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Homophobia. A Word That Has Been Thrown Around For A While,

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Homophobia. A word that has been thrown around for a while, and yet there is no exact meaning for it. According to Wikipedia, an average website used or seen by many people, “homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).”, and yet to Merriam-Webster, a highly accredited online dictionary website, homophobia is the “irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.” There are many definitions and perceptions of homophobia, all varying by mind set and cultural stances. In “Why Can’t We Talk About Homophobia in the Black Community,” by Daniel Reynolds, Reynolds talks …show more content…

In, “Homophobia Is Rampant in Professional Sports,” Ford speaks about how in male dominated sports coaches or other team players have tendencies to shame athletes by calling them names such as “sissies” or “girls” (paragraph 1). Ford later talks the causes of homophobia being hyper masculinity and the humiliation that players were put though as children and teenagers in school teams to get short term gains (paragraph 14). The author also states that someone in a professional team could come out on a major team and survive, if they have the team support (paragraph 16). Homophobia is the irrational fear and misunderstanding of people who identify themselves as part of the LGBT community. Along with homophobia can come irrational and heinous acts of hatred, to instill fear and panic amongst LGBT members. This irrational fear and misunderstandings leads to the first cause of homophobia: Religion. Religion plays a key role in black communities. According to blackdemographics.com, “87% of Blacks (vs. 83% of all Americans) are affiliated with a religion. It also found that 79 % of Blacks (vs. 56% overall) say that religion is ‘very important in their life.’”

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