SleepSleepSleep. Homophobia? - Comments

@Ever So: Oh right, okay. Sorry, I misunderstood. :]

A phobia is an irrational fear, hatred, and in some cases a strong disapproval of something. And as we all know, irrational means there is no real reason. So you are completely right that society uses it incorrectly. If they are scared of, hate, or disapprove of gays because they are different that is a reason, in my opinion a stupid and weak reason, but it is indeed a reason.

If a person is a true homophobe they have no control over it what so ever.

Some examples with different phobias to further elaborate: My mom has a phobia of snakes and there is no reason why. She has never been bitten by a snake, actually she has never been in real contact with a snake. But we go into a pet store and she freaks out at the snake behind the glass. I'm the same way with spiders.

So yes, homophobia does often reflect negative emotions like hatred, the most common some would say, disapproval, and/or fear but the only time it is homophobia is if it is irrational.

Thank you for putting this out there because it has been driving me up a wall!

@ The Rumor

Yes, I am aware that the actual definition actually does over other negative emotions and attitudes, which is why I stated, "So does that mean... that homophobia is really hatred when you get down to the very bottom of it?"

This journal was somewhat intended to be a response to several other arguments I've seen where a person's main point is that "homophobia is just fear of homosexuals, not hate!"

Whereas I was thinking... the fact that fear is a part of homophobia should mean that it also includes hate, seeing as both negative emotions and hate usually come from the fear of something.

Sorry if I wasn't exactly clear. I wasn't sure how to word my thoughts properly. And I'm still not. Which is why I can't seem to make sense. ._.

This entry caught my eye, since I'm bisexual.
People don't really care about me, but I've been called a fag, etc, before.
But my friend is gay, and gets beat up more often /:

I think a lot of the homophobia begins with the persons fear of homosexuality and the "creepiness" of it, and it ultimately turns into hatred.

Most people become afraid of something they cannot understand, and then they become hateful over whatever makes them afraid.

Actually, homophobia is classed as an aversion to homosexual people. This does cover fear of but also other negative emotions and attitudes, such as hatred and discrimination. So the societal definition of homophobia is correct.