I tried googling for the term, but came up with nothing.
This ties in with my other thread about the other board where the moderator just suddenly started locking up all these threads about homophobia, in a frenzied manner, as though he were afraid of looking into the mirror.
What do you feel is the definition of “closet homophobe”?
I mean, IMO, the label “homophobe” generates probably much more anxiety than the label “racist”, for any number of reasons - for example, “racist” is way overused; people are more familiar with the term; other reasons?
I suppose a ‘closet homophobe’ would be someone who has genuine inward homophobic feelings, but hides them by maintaining an amicable facade. I’m not sure whether such a definition is worth anything - it depends on whether you believe that unacted ‘bad’ thoughts are still ‘bad’.
Seems to be akin to closet racist. Someone who denies bigotry towards a group, but consistently takes positions that attack the virtues of that group, or tries to curtail the rights of that group. Which is silly, it’s the latter behaviors that make you a bigot, acknowledging that you are one is irrelevant. People being the rather inept animals they are, however, the idea seems to have been generallly accepted that as long as you say “I’m not a bigot,” then you aren’t, and whatever bigoted positions you take must be merely a coincidence.
In my experience, the “closet” modifier is meant to indicate acts engineered to hide, through contradiction, one’s own feelings on the matter. As a closet racist, I would hang out with blacks. As a closet homosexual, I would engage in heterosexual relationships. Etc. All of the above with the intent of producing a believable facade. Without access to the underlying intent, the term is rather stupid, but nevertheless presents an unstoppable case by asserting that the person in question probably doesn’t even know they’re a closet whatever. As you can see, there is no way to reject the claim, making it a useful, if stupid, slur.
Probably as useful as “passive aggressive.” There are real homophobes to fight rather than looking for shadowy homophobes hiding their true feelings by being cordial and accepting.
Exactly. If you don’t agree with the gay agenda (marriage, whoknowswhatelse) but show no signs that you actually hate gays, you are a closet homophobe.
My definition is closest to the definition at Dictionary.com:
Closet -
adj.
2. Being so or engaging only in private; secret: a closet proponent of a tax increase; a closet alcoholic.
3. Based on theory and speculation rather than practice.
So if I were a closet homophobe, I wouldn’t be protesting with signs saying “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”. However, I would be thinking that when a gay family member brought his partner over for dinner.
hmmm…I guess that by this and several other definitions of this emotionally-topheavy, yet unnecessary neologism, I am a “closet homophobe.” Thanks for the heads-up.
What I’m hearing is that anybody who does not fulsomely express admiration and complete support and understanding of homosexuality, or who does not immediately and unquestioningly accept and espouse every tenet put forward by every gay rights organization must by definition be violently opposed to homosexuality.
How open-minded. How respectful of “diversity” (another synthetic shibolleth). It may come as a surprise to many that just because someone holds a different opinion doesn’t automatically make them wrong, and it’s just plain immature to feel that you have to invent a new denigrating term for people with different values or views.
Grow up… There’s enough hatred and diviseness in the world as it is. Why go looking to generate more?