Is homophobia a bad thing?

What is homophobia? It's the fear, aversion, or distaste of homosexuality/homosexuals.

Now there isn't anything necessarily wrong with phobias, unless it's against the ideals of progressives, or radical left wingers.

In many instances, if you're a celebrity, or a well known person, the loathing of homosexuality can very well destroy your reputation/career. Everything you've done, accomplished, and sought for is disregarded and overlapped with the societal expectations set for everyone.

What exactly makes this phobia worse than any other in terms of immoral backlash?

Instead of doctrine being shoved down throats, it's societal expectations!

 

I think most people are afraid because they do not know how to deal with it. Im BI and the people who I met have no problems with it. We all are normal humans and the sexual orientation should not matter.

 

Homophobia to me is such a misused term. I personally don't think we should hate or mistreat someone for being homosexual. It's not our place to choose their sexual preference. However, people who despise homosexuals, just tend to take any advantage to attack them in any sort of way, resulting in it being classified as "homophobia".

From my knowledge, a phobia is something that you can't easily control. I feel like you can control your own thoughts, actions, and beliefs.

 

The definition of phobia is an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.

> A phobia is something you can't easily control
> You can control your thoughts
> Oxymoron

Everything we do comes from an initial thought process. Phobias aren't physical, they're mental detestations. The disliking of homosexuality is grouped with homophobia.

Back to your contradictory point. If you can't control a phobia, how would you expect them to control their actions?

How do you control beliefs?

 

Wow, didn't expect such a heated response.

Hating a particular group of people, for the way they choose their lives, isn't a fear (phobia). That's why I said it's such a misused term.

In my opinion, you have total control of any and all of your beliefs, views, etc. I'm not sure what you were trying to imply by pointed that part of my original response out.

 

Heated?



I mean, in what way would you be able to control a belief?

 

Similarly to the semantics discussion on the feminism thread, "Homophobia" has become one of those terms that literally means one thing but is used so widely as a social term that it doesn't carry the "fear of homosexuals" connotation anymore. I have never known a single person who I could label as a homophobe by definition, even by the one in the OP. Homophobia is used broadly as a buzzword to label anyone who doesn't support the gay etc movement.

Like other protected classes, the gay etc social following's goal is to lobby to smear the mere idea of opposition against them and pass legislation. They are very effective at doing this with the term homophobe because it disarms anyone they label by that term as irrational before they can respond. Tie that with the already existing image of hate groups like Westboro and mob mentality on social media sites, no one is even willing to take a political stance on it.

 

I think homophobia carries such negative connotations because it is often closely related to strong ignorance. People assume if you are homophobic you are simply ignorant of other people's right to different sexual preferences. I think the key word in the definition of phobia that Ghast posted is irrational.

 

Ok maybe I should have use argumentative instead of heated, lol.

I can certainly control all of my thoughts and what I believe in, maybe everybody cannot.

Just saying why make the topic, asking input if you're just going to call everybody wrong?

 

The word homophobia makes little sense, why is there no blackphobia, yellowphobia, whitephobia or straightphobia having a phobia against another person as they are is nonsensical. Surely homophobia it'self is the thought process of same-sex intercourse, rather than a particular person walking down the street who just so happens to be gay. So if the phobia is of the thought of same-sex then it's a phobia of their own illusion, unless of course they find themselves in a situation of watching same-sex intercourse, or experiencing it then it's the only time this natural phobia that they have little control of actually plays into effect.

One of my female friends has a phobia of cotton-wool. The touch of it causes her to have a panic attack. This is something she cannot control.

Unfortunately the word homophobic gets tagged to just about every person who is anti-gay. Which is pretty much the same discrimination as racism.

Where racism is based on genetics that cannot be controlled, so is the sexual preference of a person. It's not a choice.

Here's an example.

I suffer with arachnophobia. If I walked into a room full of spiders I'd freak out.

If my friend walked into a room full of cotton wool, she'd freak out.

If Dave the homophobic walks into a room full of men who're dressed as straight people and not speaking. Dave does not freak out.

 

For exactly that reason. OP wants someone to justify why not supporting the gay etc movement so quickly earns you the homophobe title and can destroy someone's career. The question isn't "why are you asking for input if you are calling everyone wrong?", the question is why can't anyone effectively explain why someone should face social hellfire for not siding with the gay etc movement.

 

Because discriminators should be silenced.

If you do not support it, then you don't have an accepted opinion on it. If you don't care, then you don't have an opinion.

It's very weird that in 2014 we are still unable to accept people for who they are. And the fact that people have to make a movement to be accepted is bad enough in it'self.

 

In my eyes, homophobia isn't even a thing. it's just people who are discriminatory and morally vile who use it as some sort of lessened term.

 

A belief is based on opinion. An opinion is based on reasoning. Reasoning is controlled. I'm seriously surprised that you'd question whether a belief can be controlled. I can choose to believe in God and I can choose to deny God. I base this choice on my own inner reasoning.

Homophobia in the form of irrational fear is neither deplorable nor admirable due to its status as irrational. Rational homophobia on the other hand (reasoned hatred) is morally wrong. This can easily be proven if desired.

 

You cannot truly believe two opposite things as one person.

 

Is it morally vile to follow doctrine?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia

You don't control beliefs, you manifest them. That's the point I was trying to make.

Is it not morally wrong to push my beliefs, and forcefully integrate yours into my life?

 

When did I say that one can?

Your idea is erroneous. If you believe that beliefs are simply subconscious, automatic manifestations of a personality, while simultaneously holding that it is wrong to "integrate yours into my life", then you are saying that beliefs are not reasoned or rational and are cut off from these standards. Under this assumption, from where do beliefs come? Whatever the source, beliefs will involve random, practically incongruous properties and be nearly impossible to comprehend. No: there is a reason why people are held to standards for beliefs; there is a reason why, for instance, adults will be considered insane if discovered to believe in monsters. There is similarly an explanation as to why a person can reason through his or her beliefs and change those that are unsatisfactory (this idea itself defeats your entire point). This is because reason is implicit in every facet of human consciousness, and even if it somehow be argued that beliefs arise without strict control (i.e. because beliefs spontaneously arise), as self-conscious beings we are in a state of constant retroactive examination of our beliefs -- a state of activity. Thus, beliefs will, regardless, be subject to laws of reason and logic.

 

but that's exactly it. It shouldn't be doctrine. People don't have fear of gays the same as they do heights, spiders etc. Except maybe in very, very rare cases do people exhibit signs of phobia towards a homosexual person. It just shouldn't be a term that the majority of bigots are allowed to use to justify themselves.

 

You said you could believe and deny. Poor wording, I'm pretty sure we are in agreement.

 

Ah. I was showing, by example, that one can control beliefs (i.e. a person can choose whether to believe or to deny God's existence). I guess I should have used 'or' instead of 'and'.