Homophobia

From Encyclopedia of Sex and Sexuality

Homophobia is defined as a fear of homosexuals, sometimes to an extreme degree so that it becomes pathological. Like many forms of discrimination, such as antisemitism or racism, homophobia is often displayed by people who are angry at their own lot in life, and rather than blame those in positions of authority, pick on others whom they abhor and who are not as capable of fighting back.

Like all phobias it is often tied to the unknown, so it is most likely to be felt by people who do not really know any homosexuals. Part of their stated fear is their belief that homosexuals try to seduce heterosexuals, although this would pose no threat to someone who is truly heterosexual. However, since homophobia may also be tied to an inner fear of homosexual tendencies that the homophobe is afraid of admitting, even to him- or herself, the threat of such seduction does have the potential to instill terror in the homophobe. Often the homophobic person will go out of his or her way to declare how much they hate homosexuals, really fearing that if they were to act sympathetically toward them, others might think they are homosexual. When pushed to extremes by events in their lives, homophobic people may actually try to physically harm homosexuals.

The AIDS epidemic that has hit the homosexual community with particular severity has given rise to a recent increase in homophobia, in part due to some individuals’ fear of AIDS itself, and in part due to their latent homophobia. While sexual contact with anyone who has AIDS could lead to a transference of the disease, AIDS cannot be spread by casual contact and the disease offers no excuse for homophobic inclinations.