the ‘gay friend’ label, as if their sexuality was used for personal gain rather than pure friendship. These negative microaggressions can lead to the individual ‘lashing out’. Michael Eagles, a long-term Truckee and openly gay man, faced extreme homophobia and threats from one of his colleagues. In one incident, the perpetrator threatened Eagles with hammer, saying that ‘gay men can’t fight’. Eagles quickly proved this claim wrong by initiating a brawl that would send the perpetrator to hospital. 10 years later,
The Web. 12 May 2014. Fone, Byrne. A. Homophobia: A History of the.
Despite the movements that gay people have made in order to achieve equal rights, gays all over the world are often remain in alienated position in society. Misconceptions are views or opinions that are based on false accusations and misunderstandings that can cause negative effects to those that are surrounded by them. Misconceptions are powerful misjudgment that can cause even the friendliest of people to shy away from those enclosed by these far-fetched yet believable rumors. Stereotypes are used to categorize groups under the idea that most if not all of them behave, look, or even dress a certain way. Like many groups who have a wide array of stereotypes and misconceptions, one of them happens to be gay men. There 's a large belief that
Before beginning my research, I was very curious about the causes of homonegativity and how they translate into certain effects. Being that I have close friends and family members who have struggled with both internalized homonegativity and societal prejudices, I thought the subject was important to bring attention to. I did not predict how significant the effects of homophobia are on homosexuals, especially living in the most progressive era in U.S. history. Thus, homonegativity is a subject that needs to be taught based on the mental and physical wellbeing of those in the LGBTQ
the rest of the world, or is it simply the case that society has warped
What really grinds my gears is seeing homophobia in the modern world. Yes, I acknowledge that it is seen as a sin—especially in the early times when people believe in witchcraft. Seriously, it’s 2016 and we’re having a little fit over who uses what bathroom? We’re having worse things going on! We have ISIS, we have a potential war coming up, we have school shootings and gang violence, and worse of all we have the possibility of Trump being our president and people are losing their marbles over who uses what bathroom? It’s just a bathroom! If it makes you so uncomfortable to go into a bathroom that is gender neutral, then don’t use it! Simple! Being a gay boy in school made me uncomfortable going to the boy’s bathroom/locker room. I grew up in a small town—Oroville, WA—where homosexuality wasn’t really seen, and some people felt uncomfortable by it. I hated going to the boy’s bathroom/locker room because I constantly felt I didn’t belong with them, but I didn’t belong with the girls either…I didn’t know where I belonged. I felt if I went into the boy’s bathroom/locker room, then they would judge me or feel uncomfortable with me in there—I used to think that boy’s hated me in there because they felt that I was looking at them or checking them out
Within the LGBTQ community, internalized homophobia is an extremely prevalent occurrence. One in which members of the LGBTQ community believe that the negative connotations and stigmas towards LGBTQ individuals are true. This, in part, is due to anti-gay and heteronormative social environments which have mental health effects on gays and lesbians. Ilan H. Meyer, a psychiatric epidemiologist, has referred to these negative social environments as a form of minority stress and has done extensive research on describing its effect on mental health. Gregory M. Herek states that “At the core of minority stress is some kind of conflict or disharmony between the minority member and the dominant social environment.” The most insidious attribute of internalized homophobia is that the people who experience it may not realize that it is directly related to the person’s low self-regard
The purpose of Adams, Wright, and Lohr’s (1996) article “Is Homophobia Associated With Homosexual Arousal?” was to examine the effects of homosexual arousal in heterosexual men who identified as disliking homosexuals or being homophobic. The study that was conducted used 64 Caucasian heterosexual male participants ranging between the ages of 18-31. Each participant was tested to see if he identified as either homophobic or non homophobic and then was placed into their correlating groups. Each group was then shown three different tapes showing sexual acts that were heterosexual, male homosexual, and female homosexual while having their penile circumference monitored for changes throughout. The hypothesis being tested in this study was to see whether homophobic men would become more sexual aroused to the homosexual material than the non homophobic men and to test if homophobic men acted more aggressive then non homophobic men. The study confirmed that the homophobic men did act more aggressively and should more arousal to the homophobic material either without knowing or denying that they were.
Homophobia is a term that is defined as the hatred and fear towards people that are attracted towards members of the same sex. Homophobia can be found in western societies and also in other areas of the world where homosexual practices are punishable by law. While heterosexuality is accepted by society through public expression such as romance, courtship, marriage and family, the lives of homosexuals are reduced to something that is done as private. Effects of heteronoative practices can be witnessed through the usage of social media where people including teens use the Internet as an outlet to talk about their experiences of bullying and in some cases admit they plan on completing suicide. Through the effects of bullying and stigmas, resistance practises have started to occur such as “Pink Day” where institutions and communities raise awareness of celebrating diversity towards homophobia and all other forms of bullying.
In today's society, there exists a mixture of issues which tend to raise arguments with people all over. There are a handful of topics that always seem to escalate these differences between people to the point where one who earnestly participates in discussion, debate and argument can direct their anger towards their feelings on the person themselves. Some examples of such delicate subjects are the death penalty, abortion, and euthanasia. An issue that has in recent years, begun to increase arguments, is the acceptability of homosexuality in society. Until recently, homosexuality was considered strictly taboo. If an individual was homosexual, it was considered a secret to be kept from all family, friends, and society. However, it seem that society has begun to accept this lifestyle by allowing same sex couples. The idea of coming out of the 'closet' has moved to the head of homosexual individuals when it used to be the exception. Homosexuality is nothing to be ashamed of and we should all come to realize this.
There are individuals that live in fear of showing their true identity to the world because they simply fear that society won’t accept them for having a different sexual orientation. Society advocates that individuals should be able to be proud of who they are, but yet they judge homosexuals for being different. People are taught not to judge others based on their race or religion, so why do they still discriminate against homosexuals? The homosexual subculture is not accepted by society, looked down upon, and misjudged; however, they are human beings and deserve to be treated equally.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the 1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.