Homophobia. A misleading label

[Dotard]

The word assigned to heterosexuals such as myself who happen to dread of being in close quarters with homosexuals and harbor an aversion to gay or homosexual people, their lifestyle and culture is "Homophobic".

I accepted the label society has placed upon me, because hey smarter people than me get paid to think up these words, and stuff.

This, the label 'Homophobia', has caused me more problems than my "homophobia" has in and of itself. I focused in on the 'phobia part.

pho·bi·a   /ˈfoʊbiə/
[foh-bee-uh]
–noun
a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it.
Origin:
1780–90; extracted from nouns ending in -phobia
—Synonyms
aversion, hatred.

I have an irrational fear? I hate? No I don't! I don't 'hate'. I wish no one harm. Now I have more questions. Why do I fear so much I hate? Yoda said fear leads to hate so it must be true!

So I go on a search to find the answers to why. Know what I learn't?

I don't have a 'phobia' at all. I realized the descriptor 'homophobia' is problematic for at least two reasons.

First, I read psycological articles that suggest empirical research does not indicate that heterosexuals' antigay attitudes can reasonably be considered a phobia in the clinical sense. The limited data available suggest that many heterosexuals who express hostility toward gay men and lesbians do not manifest the physiological reactions to homosexuality that are associated with other phobias.
Second, using homophobia implies that antigay prejudice is an individual, clinical entity rather than a social phenomenon rooted in cultural ideologies and intergroup relations. Moreover, a phobia is usually experienced as dysfunctional and unpleasant. Antigay prejudice, however, is often highly functional for the heterosexuals who manifest it.

I think the term 'Sexual Prejudice' is a better fit. Broadly applied, sexual prejudice refers to all negative attitudes based on sexual orientation, whether the target is homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual.

Just like any prejudice, sexual prejudice has features.

1. It is an attitude (i.e., an evaluation or judgment).
2. It is directed at a social group and its members.
3. It is negative, involving hostility or dislike.

I think it a better fit because sexual prejudice is a descriptive term. Unlike homophobia, it conveys no a priori assumptions about the origins, dynamics, and underlying motivations of antigay attitudes.
AND using a construct of sexual prejudice does not require value judgments that antigay attitudes are inherently irrational or evil.

It doesn't stigmatize.

Thoughts?