Homophobia. A misleading label

[Skipper]

I don't think homophobia is a bad thing, in and of itself. My insectophobia isn't necessarily a bad thing either.

But the "phobias" don't mean the same thing do they!? Homophobia is widely excepted as the term for negative attitudes and prejudice against gay people. How is that in any way "not a bad thing"?!?!?

Widely accepted does not mean correct. Islam and Christianity are both VERY widely accepted... shall we take to translating those religions as correct now? I certainly don't think so.

If I am a leader of a nation, it can be a VERY GOOD THING that my people despise my neighbors. Especially if I am a powerful nation and my neighbors less so. That's one way it is not a bad thing... and there are many more.

But the meaning of a word is a bit more set in stone than the unprovable belief and faith behind a religion. Homophobia is what we call people who hate, dislike of have prejudice against gay people. Not people who "are scared they will get raped or assualted" as some of you guys seem to think.

Also, how is your example any way related to people being homophobic towards people in their own, and wider communities?!?!? Your talking about being a powerful leader, who has citizens who hate a neighbouring country....I want to know how that is any way related to narrow minded people not understanding gay people are just like everyone else.

[Violet]

Having just what was in the hide tags, I'd like to take this time to say, fucking ow.

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I wasn't going to post this but after a bit of thought I thought it may be relevant;


28 Oct. 2010 Dotard was carted to the E.R. at the local hospital. Approx. 10-12 years ago I was in a pretty nasty mountain bike accident. I fell off the damned mountain.

Shattered my spleen, broke 3 ribs, cracked the collar bone (left side) and pretty much jumbled the internals around pretty bad causing some additional internal damages in addition to the splattered spleen.

Years later all the scar tissue within me will cause my gastro system to twist and get caught up in the scar tissue. When it happens it is some major pain. It'll put me on the floor in the fetal position pretty quick. That's how intense the pain can be. I digress. Point is I was carted to the E.R.


A homosexual (how did you know he was homo?, you might say. I'll just say it was pretty obvious.) shoved a tube through my nose down into my throat and was my care giver thru this process of Triage.

Surgery is the last resort to correct/prevent this from happening. The doctor has determined this has occured enough to warrent surgery and we are setting an appointment for this to happen. My doctor/surgeon is a woman. I don't know if she is gay or not, but she sure looks most butch to me.

I would think, and ask our readers to post what they think on this, that if my sexual prejudice qualified as a "Phobia", would I not be refusing a homosexual care taker? Wouldn't I be requesting a change of nurses and doctor if I was truely 'phobic'?

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Definitely could be a contributing factor. And actually, if you replace that gay nurse with a huge fucking dragonfly (the closer the worse), you would reduce me to a teary screaming mess, trying to roll off the bed onto the floor and hide, or run, or get something long and flail wildly. There would be no Saerules there right now. So no, not even close. Imagine yourself doing that because a guy is gay, and near you. If you wouldn't do that, I'd say you don't have a phobia.

Of course, I consider a phobia a terror that controls you either entirely or nearly so. Please don't talk about the huge butterflies and a nature walk in Texas. It must be capable of reducing all that you are into a simple fight/flight/hide response. However, I understand that few people think of it like that.

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But the meaning of a word is a bit more set in stone than the unprovable belief and faith behind a religion. Homophobia is what we call people who hate, dislike of have prejudice against gay people. Not people who "are scared they will get raped or assualted" as some of you guys seem to think.

Scared is a mild term for it... really quite mild. Anyhow, the meaning of our words changes every few years, sometimes barely, sometimes significantly (ie: gay)... just like religions really. Latin fought so hard against change that I dearly hope it is an extinct speaking language today, and we can still recognize 'tele' and 'homo' and lots of other prefixes-roots-suffixes... all over the european world that seems to have advanced primarily from that language.

Also, how is your example any way related to people being homophobic towards people in their own, and wider communities?!?!? Your talking about being a powerful leader, who has citizens who hate a neighbouring country....I want to know how that is any way related to narrow minded people not understanding gay people are just like everyone else.

You are right (i think) in that it is hard to get any benefit out of it (people with an aversion/dislike of homosexuals) in daily life we experience. One can use them as scapegoats (like religion seems to have done for many a year). But there's little that's positive from the homosexual's side, really 0.o

It's related because powerful people can persuade people of perhaps misguided understanding via it... and therefore it is in said powerful people's interests to maintain the poor outlook of homosexuals. The churches have likely used this to their advantage over the years, so I think that it's related to how ingrained dislike of gays is in american culture... and we can see that this increases in places where the church has more influence in America. I think there is a correlation.