Homophobia - just wondering

[frogcycle]

(doing my Andy Rooney imitation)

Why does prejudice based on sex and race end with "ism" but against homosexuals end with "phobia" ?

The not-so-subtle message in the word "homophobia" is that if you have objections to or negative feelings about people who are homosexual then you must be afraid. But afraid of what? That they are going to "do" you? Or that you might be a latent one yourself? Certainly not that they are going to breed prolifically and outnumber "your kind", as some seem to fear about brown people of various heritages.

Somehow, though, it seems like "homophobia" does not quite do it. I guess homophobia is an OK word to describe a lot of what is out there as anti-gay sentiment, but it doesn't really cover it all.

Those who base their anti-gay positions on purported religious teachings aren't (necessarily) afraid, and don't (necessarily) hate. They just think what other people do is their business, and condemn those who do things they disapprove of. That is pretty similar to someone who, say, thinks women should be kept barefoot and pregnant, or that blacks should be field hands. Neither of those attitudes is fear or hatred; its just bigotry. We call those people sexists and racists. But we don't have a word for anti-homosexual bigotry.

Maybe it is just too hard to say "homosexualist". Or gayist, or lesbianist. Or gay-and-lesbianist.

[Katherine Brengle]

1. How about heterosexism?

What you say makes a lot of sense, I never thought about it like that. It makes it sound like it's okay, because you're just "afraid" of gay people...

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

2. what the world needs now

are some true words of wisdom like la la la la la la.

[Katherine Brengle]

3. ???????

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

6. cracker song reference.

[karlrschneider]

4. Who knows? Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

Why are 'dough', 'bough' and 'rough' pronounced so differently? I'm not particularly fond of the 'phobia' suffix either but it's what has become general usage, however grammatically incorrect it may be.

[Katherine Brengle]

5. "Fag" used to be in general usage.

"Nigger" used to be in general usage.

There is plenty of precedent for the changing of acceptable language.

:eyes:

[karlrschneider]

8. Piss and Shit were also part of everyday language a while back.

I have no idea who decided to make them expletives.

[JuniperLea]

10. Fag, meaning a cigarette, is still used

I'll never forget the first time I heard my grandpa say, "Where's me fags!" I was stunned for several minutes, unable to speak, think, and barely able to breath. He had quit smoking (packed up, as he called it) when I was born and didn't start up again until I was old enough to know what America society meant by the word "fag".

[jakem]

14. not as shocking as...

when the cute Spanish exchange student in high school leaned over and asked me if I had a rubber (meaning an eraser- what a let down!)

[JuniperLea]

15. Hahaha!

That reminds me of my aunt and her Scottish friend... instead of saying, keep your chin up, she would say, keep your pecker up! We had good chuckles on that one!

[Orangepeel]

7. I think the phrase would be "sexual orientationism"

to be parallel with racism and sexism. But that's a mouthful.

[frogcycle]

12. no pun intended?

sorry folks, I just could NOT resist

[Maven]

13. A mouthful of what?

Syllables? Yes, I agree. :)

[JuniperLea]

9. Phobia means fear

I've always thought that homophobia, or fear of homosexuals, came from not being secure in one's own sexuality.

I think the more interesting question is why are there more male homophobes than female? Or, why is it men like to see women together but not men together?

I think the whole psychology is interesting and should get a lot more study.

[Maven]

11. The only other word I've heard is "heterosupremacist"

But it seems too tame and academic to really describe the concept.

You're right--words are important as carriers of meaning, as the foundation of discourse.

I think from a semiotic perspective, the word "homophobia" is gaining the same rhetorical power as other words that describe hatred or bias. The actual denotation of the word, if you pick it apart, is thus becoming less important. (BTW, the word "phobia" denotes dislike as well as fear.) The same could be said of "racism." The word itself denotes bias more than hatred, i.e., making an issue of race as a criterion for selectivity. But the word is also connected to a narrative--social and historical--that connects bias to its underlying cause: bigotry. Thus, the word evokes many levels of meaning.

I think the same might be said for "homophobia," although it's at a less advanced stage.