What do you call a person that doesn't hate LGBT people, but doesn't like homosexuality? A lot of my Christian friends are like this. They don't go around complaining about sin and shit, but they think it's a little weird or gross. They also seem confused about how LGBT things work. Also, they tend to group trans with gay, which is inaccurate.
Heterosexist. Nothing actively against us, but they just so happen to think that we're inferior (not that they'll admit it as such), and the whole history of human society backs them. It pretty much amounts to the same thing. Failure to be actively supportive is being oppressive when society is engineered to oppress us. The same goes for racism, sexism, etc.
Well it is still kind of a fear, it is like saying love the sinner but not the sin isn't it. So while no fear of the actual person is involved, there is an irrational fear of a very small part of a persons life, because if there wasn't fear there would be no need to be intolerant of something that a novel says is a sin and hide your morals behind the novel. By the way, did you know that 'THE' is the most used word in the english language?
The term homophobia is unfortunate. It is to homosexuality as sexism is to gender, but for whatever reason (which may or may not have been justifiable at the time) was constructed from the the word phobia rather than being made another -ism. It's just one of those English words that doesn't mean the same thing as its parts would imply. So, yes, that kind of person would be a homophobe.
I think its their way of skirting around the fact that they hate gay people. I have a friend, very christian. Always tells me that she doesn't hate the fact that I'm gay, and she doesn't hate gay people. In fact she loves them very much! But she thinks we're unnatural and not apart of "god's plan" so we're going to hell. It's another way of saying it, but you're still homophobic and an asshole of a person.
I sort of disagree. I mean...they're a product of their culture. We're making progress, but some people have been indoctrinated to be repulsed by what they don't understand. I see homophobes as those who are more militant in their dislike. These people just haven't broken through their upbringings. I think we should avoid labeling them out of anger. It sets us up to be what we fight against.
It's not a matter of anger. If homophobia is defined as being analogous to sexism, then a person being a product of their culture doesn't excuse them from holding bigoted views towards queer people, just as it wouldn't excuse them from holding such views towards women. There's also a world of difference between the anger of the oppressed and the bigotry of the oppressors.
There is also a difference between someone who discriminates openly and someone who just finds it unappealing. The latter has already taken a step, consciously of unconsciously, in the right direction. I'm not trying to start anything, I just think we should cut people some slack. We can't force them to like us anymore than they can force us not to be LGBT. If they aren't spreading hate or actively persecuting, I think we should let them feel the way they feel without lumping them with the Westboro Baptist Church. I don't enjoy not being fully accepted, but I don't embrace everything they believe either, so it's an impasse. I would like to be the bigger person. If we keep throwing around words like homophobe and abomination from both sides, we may start living up to each other's expectations, and that won't get us anywhere.
The labelling isn't out of anger, I'm sorry if it came across that way to you though. Homophobes don't make everyone angry and it isn't always and angry label. Sometime to heal something a label is appropriate so that we can go forth in a manner to fix or heal it. To have a dislike for homosexuality while accepting a homosexual is still homophobic and homophobia is a condition of lack of education, empathy and understanding. Homophobic people can and do learn and lose their homophobia...I have seen it happen many times in my life
This. I think that the OP of the thread described the majority of straight people. They simply don't care and are not interested in learning more. I respect their choice and don't mind really.
