Homophobia is a commonly known word that carries a lot of weight, but what does it mean exactly? The word phobia according to the Cambridge dictionary means, “ a type of anxiety disorder (a mental illness that makes someone very worried and affects their life) that involves an extreme fear of something.” However, homophobia does not literally mean that the person is terrified of gay people.
The national information and citizenship organisation Young Scot describes homophobia to be the irrational intolerance and hatred of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Homophobia is usually born from religious, societal, and/or family beliefs. It tends to be because people think it is unnatural or wrong to differ from what the “norm” is set to be.
People can be homophobic in a large variety of ways such as bullying, discrimination, and in some cases, violence. Homophobia is not always clear to see, however. Being treated differently than that of a heterosexual person is homophobia as well. This could be things like your input not being listened to, being talked down to, or being paid less than those your peers.
Many words and phrases appear to be harmless and okay to say but in reality are homophobic. Phrases like “that’s gay” or “you’re gay” are being heard more and more frequently. People tend to associate the word gay as another word for weird or lame and are not necessarily trying to be homophobic. However, by associating words like gay with these negative things stigmatizes those words and the people associated with it as something bad.
Results from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey show that, nationwide, 33% of U.S. high school students who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (LGB) have been bullied at school while 27.1 % report being cyber bullied.
For those who are facing this discrimination and horrid treatment, there are ways to deal with it:
Talk about your experiences - good and bad - to your friends, family, and people you trust. Go as far as creating groups or clubs if you feel it will be beneficial.
Do not be afraid to call people out, especially if you recognize they are not being homophobic on purpose. It does not have to be loud and aggressive or even in that moment (although in the moment is better if possible.) It’s okay to pull them away or simply send them a text explaining why what they said/did is not okay.
For those dealing with it in a work or school environment, do not be afraid to report this behavior to the higher ups.
For those who want some tips to make sure they are not being unintentionally homophobic:
Don’t make assumptions about people's sexual identities. Don’t make jokes about people within the LGBTQ community (including slurs.) Overall just be careful in making sure that what you say and how you act is not derogatory.
For those who need help or would like to gather more information, visit The Trevor Project.
It is important to learn what is okay to say and how to act appropriately. This ranges beyond homophobia. As people, we deserve to be treated equally and with respect and it is important to address when that is not happening.