Homophobia

Homophobia can be defined as "an aversion or hostility to, disdain for, or fear of gay sexual orientation or gay people." It is also defined as a "fear and hatred of or discomfort with people who are attracted to members of the same sex", as well as "negative attitudes towards homosexual people and homosexuality which may be manifested in discrimination, hostile behaviour, or hate crimes".
Oftentimes, homophobia is built off of a purpose such as religion and/or religious beliefs. In some cultures, being homosexual or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community is forbidden. In some cases, homosexuality is illegal, such as in Indonesia, Malaysia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, etc. Homosexuality being illegal is more common in Southeast Asia and Africa.
==Etymology==
The term was first coined by psychotherapist Dr. George Weinberg. He was preparing to speak at the East Coast Homophile Organization in 1965, and came up with the term while going over a recent incident involving a lesbian friend of his. Some of his colleagues insisted on uninviting her to a party once they learned she was a lesbian. Weinberg explained that how they reacted was, to him, "not just dislike, … but also fear — a fear so extreme that it suggested some of the characteristics of a phobia."
Homophobia later appeared for the first time in print in the May 5, 1969 issue of Screw magazine. It was in a column written by Jack Nichols and Lige Clarke, both gay activists who had a discussion with Dr. Weinberg about the term. The article itself was discussing "the fear felt by straight men that they might be gay". A few months after that, the term was used in the Time magazine cover article “The Homosexual in America”. Dr. Weinberg himself eventually used it in the article “Words for the New Culture”, which was printed in an issue of the newsweekly Gay in 1971.
This term subsequently appeared in Dr. Weinberg's 1972 book Society and the Healthy Homosexual, in which he states that homophobia is a medical phobia instead of a discriminatory phobia: "[A] phobia about homosexuals.... It was a fear of homosexuals which seemed to be associated with a fear of contagion, a fear of reducing the things one fought for — home and family. It was a religious fear and it had led to great brutality as fear always does."
The use of "phobia" (usually defined as an irrational fear of something) in the word homophobia is often criticized, along with similar terms for describing intolerance towards other groups, such as transphobia and Islamophobia. One reason why is discussed in the following statement: "Though there is an element of fear when interacting with the unknown or the Other, words in this category are not primarily about anxiety; rather, these terms are commonly associated with hatred or disgust". Other reasons can include how terms like homophobia are meant to describe a prejudice that someone has against another group, yet the use of "phobia" can imply that it is a "pathological and irrational fear" instead. Due to these discussions, alternative terms for homophobia have been created, such as antigay and heterosexism.
==Effects on mental health==
According to a study by Duke University and Vancouver Island University, along with a meta-analytic review done by the NIH, both homophobes and gay people can both be impacted by homophobia because it: 
*Can interfere with heterosexual people's ability to form strong friendships with others of the same sex, due to a fear of being perceived as part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
*Has a significant association with mental health disorders. 
*Affects the satisfaction with one's quality of life.
*Can cause people to conform to specific gender-based roles and stereotypes that cause creativity, self-expression, and behavior, and appearance to be inhibited.
* Is often used as a way to stigmatize heterosexuals, along with those perceived or labeled by others to be LGBTQIA+, the children of LGBTQIA+ parents, and the parents of LGBTQIA+ children and their friends.
*Causes the LGBTQIA+ community to be erased from school discussions, resulting in important, possibly life-saving information to be withheld.
* Is one cause of premature heterosexual involvement, which increases the chances of teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Young people of all sexual identities are often pressured to become heterosexually active to prove to others that they are "normal".
*Has the ability to inhibit appreciation for other types of diversity, therefore making it unsafe for all, because each person has their own unique traits that are not part of the dominant part of culture.
==References==
Category:Term definition