Homophobia

Silly rabbit. God hates all His children!

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Homophobia is the irrational fear or dislike of homosexuality and/or related topics.

Many examples of homophobia may be found on Conservapedia and in much of the developing, as well as the developed world. Examples of this include many famous reggae stars in Jamaica and the criminal codes of much of Africa and the Middle East.

"Homophobia ... was defined as an emotional or affective response including fear, anxiety, anger, discomfort, and aversion that an individual experiences in interacting with gay individuals, which may or may not involve a cognitive component."

Rationalizations of homophobia

People claim to voice objections to homosexuality for many reasons:

It's not natural

This is a very weak argument because biologists have found "gay" behavior in nature. Bonobos, for example, are famous (if that is the word) for indulging in almost any "perversion" humanity has thought up - and perhaps some we've missed out on. Also, playing checkers, sleeping on a bed, and indeed cooking meat are not "natural", yet most homophobic persons typically do not advocate creating laws outlawing such behaviors.

It's a perversion

This is simply a variation of the "It's not natural" argument. It implies that being gay is a mental disorder even though it's not. Meanwhile, some fundamentalists apparently claim that it is a creation of the devil, however given the lack of evidence of his (or its) existence this is not a very convincing argument.

It's against God's law

While this argument may be relevant for some groups of Christians, it is not convincing for those who have other faiths or opinions. In addition, according to chapter 17 of Leviticus - the same book of the bible that condemns homosexuality - "Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination". Chapter 12 also states that males should be circumcised. Therefore, unless if you don't eat four-legged animals - including cow and lamb - and unless if you let somebody cut off your foreskin, you cannot oppose homosexuality without being hypocritical.

It is interesting that the strongest religious criticisms of homosexuality usually come from Christians, but Jesus Christ himself is not recorded as saying anything whatsoever about homosexuality. Biblical condemnations of homosexuality come from earlier sources, such as Leviticus, and later apostles such as St Paul.

It's disgusting (unless it's two hawt chicks macking on one another)

This is simply a value judgment which has no weight outside the mind of the person expressing it.

What is the truth behind their fear?

Us vs. Them

Homophobes believe that gay marriage is a threat to straight marriage, as the former is clearly more fun.

Ted Haggard!

'Nuff said.

Roots of homophobia

Homophobia is the irrational fear of homosexuality that leads people to deny homosexuals the basic rights guaranteed them by the Constitution of the United States and as expressed in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Supporters of homophobic propositions, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, often attempt to delegitimize homosexuality by arguing either that it is a voluntary stance or that it is based purely on lust.

There is a strong suspicion that the most virulent homophobia is expressed by those who cannot accept their own homosexuality. Indeed such a link has been demonstrated in at least one clinical study. Sadly, if these latent feelings are forced into the open the outcome can be tragic. So called gay panic may lead to violence, or worse, and has even been used as a defense in murder trials, with varying degrees of success.

Many homophobic men get very excited about the right of every American to carry a gun, in compensation for insecurity about their own lack of masculinity (see "gun as phallic symbol").

Homophobic conservatives believe in a conspiracy theory they dub "the gay agenda". They apparently think that gays and liberals are plotting to use the public school system and Hollywood movies to turn every child in the United States into homosexuals. Those whacky conservatives. What'll they think of next!

Conservative Christians claim that God condemns homosexuality, but Jesus actually never brought the subject up, as it was apparently not very high on his list of important things to do or not do.

Institutionalized Homophobia

Most of the developed world has moved away from the blatant, institutionalized homophobia that used to pervade it. However, there are still some homophobic policies in place in some parts of the developed world. For instance, Don't Ask Don't Tell is still policy in the US military.

See also

• Homosexuality
• Same-sex marriage
• Jerry Falwell
• Fred Phelps
• Iran
• Ayatollah Khomeni
• Homoschooling
• Orson Scott Card