Homophobia

There is not a single definition of homophobia. The most common definition for homophobia is the display of negative feelings or attitudes towards non-heterosexuals. People who face homophobic discrimination are gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. There are various way in which homophobia manifests its self. It can come in forms of homophobic jokes, physical attacks, and discrimination in the work place and also in the media.

Although it is not possible to identify exactly why a person may be homophobic, some reasons suggest that they may hold strong religious beliefs or they may have no contact with homosexuals. People are exposed to different sexual influences and due to these influence they form their own opinions on homosexuality.

Homosexuals are discriminated against for a number of reasons. For example gays and lesbians continually face abuse as they are thought to be the reason as to why HIV and AIDS spread to heterosexuals. Although this is a misconception, many around the world strongly believe in this.

There are various ways in which homosexuals experience homophobia. This can come in the form of malicious gossip to being sexually assaulted. Due to this many homosexuals choose to conceal their sexuality for the fear of negative reactions from their peers. Homophobia can cause extreme harm and disruption to people’s lives, leaving them with low self-esteem and even thoughts of harming themselves.

In society, homosexuality is openly accepted. However there is a minority who do feel that homosexuality is wrong and should not be allowed to continue. From this stems homophobia, a pure hatred for the homosexual community.

The websites below show how homophobia affects the homosexual community:

http://www.avert.org/homophobia.htm

http://www.teachers.tv/videos/44-this website shows a video of what young people think about homophobia and shows how people have been affect by it.

The images below highlight how people feel about homophobia and the results if homophobia: