What Is Homophobia?

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.

The United States of America was founded as a secular sanctuary for ideals like freedom, equality, and tolerance – few will argue against that. Over its history American culture has radically evolved as it strived to meet the ideals its nation was based upon, making changes like ending slavery and providing legal equality for women and minorities, changes that at the time seemed absurd but today are unquestionable merits that define what an “American” is. The quest to reach the ultimate utopian society continues today as true Americans fight the evils of ignorance, stubborn bigotry and the fear to change that still manifest themselves in a large portion of U.S. citizens, preventing this nation from moving forward. One of the outstanding minorities still left to be granted the ideals of freedom, equality, and tolerance are homosexuals trying to obtain the right to marry the person they want to spend the rest of their life with, regardless of gender. Same-sex marriages should be recognized in the eyes of the U.S. government in accordance with its responsibility to provide all American citizens equal freedoms.

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.

Then, Warren J. Blumenfeld goes on to list the many ways homophobia hurts, not only the LGBTQ community, but everyone. Some being, it restricts the ability of heterosexuals to form relationships with people of the same sex out of fear of homosexuality; it creates strict gender roles that people must abide by, which creates unfairness; it makes herterosexual people treate people of the LGBTQ community badly which corrupts their humanity; and it strains family relationships.

The massive amount of people who believe and support LGBT should have the same human rights and equality say, “it's only fair they receive the same liberty to love who they love.” (Texas, Democratic Party, 1) Throughout the years, same sex marriage supporters have been increasing; “81% of adults under 30 now support marriage equality.”(Texas Democratic Party, 1). People have been making an effort to fight this case even since the beginning of the gay rights movement in the 1960s-1970s. Even before that though, homosexuals have tried to be seen equal, and of course, have an aspiration to be able to obtain the same rights as everyone else, which is to win over the Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed in 1996 by Presidential Clinton to be able to marry the person they love regardless of what their gender

As mentioned in the Oxford Dictionary homophobia is defined as, dislike of, or prejudice against homosexual people. Homophobia is prevalent within the African American community owing to the fact that, the Black church has stigmatized homosexuality in a negative connotation. Indulging in the same sex does not perceive you to be anomalous, it is the interest towards the same sex, it should no longer be a topic of discussion. The Advocate journalist

In 2008, President Barack Obama stated there are too many children who need loving parents to deny one group of people adoption rights (eQuality, 2005). A child will benefit from a healthy, loving home, whether the parents are gay or not (eQuality, 2005). With that statement in 2008 from the individual who holds the most powerful authority in the United States, why are gay and lesbian couples today still battling adoption laws? When in fact while trying to adopt and raise children a couple’s sexual

Regrettably, in the US there are a lot more problems than homophobia. One of the ongoing problems in the US (that has been an issue forever) is racism. Yes, racism is still an issue, and now thanks to social media, it continues to be a trending topic. An example is this summer there were riots in Charlottesville that ended with death. (SAYERS) “One person was killed and 19 were hurt when a speeding car slammed into a throng of counter protesters in Charlottesville, where a "Unite the Right" rally of where white nationalists

Homophobia is the concept in which people are hateful or fearful towards lesbians and gays (Dictionary.com, 2014). Fear and revulsion of the LGBT population commonly emanate from religious concepts or traditional ideas of society. In 2011, 18% of hate crimes based upon sexual orientation were reported, however, the number proved to be higher than expected due to the fact that many more individuals are reporting these crimes to the authorities (Northhumberland View, 2013). This further demonstrates the progression of LGBT rights in Canadian society due to the fact that lesbian, gay and transgender individuals alike feel comfortable enough to report these matters to the police and receive justice rather than allowing the issue to go unnoticed out of fear of being judged. Also, though many laws have been implemented to prevent discrimination, it is a reality in which many members of the LGBT community still face today. In terms of bullying, 25% of homosexual adolescents reported being physically harassed by heterosexual peers in 2009 (CBC, 2010). However, in 2002 approximately one third of homosexual students were harassed based upon their sexuality (Riese, 2014). Although discrimination and bullying based upon sexual orientation is prevalent in today's society, Canadians have become more accustomed to the idea of homosexuality which is reflected through the decrease in the amount of harassment that occurs. However, with adequate education and continuous learning about the matter, discrimination based upon sexuality can be virtually eliminated in the

Kimmel’s definition of homophobia is this, “Homophobia is the fear that other men will unmask us, emasculate us, reveal to us and the world that we do not measure up, that we are not real men.” (pp. 47) When someone says homophobia in context today, them assume they are talking about the fear of same-sex interactions and relationships. This can be related to Kimmel’s definition due to the fact that straight men may fear gay men in the way that they have changed what

Imagine falling deeply in love with someone; having a happy long-term relationship with them. This person is the entire world to you, but although it is wanted by both partners, there can be no legal marriage. Because it is illegal to marry someone of the same gender. The United States of America were founded on the belief that everyone is equal and should be free to pursue happiness, yet there is oppression of a sexual minority that needs to end. Although there are many different people with many different reasons opposing same-sex marriage, such as religious or personal beliefs, it should not be illegal to marry someone of the same gender because not all people support it.

Gay marriage is a very talked about topic in are country that shouldn’t be ignored. I believe men and women should be able to love freely and not be shamed by it. Marriage is a great factor in the United States. To some people it’s what we live for; is to get married and start a family. To not give everyone the same opportunity to have a happy marriage and family is unlike us. This problem is bringing a lot of hate, the same hate that was used in racial discrimination so why not give gays equal rights like everyone else. Andrew Sullivan wrote a article that shares his experiences of coming out and being accepted. When puberty hit he started to realize he wasn’t the same. He knew that his marriage is not going to be the same as his

Most homophobism stems from people not understanding what it means to be queer. “An estimated 3.5% of adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, and an estimated 0.3% of adults are transgender”(Gates 1). Since so few people identify themselves under one of those categories, not many people understand what it means. Someone who is a lesbian is a girl attracted to a

Same sex marriage has been widely looked down upon for ages. People say, “It’s not the traditional constitutional marriage”, or “Children need a mother and a father”. It honestly doesn’t matter. If two people love each other, they should be allowed to marry. It’s just as simple as that. What other reason do you need? If two complete strangers of the same sex want to be together for the rest of their lives, we should let them.First, denying some people to marry is discriminatory. Judge Sarah Zabel of Miami-Dade Circuit Court ruled the gay marriage ban of Florida unconstitutional. She stated that it, “serves only to hurt, to discriminate, to deprive same-sex couples and their families of equal dignity, to label and treat them as 2nd class citizens, and to deem them unworthy of participation in one of the fundamental institutions of our society.” In other words, you’re looking down upon same sex couples that want to get married as if they’re lower than you; that they don’t deserve the same rights as us. Same sex couples would be able to enjoy the same benefits as heterosexual couples if they were able to be married.Furthermore, the General Accounting Office made an assessment in 2004 about the benefits that heterosexual married couples have that same sex couples could not. Some of these benefits include hospital visitation during an illness and the option of filing a joint tax return to reduce a tax burden. Imagine not being able to see your significant other in the hospital

In this country there is a flawed assumption that gay people enjoy the same civil right protections as everyone else and there are a lot of stereotypes about gay relationships. Living as a gay individual in this country can be extremely overwhelming and scary. When it comes to marriage between gay couples, controversy is bound to turn up. There are numerous arguments as to why gay marriage is not “right” such as; it offends everything religion stands for, marriage is for procreation, and gay