Is homophobia necessary for the GLBT community to grow?

Question

Does homophobia push us forward? Does the opposition makes us grow? Are they doing us a favour by egging us on?

Without them would we even have a GLBT community, or would there be no use?

Answer 1

Well...... they do say for a garden to grow you need a lot of Sh!t, so.............

Answer 2

An interesting theory - that from opposition grows unity. From oppression a greater sense of community....You're right in the sense that the battle for the greater good does give some people a greater sense of being and identity. However my sexuality exists in it's own right with or without other people's ignorance, fear or hatred of what that represents. So, maybe that's the whole point there would still be gay people, but whether they would feel the same solidarity without the opposition is debatable whatever well intention people might say to the contrary.

Answer 3

No, I think homophobia may push the political side. But a person is gay or bisexual for their own private reasons, whether it is genetically programmed or the result of trauma that squashed heterosexual urges in childhood, or because a handsome young man finds he can be pampered and indulged, maybe not even have to have a job, if he finds a "sugar daddy."

But if you read "community" to mean the out-of-closet gays who are politically active, then you are probably right about homophobia being necessary to that action. Frankly, that action has enough problems (like to which major political party they get enslaved) without treating it as the only way to be gay. Or bi.

Answer 4

I think homophobia probably pushes us together and makes us fight. Assimilation is the best way to dissolve a community.

For example, I am Jewish. During WW2, Hitler tried to destroy the Jews. Instead, it pushed them closer together, forming a tight-knit community and leading to the state of Israel.

In the US, Jews are fairly well accepted, and hence there is a large population which is not religious and hardly know about their religion (including me).

But then again, total assimilation is what we want, isn't it?

Answer 5

What do you mean by "grow"? It's not like anyone can join up; you either are or you aren't.

If you mean leaving the closet, the answer is no. If there were no homophobia, then there'd be no closet in the first place, and people like Matthew Shepard wouldn't have to die to get people to mind their own business.

Answer 6

No. You don't need baseless hatred to grow as an LGBT person. Love and tolerance work a lot better.

Any psychologist will tell you that positive reinforcement works better than negative, or punishment.

Frankly, it would be great if we didn't need an "LGBT community," and everyone was equally welcomed into the "human community."

Good question!

Answer 7

Well, if you're not hurt by something, you lose any reason you had to fight injustice in the first place.

Adversity is necessary to the human condition, imho, and a lack of it only leads to complacency.

Answer 8

The only thing that homophobia does, is prove how stupid some people can be.

Answer 9

No offence, but that's like saying a battered woman needs beatings to make her grow. I think there's an analogy here. Sometimes women (or men for that matter) get so down on themselves when this happens that they believe they deserve it. No woman deserves to be bashed and no gay person deserves to have ignorant and hurtful discrimination. Be happy with who you are and don't stand for it.

Answer 10

History has shown us over and over that when there is oppression, the oppressed group struggles even harder to be accepted, respected and rid themselves of bigotry.

Answer 11

we wouldn't need to seek each other out, as we'd be integrated in society, and we'd be free to live our lives without insulting and abuse.

does their egging us on make us more determined to fight back for our rightful equality?

hmm.. now -thats- thought provoking..