How Has Homophobia Become a Witch Hunt? Essay

In the article, How Homophobia Hurts Everyone by Warren J. Blumenfeld, Blumenfeld describes his experience growing up as a homosexual, and how homophobia affected him, as well as his family and peers. To begin, homophobia can be separated into two different catergories, personal homophobia and interpersonal homophobia. Personal homophobia can be described as a personal belief system, or prejudice that homosexuals, bisexual and transgender people are entitled to, should be disliked or remain powerless, due to their desires. They are also sometimes seen as psychologically disturbed, genetically modified or defective and overall, unfortunate human beings. While on the other hand, interpersonal homophobia refers to the personal prejudice or bias that affects relationships within individuals. An example of interpersonal homophobia could be making a joke, name calling, or insulting certain individuals or groups. This can be either verbal, physical or intimidation related.

People in America who choose to identify as members of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A community have been chastised and mistreated for years, specifically Black Americans. Thousands of people who identify as members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual community have been suppressed of the ability to love freely without being

In the US everyone says we’re free, but are we? What about the black man afraid to walk down the street with his hood up, hoping he isn’t stopped by the police again? The gay teen that is bullied so badly that he is brought to the thought of death.

I myself am heterosexual but don’t have any qualms with anyone else’s preferences; nonetheless, I take responsibility for the comfortableness of my fellow humans. I am disappointed in the hate that is fed through people’s actions. It’s even more disheartening that groups are made to

Throughout history, members of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer community (LGBTQ) have been persecuted because of their sexual orientation. There has been a tremendous struggle for power, within the LGBTQ community. Throughout the years, people have tried to suppress the rights of these individuals, because

Before we can address the issue of homophobia. We must distinguish what exactly homophobia is, Homophobia is a term to describe hate towards homosexually oriented people. Homophobia is a form of stigma based on sexual ideas. This is also explained in the book “The Challenges of being a gay rural gay man, coping with stigma”. It states “sexual stigma is defined as social disapproval of any-non-heterosexual behavior”. Stigma that is based on hate towards people that are different, or people we don’t understand.

How could you be so scared of a person that has no interest in hurting you? What if that person is your family or your best friend? Would you still be terrified of them because they like the same sex? In his article, “Homophobia Hurts Everyone”, Warren J. Blumfeld (1992) brings to light the issues that homophobia cause in everyone’s lives. The people who are homophobic continue to blindly perpetuate fictional stereotypes, while real people are hurt by the hatred. Not only does homophobia hurt the LGBT population, but it also hurts those that are close to them. What about the siblings or the parents of someone that is suffering from the hatred that comes from homophobia? Not only do they see the pain that their sibling or child is going through, but they also are ridiculed themselves. For siblings, it can put them in difficult situation. Do they stand up for their sibling or do they have friends and avoid the ridicule are well? It is a tough question to ask a child. Also,

2. What is homophobia? - The term homophobia translates to fear of homosexuality. This fear can manifest in many forms; it can include violence, harassment, exclusion, or discomfort.

I learned that gay oppression stems from capitalistic ideas and nature. When the industrial revolution came around in the early 19th century it brought with it the traditional ideals of family that we know today (Carlin, 2007). Capitalists didn’t like the ideal of homosexuality because it defeated the purpose of sex only being for reproduction (Carlin, 2007). They thought that gays were getting in the way of producing the next generation of workers (Carlin, 2007). They quickly deemed them unnatural in the eyes of the Christian church and society (Carlin, 2007). Gays were routinely harassed and physically assaulted by police (Carlin, 2007). Capitalists tried to justify this oppression by saying that homosexuality was blatantly abnormal and unacceptable

I can walk through the halls of my school and get shot dirty looks, pushed, shoved, and cussed at. You would think that I had done something personally to them, but it's only one thing. The fact I am a lesbian. Unfortunately, this is the reality for me, and thousands

Although usage of the two words has not been uniform, homophobia has typically been employed to describe individual antigay attitudes and behaviors whereas heterosexism has referred to societal-level ideologies and patterns of institutionalized oppression of non-heterosexual people

In October of 1998, America finally became aware of how deadly discrimination can be. In Laramie, Wyoming, 21-year old college student Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten by two men and tied to a fence, left for dead. Matthew's murderers set out only to rob him, but ended up beating him so severely that he never regained consciousness before he died. Why did this happen in the first place? Simply because Matthew was gay. Matthew's death became a national symbol of violence against homosexuals, prompting prayer vigils and calls for state and federally supported hate crime laws.

The battle against homophobia and objectification Latino homophobia and devaluing of women still exists and continues to be a problem in today’s society. The homophobia is caused by Latino’s strong religious background, cultural norms, and the apparent heteronormativity in society. The Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community is growing stronger because more people are coming out to rebel against the systems of society. As a result, new generations will be more accepting of them as normal individuals. Latino culture preserves tradition for as long as possible, therefore women’s lack of freedom is still existing in families. The homophobia and hatred of change should be addressed for the good of humanity because the LGBTQ community and women face different forms of horrible violence, including: teasing, self-violence, neglect from others, silence, rejection, and physical violence. If this issue is not addressed, then it could even lead to suicidal thoughts.

A major reason for the fear and objection towards homosexuality is organized religion. Whether we notice it or not, we as humans follow many everyday concepts from the Bible. Examples would be, to not steal, murder, or commit adultery in marriage. The Bible also states that homosexuality is unethical and should be avoided as other sins. These are all great to follow, if you conform to the rules of the Bible. Religious back up should not be used in order to deem something wrong or unethical. It is essential to understand, to deem homosexuality ethical or not, rational decision-making must occur. One must analyze the pros and cons; if the pros outweigh the cons, homosexuality is ethical, and visa versa. One who explicitly follows an organized religion must follow the rules of a higher power (God). Getting rid of this obstacle will leave room for autonomous decisions on homosexuality, and eventually its place in good ethics.

Homophobia Through the years it would be delightful to believe that society has gotten more accepting of minorities. While in many ways this is true, it is also a false statement as well. The United States has gone through leaps and bounds