Manhattan expressed the longing wish that someone would post this question at GQ and the include pyschological and historical links for people to ponder on.
In another thread red_dragon60 asked:
“I, a resident student at my local high school, have noticed a lot of anti-gay sentiment. I was wondering, why? Whenever I get the chance, I ask these people “do you even know one gay person?” Usually, the answer is just a blank stare. I am curious, why has “gay” become the new insult? And why do some christians and other groups think they are so righteous in gay-bashing? I view them as a minority, and calling people homophobic names (queers come to mind) is just as bad in my mind as calling other minorities bad phrases. Why do we let this continue?”
People are always afraid of what they don’t understand.
If I say “I’m an athiest” I will get the worst stares. Try it, even if you aren’t say it. “I’m an athiest.” I guarantee you’ll freak people out.
Gay has become an insult even in gay culture. Now it is hip to say. “I’m Bi” Which means your gay but masculine. Gay has come to mean gay and queenlike or fem.
Also we are so PC that there isn’t a lot of minorities you can make fun of. Fat people and gays are about it. Maybe men bashing you still can do.
With the internet even geeks and nerds have gained respect.
I’ve never heard of “gay” becoming synonymous with “queenlike” or “fem.” We already have perfectly serviceable words that mean “queenlike” and “fem.” They are “queeny” and “femme.” What I have heard and which irritates me no end is people using gay as synonymous with dumb.
Ok, I have another question. Non of the anti-gay rhetoric I have read seems to pay any attention to lesbians. So why do people not dislike lesbians? (Not that I’m complaining )
Because str8 men think women having sex with each other is hot.
Seriously, I think it’s because the bulk of anti-gay sentiment is the result of religion, specifically Judaism and Christianity. The Biblical references speak of men, with only one possibly speaking of women. The sexuality of women was simply not important enough to the men for them to make a rule about it. It’s like what happened in Britain. A law was passed criminalizing “buggery.” The law did not criminalize female-female sex. Non-penetrative sex isn’t “really” sex, after all. Nazi Germany, same thing. Male homosexuals were rounded up and sent off to the camps. Lesbians were not, at least not systematically, and those that were generally were classified as “anti-social.” Lesbians could still serve as vessels for the Master Race. For good or ill, the recognized leaders of the modern gay movement have mostly been men (there were and are of course a lot of women, but in many cases, they either did not hold leadership positions or were simply dismissed by the men, so put their energy into women-centered and feminist activities). Gay men were the images America saw of the gay movement. Homosexuality also challenges notions of masculinity. A gay man who sexually services another man is like a woman, which str8 men take as a threat. they can’t conceive of giving up their male privilege and are deeply disturbed by a man who would. A woman who sexually services another woman is taking on a masculine role, and women are allowed to be like men more readily than men are allowed to be like women. Provided of course that the pretender gives up her man-likeness should a real man appear.
But, as hate crimes and rape statistics bear out, there are plenty of men who don’t like lesbians any more than they like gay men.
Well, I have no hard evidence, but here’s my take on why most homophobes are men, and why they’re not bothered by lesbians.
Rape is a very, very scary thing. Most women realize early in life that they may be raped one day, and one way or another they make their peace with the idea. The alternative, after all, is to stay behind closed doors and distrust every man you meet, something most of us are unwilling to do. So women come to accept that yes, this could happen to them, and it would be horrible, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Men, on the other hand, seldom have to face sexual violence unless it’s from another man. Since they don’t have to face this possibility, or even think about it, most of the time, they never become reconciled to it. The idea that they might be raped is too awful even to talk about, but it’s in the back of their mind, closely associated with the specter of male homosexuality.
Please note that I am not trying to imply that most gay men are rapists or potential rapists; only that there’s a small contingent of straight men who probably see them that way. I don’t think this excuses homophobes, but it does make their attitude comprehensible – to me, anyway.
I agree with a lot of what has already been said so I shall not cover those points again.
I have also noticed a persons enviroment feeding their anti whatever felings.
Blacks, Gays, and Jews I see hated by people only because they learned such closed-minded behaviour from their parents. In my case I was allowed to make my own desisions on people without such influence thanks to my fathers service in Vietnam. There he served with a diverse group of people whom all had to rely on each other to survive their 4 years “in country”. He has always made it a point to remind all of his children. If we are to dislike someone, it should be becuase of their character not the color of their skin,choice of religion, or sexual relations.
A large proportion of the overall population has heterosexual interests or urges. Heterosexuality, as structured within patriarchy, ties heterosexual eligibility to success among other men. This may not seem immediately obvious, but I will clarify if need be. Anyway, something gets twisted when, instead of heterosexual practice for men having to do with negotiations with women, it has to do with attaining the approval of other men. In fact, to get more blatant about it, if your employers and potential employers can virtually grant or deny you sexual access to women, they have acquired the power of that sexiness.
Our society has traditionally and historically been a patriarchy, recent revolutionary social changes towards female self-determination and equality beside the point.
Anyway, to continue answering the question, gays are found threatening because heterosexuality for men is already half-imbued with male-on-male eroticism and it is therefore an emotionally volatile subject.
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