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The meaning of Homophobia

Question: What is the meaning of 'homophobic' in your experience?

  • Option1: fear of people in general(H,R)

    Votes: 10 10.2%

  • Option2: fear of males in general(H,R)

    Votes: 1 1.0%

  • Option3: fear of homosexual males(H,R)

    Votes: 16 16.3%

  • Option4: fear of people in general(S,W)

    Votes: 5 5.1%

  • Option5: fear of males in general(S,W)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Option6: fear of homosexual males(S,W)

    Votes: 14 14.3%

  • Fear of all gay people, male and female.

    Votes: 74 75.5%
  • Total voters
    98
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Despite the meaning and derivation of the word,

homophobia as it is used in American pop-culture at the present means someone who is not tolerant of a homosexual lifestyle. If someone makes a politically incorrect joke about a "gay guy" he is homophobic, if someone commits a hate crime toward a gay or lesbian individual they are homophobic. Does that mean they have a fear of these people... I would suggest it is slightly different then a traditional "phobia".

thats my oppinion

I may be wrong
 
I think fear of males in general would be "androphobia", derived from "andros", the Greek word for "male person". Fear of people in general would be anthrophobia, I think, which is derived from anthros, the Greek word for human being. Personally, I haven't seen "homophobia" used in a context other than fear of/aggression towards homosexuals.
 
The word homophobia is also connected to the idea of suppressed homosexuality. The strong reaction against other people being gay would be based on the fear of a part of the persons self. That may be a part of the answer to why homophobia tends to be directed towards gay people of the same sex as the person reacting.
 
dear lexico, probably you may include "... means need of theraphy" as a poll option. i would tick it.

well fear of human people is the correct linguistic meaning.
it is the suffix within the race labelling systems: if one beliefs we have chimpanzee/orang-utan and gorilla ancestors.

people may notice that ghey can be attached to occurances, things, objects like uneccesarily luxerious houses- of course to humans like man/woman as well.

yesterday i have learned the word boisterously.

recently i wrote"big female b**bs are not natural." and "man has forced woman to hide these big b**bs and also to GLORIFY them."

i also wrote "people should go wearing black training pants (or any other color), nothing else. this includes woman and man."

personally i do not enjoy adult entertainment and have understood that minorities enjoy this stimulation out of own device.

however to make up the term "homophob" is as well insane as to glorify big b**bs. it is a wrong labelling system which does not produces something, helps people towards a goal or meets the condition "STOP" of a program.

"START" is where is one right now, "STOP" is where one wants to get.
such linguistic concepts make much much more sense, than to talk in negative terms. "-phob" is greek and a negative term.

to repeat: ghey can be attached to objects, occurances, woman etc.

ADDITION: i have read within the replies the suffix has different meanings in greek and latin.

like sphinxes: EGYPT sphinx is male and of decorative nature.
GREEK sphinx is female and kills candidates who can not solve the riddle.
the fact something exists within a language does not grant it is good or right.

so far about sphinxes- see also my funeral advice website :14: if you are not sphinxophob/arachnidophob.

(the tricky thing about this post is how i prejudiced the nerve medician who has made up the term)
 

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Actually, I came across earlier references from the OED:
"1920 Chambers's Jrnl. 5 June 418/1 Her salient characteristic was a contempt for the male sex as represented in the human biped... The seeds of homophobia had been sown early.
1960 T. KORA in Koestler's Lotus & Robot II. 213 Of nervosity symptoms, homophobia appears most frequently. In this is included fear of blushing when appearing before a person, or erythrophobia, feeling of getting stiff or oppressed before an individual."

The term in its current meaning may have 1st appeared 1969 in Time Magazine.

Etymologically the modern word homophobia is a combination of homosexual(-ity) & phobia. Homosexual itself is a combination of Greek (homo) & Latin (sexual).



alexriversan said:
well fear of human people is the correct linguistic meaning.
Click to expand...
Perhaps you don't mean linguistic, but etymological? For the etymology see above. Linguistically, IMO correct as such doesn't really exist (for modern descriptive linguistics, that is). Correct is everything that can be understood.

it is the suffix within the race labelling systems: if one beliefs we have chimpanzee/orang-utan and gorilla ancestors.
Click to expand...
Where did you get this one from? Chimps, Orangs & Gorillas are our relatives, not our ancestors.

BTW, are you confusing affix, prefix & suffix?
 
Excellent, excellent ! I love you bossel for your brainy composition. These are things that make history move forward. My respects and thanks. I know Alex can answer for himself, but interestingly I have some insight into his language. By choice, he obscures the current, ordinary language for the purpose of enriching it. It is Socratic in essence. I could be wrong. It could mean many more things, or less.
 
bossel said:
Perhaps you don't mean linguistic, but etymological? For the etymology see above. Linguistically, IMO correct as such doesn't really exist (for modern descriptive linguistics, that is). Correct is everything that can be understood.
Click to expand...
well i should have looked up linguistic before usage. i do most times, but not always.
bossel said:
Where did you get this one from? Chimps, Orangs & Gorillas are our relatives, not our ancestors.
Click to expand...
the DNA tree is a system of scientific belief. humas and primates have derived from common ancestors.
bossel said:
BTW, are you confusing affix, prefix & suffix?
Click to expand...
well i can manage prefix and suffix, but affix?
true i have never understood these grammatical labels.
what i understand now is the concept of an "object", or animate/inanimate.
 
lexico said:
It is Socratic in essence.
Click to expand...
Socratic, hmmm? You mean the maieutic part? I don't see much evidence for that.


alexriversan said:
the DNA tree is a system of scientific belief.
Click to expand...

A system of scientific belief? Like religion? Interesting!
That would be no wonder then, that they believe in chimps et al. as our ancestors. Who are they, maybe you could provide a link?

humas and primates have derived from common ancestors.
Click to expand...
Er..., human beings are primates (hence common ancestors are only to be expected).

well i can manage prefix and suffix, but affix?
Click to expand...
Affix is the superordinate concept for prefix & suffix (& infix, but this is the least common in English).
 
Well, arachnophobia is quite common.

as well as humanophobia, probably there is another psych label for "to be shy/scared of other human beings"- not the same as paranoia but may occur together.

look it up yourself:

Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist

View the latest from the world of psychology: from behavioral research to practical guidance on relationships, mental health and addiction. Find help from our directory of therapists, psychologists and counselors.
www.psychologytoday.com

homophobia might indeed be a diagnostic term. clear the meaning is fear of members of their own sex.

this means the presence of them, talking to them, social interaction. Of course, it can include a subconscious fear of intercourse.

------------

prefix=affix and suffix=affix. TRUE.
woman/woman man/man = ghey. FALSE.

betting large sums on horses, living in a luxurious house, drinking wine all day: that's GHEY. not to forget the tarot card seances.

the usage of this word is INSANE.
 
1. ghey
An excuse for using the term "Gay" in a negative way, without seeming to be offensive. However, changing the spelling of the word doesn't change how offensive it can still be to homosexuals.
Person1: That's ghey!
Person2: Dude, don't use that word.
Person1: But I'm spelling it g-h-e-y.
Person2: Dude, that doesn't matter, it's still offensive.
Person1: Well, that's ghey!
Person2 thwacks Person1

Taken from:

Urban Dictionary: ghey

ghey: Usurping the traditional term GAY to take the homosexual meaning out and leaving in the lame.
www.urbandictionary.com
 
betting large sums on horses, living in a luxurious house, drinking wine all day: that's GHEY. not to forget the tarot card seances.

heterosexual relationships can be bright and colourful as well.
if it makes sense to describe relationships that way.
however, the word has no good meaning at all, is never used as a compliment or if one applies for a job. employers are not allowed to use it in a certificate.

by the way, personally I am "spirited and highly emotional".

to contribute to the thread subject: homophobia means fear of community of other humans. it can occur if the physical space is limited. for example body contact in a train.

some persons do not care.
some persons like it. (not in an interactive way)
some persons are phobic of it.

however, humans are group-based, not solitaire individuals, means homophobia is a diagnosis.

an aversion against being touched/grabbed by anonymous persons has nothing to do with homophobia.
 

I know someone who thinks that.. Said it was because "things shouldn't go into an exit"
 
no wonder people do not like them.

i do not like them. it has nothing to do with the sort of gender within the relationship.

in big american cities, people do not care anymore. the people countryside have more homophobia.

the works of stephen king are giving out several pieces of american homophobia.

though i do not read king anymore (too scary). it reads authentic. Aussie Christmas Lights – It's all about the lights

probably you can buy "nighshift", which contains several short stories.
also "needful things":quite scary.
 
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The meaning of that term was pretty much skewed.

Homo- either "same" or "people"
Phobia- "fear"

The term usually refers to "fear" of homosexuals. (They are not really afraid of them, they in fact hate the idea of being homosexual themselves more than they are afraid of the idea of homosexuality in others in my experience - so the fear is actually from turning homosexual themselves.)
 
i would say it means:

"fear of heterosexual males of appearing not to be grossed out by the fact that a male or homosexual comes to close"

^ ^

= the reason why males don't like to sleep in one bed (even if its triple double king megasized) on a trip or so even if its their good friend and they know hes not gay

or so?

i am confused
 
i am very sorry for the long, suffering replies i made to this thread.

now: there is no such thing as orientation, it is made up.

homophobia is insane.
homosexuality is insane.
heterosexuality is insane.

to some degree. if it works for you, good, it is not insane.
if it works for you, but not for the most people you live with,
you belong to a special population group.

by the way, i do not see very much homophobia in the "gravitation" manga.
 

You wouldn't be too far off base there either, really. I have a good friend who is homosexual. As a result, I was once assaulted merely because I was his friend. I think polls that try to find out the percentage of how many people in a society are homophobic, racist, etc. are always going to be underestimations. Most homophobics I've seen won't admit they are homophobic. Just like racists will deny their racism.

The most common instance of homophobia I witness is when a gay person is mentioned, prompting an individual to say something like "as long as they don't hit on me, I don't have a problem with them." The assumption that homosexuals are predetermined to flirt with them for no reason is a minor form of paranoia in my book.

I think it's gotten better since the middle of the last century, but not as much as it may seem. I think it's a disappointment.
 
Well, where I'm from, "homophobia" means a phobia directed at homosexuals of all genders (although it is more common, in the USA, for it to be directed at homosexual males). Most people would not admit to being homophobic because to admit one is homophobic would be like admitting one is racist. However, this does not mean homophobia nor racisism are small issues just because people will not admit to them.
In the USA alone 84% of GLBTs (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgenders) are verbally harassed for their sexuality, 39.1% are physically harassed. And those numbers are only based on people who have admited to being harassed and who are still in the school system. Add in adults and those who've been mistreated but won't talk about it and those numbers become alarmingly high (not that they weren't already). These numbers also do not include sexual harassment.

No matter how you define the term it is still a problem, a serious problem, but isn't being dealt with due to the fact that, as 'fore mentioned, not many people admit to it. It is also very hard to get homophobic acts against GLBTs recording as crimes even though they are. Homophobia on a small scale, such as simply saying, "ewww, gross" is one thing, but unfortunatly it doesn't stop there. Physical, verbal, and even sexual violence can result from homophobia. It sickens me because not only have I been put through some of the 'fore mentioned but I have had to watch friends and loved one's have to grit their teeth and deal with it as well. It's sad and sickening.
 
Homophobia is fear of homosexuals (both male and female). its easy to remember because the word 'Phobia' means 'to be very scared' and 'Homo' is short of 'Homosexual' - that is what I know of the word, maybe there is some history behind it. who knows? But that is what the word means today
 
Homophobia is fear of gay men, ususally.

In American culture, men are required to behave in a certain way to maintain their masculinity. This requires them to usually like sports, hate the color pink, etc., but most of all, they must hate most contact with other men, as homosexual men like such contact.

This is done in order for men to keep their image of manliness, which is quite important in American culture.
 
Words change throughout time with the general meaning associated with them. Just as 'fantastic' no longer associates itself with 'phantasm.'

In modern American society, 'gay' has adopted a change in use that was always encompassed both genders, but primarily focuses on homosexual males. Although it is still used in some contexts for saying one person likes another of the same sex, specifically it is men that are gay, and women that are lesbian.

As argued earlier through this thread, 'homophobia' means initially to the American person 'a fear of homosexuals.' This does not always have to be taken literally though as fear, but can also include violence and slander, because in its base, the assumption is that fear of thees kinds of people is what provoked such responses. 'homo' is an abbreviated form of 'homosexual' (all cultures abbreviate, which leads to confusion amongst those who are non-native trying to study the language, something I know quite well when I find Japanese abbreviated or slang-ed).

Anyways, whenever someone says sometime deroggatory about the gay culture, anyone can accuse them of being homophobic. This includes the use of words such as 'fag, queer, and dyke.' But, minority groups do do what they say is 'reclaiming' the words that were once offense. An example is African American's adaptation to 'nigga.' It's fine if they say it, but if anyone else does, issues may abound. Same thing with feminists and 'c**t' (The Vagina Monologues promote this idea heavily). Thus, many homosexual males can say 'fag' and 'queer' to one another, but if someone else does, that's a problem.

Living is complicated, communicating even more so.

Now, about women vs men homosexuality and why one is considered 'more' okay than the other...That is a result of the current culture we grow up in. In American, women are promoted to show of their bodies and many men adopt the fantasy of two women at the same time, because that reinforces the masculine characteristics about them. It's hypocritical, but in our current times, it's perfectly acceptable for a man to be with many women, but if a woman is with many men, then she is nothing but a *****.
Hope I helped anyone out with this drivel.
 
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Thus, many homosexual males can say 'fag' and 'queer' to one another, but if someone else does, that's a problem.
Click to expand...

Queer is sometimes used when you're trying to point out something that is weird or out of place. "Thats queerer then three fish on a telephone pole." (Yes, I know thats a bad example).

To me a homophobic is someone that has such a dislike oh gay people that they refuse to talk to them or get to know them. A phobia is a fear of something. So to me, homophobic people fear homosexuals to the point of hating them.
 
同性愛は見っとも無いですね'''
日本と他の伝統的な国々にも同じですね。

It doesn't seem usual...sowieso, leben sie in Deutschland. Da gibt es sehr viel Formalitat. Zum Beispiel, in Deutschland da gibt es sehr wenig body contact (ich weiss es nicht auf Deutsch). Das verstehen sie doch bestimmt, besonders weil sie in Deutschland leben.
Wir buben tun das nicht.
 
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La Maison de H★iMIK☆o (English SUB)

Japanese gay movie

Have fun!
 
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