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Why are people so homophobic?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by FreeFlow9917, Jul 7, 2013.

  1. FreeFlow9917

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    I just can't believe how homophobic people so hating of the lgbt community, i mean they can't really be that involved with religion to actually hate, isn't hatred a sin (religious reason)

    Or is it fear, which is being scared of something they don't understand. I can't believe people think it's a choice; it's like asking how the universe was created, one way is god, the other is the big bang, it's divided by religion and science. What i'm saying is that scientists believe it's androgens or something in the womb. Or it's the religious wingnuts who take everything in context out of the bible who's ignorance has led them to hate.

    So why do you believe people can be so evil or so damn hateful towards someone different i.e., lgbt, pansexual, genderqueer, etc,. Is it fear or the way they were taught.
     
  2. LD579

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    It's probably both fear and the way they were raised and taught. It's born of ignorance or lack of understanding, many times.
     
  3. Jinkies

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    Well, scientists (at least most of them) aren't really hating. They are naturally curious about things, and they want to know how exactly it happens. Not to try and find a cure for it, no. They're simply just curious.

    As for religious zealots, there are passages that could be translated into "Gay = bad" which obviously leads to a ton of debate. Apparently it's more obvious to muslims, since not many of them have been gay-friendly. But with those who follow Judeo-Christian scriptures, it's more ambiguous, since they're following a 2000+ year-old book that's been translated and retranslated many times over. I'm sure if it all didn't exist, lots more would be gay-friendly. Even Fred Phelps.

    In other cases, it's more of their upbringing. It could be that their father told them or that they hang out with homophobic friends, or anything.
     
  4. LinkLarkin

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    We take comfort in things we know. That's why all discrimination of any sort has happened.

    Historically, men went out and gathered food for their family while women stayed to look after the children. That evolved into our modern society, and so many people are keen to stay that way despite feminism just because it's familiar.

    Until people started to explore other parts of the world, we only knew people of our own race and own culture. When a culture first encounters people of a different race, they are mistrusting because it's unfamiliar (leading in some unfortunate cases to the belief that different races represent different species). The reason racism is a decreasing problem (not to understate the worrying amount of it that still happens) is that integration has been ongoing for long enough that mixed cultures are no longer as unfamiliar to us.

    Similarly with homo/bi/transphobia (etc.). We're brought up being told we're a boy or girl who is going to fall in love someday with a girl or boy, and when our gender identity or sexual identity turns out different to this societal convention, people get scared because they weren't expecting it. Once LGBTQ people have been exposed to the public eye for a few years/decades more (which is why Pride events are so wonderful), people will be more familiar and less distrustful of us.

    IMO.
     
  5. Fugs

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    "Ignorance breeds fear, fear breeds anger, anger breeds hatred, and hatred leads to the dark side (homophobia)." - Yoda
     
  6. AAASAS

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    I think the intolerance came from Religion, and since it influences society or did not too long ago it effects those that aren't religious still.

    So though there can be non religious homophobes I don't see a reason for homophobia to exist without religious people being the first to be homophobic.

    What logic can a non religiously influenced person come up with to hate homosexuals.

    If it wasn't first considered a sin by religious states there would have never been a problem.

    Even racism comes from cultural differences that usually stem from religion. People generally are the same and beliefs are what make us different.

    I would blame rampant homophobia that was on the rise in the 90's to present on the media.

    No talent pop artists like Eminem that used homophobic comments as a juvenile attempt to insult other celebrities or people. The media of the 1990's especially popular rap was rampant in homophobic comments. This brainwashed an entire generation of children to use the words to describe anything they don't like. A subconscious link is made between these negative aspects of the world and homosexuals because the many words describe both(fag, queer, homo, gay).

    I know it sounds ridiculous to blame homophobia on one person, but Eminem is just an example of pop artists popularising homophobic words. And I honestly do think that if someone a lot more conscious of what they are saying was as popular among suburban white kids with an inner city complex as Eminem was, a lot less people would use these words. Wu-tang Clan did the same, and a lot of other rap pop artists popular years ago, during the height of rap's popularity.

    I love hip-hop but don't listen to anything that promotes hate, or anyone that is insulting to a group of people. To me artists and media that do this are scum, when you subjugate the world to your opinion, your opinion should be for the better good and not for shock value or to promote hate.

    To put it in other words

    Late 90's Early 2000's Pop Rap is one of the key reasons you hear fag and gay so much.
     
    #6 AAASAS, Jul 7, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2013
  7. Byron

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    I Agree with Luthan, it is most likely a combination of learned behavior, ignorance, and fear.
     
  8. Pret Allez

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    It's sexism.
     
  9. Acanthophis

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    ^Sexism is discrimination again men/women(other?), not against the sexuality of said person. Or maybe I'm wrong? But that's the definition I grew up with.
     
  10. lsl1995

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    I completely agree with you. Our thoughts and judgment reflects the thoughts and judgments of those we were raised by and with. Humans don't like change, so when change is brought about, we like to mistrust it and find reasons for why it's wrong.

    Your post also reminded me of something I read on the internet a while back, maybe on tumblr, I apologize, my memory is terrible for a 17 year old. :lol: Anyways, it said something about how we currently read in textbooks about segregation and we see it as, "Wow, can you believe we once judged people by something as silly as the color of their skin?" And that, surely, in the future, students will be reading about homophobia in their textbooks and think something along the lines of, "How could we have been so wrong to deny these people their rights?"
     
  11. Pret Allez

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    Well, think about how anti-gay anti-bisexual male views work: our sexuality is disgusting; a man should never allow himself to be penetrated by another man, because that makes him less of a man; gay men are feminized (and that's bad).

    To the degree our sexuality makes us into women, what's operating in heterosexist hatred is actually sexism at its base. I'm not redefining the word "sexism." I'm applying the definition of it to the ways people hate us. And I don't see anything distinctive from sexism.
     
  12. ptacub

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    There are numerous factors involved, but usually people fear what they don't understand and can't comprehend. Homophobes lack the knowledge regarding homosexuality and their opinions are based on myths, fairytales and pseudoscience.

    Think of H.P. Lovecraft: He was extremely racist and often wrote non-white characters as evil or just plain stupid. However, he held onto these believes due to upbringing and his lack of experience with non-white people (and being painfully shy, he didn't interact much with people), using illogical and downright insipid arguments to justify his opinions. It's only once he started travelling and interacting with black people did his opinions slowly change.