Homophobia | EPFL Graph Search

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Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear and may sometimes be related to religious beliefs. Homophobia is observable in critical and hostile behavior such as discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientations that are non-heterosexual. Recognized types of homophobia include institutionalized homophobia, e.g. religious homophobia and state-sponsored homophobia, and internalized homophobia, experienced by people who have same-sex attractions, regardless of how they identify. Negative attitudes toward identifiable LGBT groups have similar yet specific names: lesbophobia is the intersection of homophobia and sexism directed against lesbians, gayphobia is the dislike or hatred of gay men, biphobia targets bisexuality and bisexual people, and transphobia targets transgender and transsexual people and gender variance or gender role nonconformity. According to 2010 Hate Crimes Statistics released by the FBI National Press Office, 19.3 percent of hate crimes across the United States "were motivated by a sexual orientation bias." Moreover, in a Southern Poverty Law Center 2010 Intelligence Report extrapolating data from FBI national hate crime statistics from 1995 to 2008, found that LGBT people were "far more likely than any other minority group in the United States to be victimized by violent hate crime." Although sexual attitudes tracing back to Ancient Greece – from the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity (600 AD) – have been termed homophobia by scholars, and it is used to describe an intolerance towards homosexuality and homosexuals that grew during the Middle Ages, especially by adherents of Islam and Christianity, the term itself is relatively new.

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Homosexuality and psychology

The field of psychology has extensively studied homosexuality as a human sexual orientation. The American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952, but that classification came under scrutiny in research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. That research and subsequent studies consistently failed to produce any empirical or scientific basis for regarding homosexuality as anything other than a natural and normal sexual orientation that is a healthy and positive expression of human sexuality.

Gay men

Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may dually identify as gay, and a number of gay men also identify as queer. Historic terminology for gay men has included inverts and uranians. Gay men continue to face significant discrimination in large parts of the world, particularly in most of Asia and Africa. In the United States, many gay men still experience discrimination in their daily lives, though some openly gay men have reached national success and prominence.

Transphobia

Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to social gender expectations. It is often expressed alongside homophobic views and hence is often considered an aspect of homophobia. Transphobia is a type of prejudice and discrimination, similar to racism and sexism, and transgender people of color are often subjected to all three forms of discrimination at once.

Homophobia and Discrimination: Effects and Strategies

Explores the emotional impact of discrimination, strategies for intervention, and the cultural context of LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Homophobia and discrimination: Understanding, reacting, and supporting

Emphasizes the importance of early intervention and the role of witnesses in reacting and supporting victims.

Gender, Sex & Intersectionality: Chapter 2

Explores the significance of intersectional gender analysis in implementation research for diseases of poverty, emphasizing transformative goals and inclusivity.