Isn't the term 'homophobia' incorrect?

Question

A phobia is simply a fear of something. There's no moral dimension to it. Is this simply the misuse of language or are gay people really suggesting that those who don't like them are afraid of them?

Just to clarify: the Oxford English Dictionary definition of phobia: "an abnormal or morbid fear". Now, I don't like cabbage. Does that mean I'm scared of cabbage? No. I merely don't like cabbage. The point I'm making is that this isn't just a misuse of the English language; it's a deliberate attempt to create a catch-all term that posits that aversion to homsexuals is always linked with fear of them. So when the police state they are investigating a "homophobic crime" they are making a value judgement that the crime was the result of a morbid fear of gay people. And if it was the result of fear, then presumably that means it was in self-defence? I'm joking, of course. I have no problem with gay people. I'm merely asking this question because I'm against incorrect unquestioning politicizing of language.

By the way, the word "homophobia" only appears in dictionaries because it is a word invented by the gay community. It doesn't appear in my 1993 dictionary, because they hadn't started using it then!

Answer 1

Check out the definition of the word:

Main Entry: ho·mo·pho·bia
Pronunciation: "hO-m&-'fO-bE-&
Function: noun
: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals —ho·mo·phobe /'hO-m&-"fOb/ noun —ho·mo·pho·bic /"hO-m&-'fO-bik/ adjective

Therefore, it is proper to label anyone who discriminates against gay people or claims to be disgusted by gay people as homophobic.

Answer 2

EVERYTHING has a moral dimension. Even choosing which breakfast cereal to buy has a moral dimension. Phobias can also have moral dimensions! George W's dread fear of disturbing the power of the American automotive and oil industries has massive moral implications (the destruction of a planet is a morality issue). No less for the fear of and branding of a whole caste of people.

But if you can couch things in terms of '..those people who don't like them..' then you are answering your own question. You have set out your question in a bigoted way - whether that was your intention or not.

If you put yourself on the side of 'those who don't like them...' as the set of your question seems to suggest, you must ask yourself who the 'them' really is. If you are saying that you, personally, do not like any gay person that you have ever met (providing that you know who the gay people ARE amongst those people you have met - they don't have to wear pink triangles anymore...) then you are branding a whole - massive - group of people.

Would you feel comfortable if someone were saying the same thing about Jews, or Christians, or Americans, or white people?

So. You are saying that you do not like millions of people that you have never even met. How is that NOT fear - and a pretty irrational fear at that! What have they ever done to you? What are you AFRAID (see, there's that word again) that they MIGHT do to you?

Being gay is not an abomination. It is not a disease. It is not even a choice (although some choose to deny it because of the fear and bigotry). It is just simply how someones brain is structured. They are attracted to people of the same gender.

So fu**ing what!

And, before you ask - even though it makes no difference (or shouldn't) I am not gay.

Answer 3

I don't need to define homophobia, others have done it here.

But where do you get off saying that it's an incorrect term, when it has been recognised and updated into modern dictionaries? After all, new words or meanings are being added to every new edition of any dictionary worth it's salt. Oh dear! it's not in your 1993 dictionary, well neither was "bling", I'd wager. Is that word any less valid or in usage, for that?

The English language is blessed in that it is not so stagnant and enjoys influences from all over the world, enriching it's vocabulary. That the word Homophobia should've been created by the GL community does not diminish it's value.

Alternatively, consider that the construction of the word Homosexual should really mean "of one gender" and should be applied to describe the uniqueness of gender in a group of men or a group of women - regardless of their sexual orientation.

Answer 4

Using the same dictionary you quoted:

homophobia

• noun an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexuals.


In short, the word means more than the sum of its parts; like MANY words in our language. It's not just about fear, but hatred, disgust, etc as well. In short, yes, "homophobia" isn't the most accurate word if you break it down, but for one thing, we're still developing language to tallk about sexual orientation. The modern understanding of "sexual orientation" is pretty new (though non-straightness is most certainly nothing new). For another thing, most people don't mean literally "fear" when they use it; the word has evolved (indeed, if it ever was meant to be taken literally) past its latin roots.

Answer 5

I already see some right answer, but one is untrue completely. In fact the term "homophobia" has nothing to do with gay world, it's even the opposite. As the simple words say(homo - phobia), they represent the fear (mainly concerning the sexual intercourse) towards people of the same sex. Here's because any homophobic person can't understand and tolerate gay people!

Answer 6

Phobia means fear or adversion of something, homo means same. So by physical definition yes homophobia would mean fear of the same.

Since the word has been associated with fear of Same-Sex, it has been placed into the dictionary as such.

What is to say that heterosexuals are not afraid of homosexuality, otherwise they wouldnt cause such a disturbance about denying people thier rights.

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Answer 8

No, Sparky, it's correct to use that term for either disgust or fear, but disgust in this case is just a cover-up word for the fear they feel of the homosexual. The fear they feel arises from the homosexual feelings they harbor deep inside, but are so horrified of it that they point their fear outward as anger and condemn others for the very thing they know lives inside them.

Bigotry is another term you could use, but bigotry is fear, also.

Whatever word you think you can come up with to change homophobia, it will always come back to 'fear'.

Answer 9

People fear what they don't understand. That fear that the "gays" will somehow hurt them or their way of life makes them get so up-set. Fear can turn to anger pretty fast. And that is what you see a lot from homophobic people. Or they are fearful to be around gay, lesbian, bisexual people because they think it might rub off or something. They clearly don't understand that love or way of feeling. So the word is used correctly.

Answer 10

Those who hate for no reason have a phobia, regardless of what you want to make it. Have you ever been threatened by a gay man? Probably not, yet by your very question, you seem to not like them. That, my dear, is bias and bigotry. You can wrap it up in your bible, in your culture...in any wrapping you want, but it is unreasonable, it is limiting to an extreme, and it is just downright ignorant. And, as far as morals go, I find gays to be everybit as moral as straights. In fact, far more so. Fully 60%+ males step out on their wives behind closed doors, sneaking around. IS that moral? Fully 50% of wives step out on their mates at one time or another. IS that moral? Fully 90% of child abuse and molestation are done by straights ... IS that moral? Full 100% of harm done to gays in the name of God are done by Straights ... IS THAT MORAL? From a morality standpoint, where in the bible does it appoint anyone, straight or gay, to be moral police, to be moral judges, to be morality defenders??? I have read the bible, and find no verse that givest that license. What I have found is strong evidence thet God says, Judge NOT lest ye be Judged. I have also found things like, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." It would seem that very many straights feel they are without sin, for they certainly cast a lot of stones. !! I cannot remember the last time I heard a Gay man ranting about sinful heterosexuals, yet sinners they be. Gays tend to live and let live. ... and that is far more moral than what many straights can admit to! AS for fear, certainly! Straight culture spends an inordinant amount of time calling Homosexuality a choice! By logic (even you will have to admit I have a point here) IF in making the choice to be homosexual, one opens the door to so much abuse, yet makes the choice anyway, then there must be something powerfully good about the choice! Straight reasoning implies that being Gay is superior, sexually, to being straight. With this kind of thinking, is it any wonder the bible has a few references to NOT being gay...Old days required huge numbers within a tribe to form armies. Gays do not lead to producing soldiers. If follows that, if given the choice, all men would be Gay, and there would be no armies. That is exactly what straights are saying when they say "Choice." I find it hilarious that the very reason they give for hate is a statement that they would rather be gay. You do see the humor in this, don't you? You, as a straight, could no more suddenly turn gay ... if you had every reason, every motive, every chance. ... It is just NOT you. Well, trust me, Gays are NO different...they do NOT have a choice. They are genetically prone to being gay. Would you as a reasonable human, deny your fellow man the right to find happiness in love and in life? I am sure you would not. The bottom line is Gays do nothing to hurt YOUR life, they do NOT molest your sons, they do not have a crusade going on to change the world to being Gay. We live our lives productively, quietly (usually), and get about our business, just as straights do. So, if you have an unreasonable dislike for Gays, what else could it be called? It arises from fear...fear due to lack of understanding, fear of SELF! The fact that ALL men could practice sex with another man enters into the equation greatly. The silly part of this fear is that sex partners are a choice...Straights choose opposite sex, Gays choose same sex. I have NEVER met a gay who forces sex on straights, but I have met many gays who have been raped by straights! Now, in honesty, you tell me who SHOULD have the phobia, then look around, and tell me who does have the phobia. Yes, you are correct..the opposite people of who should have the phobia ... have it. Sad, isn't it?