Reply #33: Words mean different things to different people.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Words mean different things to different people. That sounds so obvious that it actually looks a little silly in print. But it's still true.

For instance, look at the dictionary definition posted by pbeal:


1. Fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay men.
2. Behavior based on such a feeling.


So when a Freeper uses the term homophobia he is giving most weight to the 'contempt' part of the definition. When a gay person uses the term, they are stressing the 'fear' part. When you come right down to it, they are both using the same word, but that word means two very different things, depending on whose mouth it comes out of.