The meaning of Homophobia

[lexico]

I've always understood 'homophobic' as 'fearing people.'

Of course the 'homo' part can be either 'a human being' or 'a male person.'

Hence the 2nd usage denoting 'fearful of a homosexual male person.'

Can you respond in the poll for the most frequently used meaning of the word?

Poll options 1-3: when you hear or read 'homophobic.'

Poll options 4-6: when you say or write 'homophobic.'

Poll option 7: invariably meaning 'fear of all homosexuals; gays & lesbians'

To allow a geographical distribution, the poll result will be left public. Thanks for voting.

[Brooker]

The only meaning of that word I've ever heard is, "fear of gay people". If there are other meanings, I'm unaware of them.

[Elizabeth]

Why is the under the "Learning English" subfora ? Are you not interested in the opinons of native speakers....

[Brooker]

I think it's because he wants to learn the meaning of an English word.

[lexico]

Yes, Elizabeth, of course!

But at this moment, I am learning Enlish!

Isn't this the place for Non-native speakers to learn English?

Or do they teach you In-gu-ri-shi here?

That's interesting too, actually. I can use both.

But you're right. It is strange to come to JFORUM to learn English instead of Japanese.

I am challenged both ways to be honest...........

[Brooker]

Don't worry. Your question is in the right place. But there needs to be another option. "Fear of all homosexuals, male and female". That's the one I would choose as the right meaning for "homophobia". You see, the "homo" comes from the "homo" in "homosexual" not from "homo sapien".

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by lexico

Yes, Elizabeth, of course!

But at this moment, I am learning Enlish!

Oh, what a relief ! All I could imagine this becoming was another social commentary thread, your Engrish seems so well-established, or entrenched, by this point. And Lexico, you also may also have the honor of being first non-Japanese speaker to use it....at any rate I agree with Brooker -- the issue isn't open to opinion as far as I'm aware.

[kirei_na_me]

Homophobia(n.)=fear of homosexuals, both male and female

Homophobic(adj.)=being afraid of homosexuals, both male and female

Homophobe(n.)=someone who is homophobic

The poll needs to be edited, as Brooker pointed out.

[jt_]

I'll just concur with what everyone else is saying here -- as far as I know, all of these words in question are referring to a fear/hatred of homosexuals (not limited to men), and have no other possible definitions.

Here are some references:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=homophobia
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionar...hobia&x=8&y=14

Apparently (I say 'apparently' only because I, at least, don't use these terms is everyday speech) fear of humans in general is anthropophobia or sociophobia.

Or misanthropy is a more common word for a general dislike for one's fellow humans.

[cacawate]

This reminds me of a conversation I had the other day with my co-worker. He said he hated gay people and I asked him if he hated all gay people, even lesbians. He said, "Oh! No, lesbians are fine! I just hate gay people." Later I convinced him that he has to hate lesbians as they are gay also. Think about that mindset.

Why do more people (In my experience) except gay women over men? I have even met a few girls that would rather watch lesbian porn over gay male porn, saying it was 'disgusting'. I apologize for hijacking this thread, Lexico. I'll try and make up a more well-rounded one in the social section.

By the way, I convinced my co-worker that he didn't hate gay people, by asking him if he thought God hated gay people. He responded, "No, he just dissaproves of them". Which is what my co-worker does, now. That's one step closer to acceptance, I think.

-Jeff

[lexico]

Cacawate, thank you!

The problem of my abberant understanding of 'homophobia' goes deeper than the dictionary definition. In all my years of exposure to English, it all fit fine. Why did I miss it? Too lazy to look it up? Denial? But I'm not even...

Somehow the concept of 'homosexuality' does not seem to stick on me no matter how often I hear it. I don't know if it's becaue I'm culturally unaware, or if I have a deep seated contempt for homosexuals, or if I cannot imagine homosexuality to be a fundamental problem.

It does not help to be in the dark, and there are mental blocks that need to be dealt with, either way. Thanks for addressing that 'non-linguistic' aspect of the topic!

ADVERTISEMENT: THE POLL OPTION LIST HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO INCLUDE

Option #7: homophobic = fearing all homosexuals, male and female

THANK YOU MAD PIERROT FOR ALL THE HARD WORK!

[Maciamo]

I think I mistook at the poll. I thought of homophobia as "homo-" for human, and "phobia" fear, but I mixed Latin with Greek. However, "homo-" in Greek means "same", so we could also understand that it is a fear of one's same kind, so for humans, it means fearing other humans. If we wanted to express the fear of homosexuals, it would have to be "homosexuophobia" or something like that (maybe "gayphobia").

[jt_]

Originally Posted by Maciamo

I think I mistook at the poll. I thought of homophobia as "homo-" for human, and "phobia" fear, but I mixed Latin with Greek. However, "homo-" in Greek means "same", so we could also understand that it is a fear of one's same kind, so for humans, it means fearing other humans. If we wanted to express the fear of homosexuals, it would have to be "homosexuophobia" or something like that (maybe "gayphobia").

Except it wouldn't. There's no point in saying what the word "should" mean based on its roots. The word "homophobia" (and "homophobic", "homophobe", etc.) are already English words, with a specific meaning, that meaning is listed (and, in fact, is the _only_ meaning listed) in many definitive dictionaries of English.

To suggest that it should mean something else (or that we need to create a new word to mean what this one currently means) based upon a strict interpretation of its etymology, seems preposterous to me. That's just not how language works.

----

Just as an addition, this meaning of homophobia is _not_ (as far as I know) limited to American English. I don't have access to a dictionary of British English, but just from a quick search of Google UK, I see no difference in the usage of the word.

[Maciamo]

Originally Posted by jt_

To suggest that it should mean something else (or that we need to create a new word to mean what this one currently means) based upon a strict interpretation of its etymology, seems preposterous to me. That's just not how language works.

That's just the way I feel about it.

Just as an addition, this meaning of homophobia is _not_ (as far as I know) limited to American English. I don't have access to a dictionary of British English, but just from a quick search of Google UK, I see no difference in the usage of the word.

I checked my Oxford dictionary and it does exist in BrE too, but I have never heard it. "-phobia" words are usually for diseases such as claustrophobia, or agoraphobia, where people have a strong emotional reaction (fainting, panick, etc.). I have never heard of such reactions to homosexuals. What's more, phobia means fear, not "dislikes/hate", as some people suggested above.

[Glenn]

Originally Posted by Maciamo

That's just the way I feel about it.

I actually thought the same thing, but that doesn't really matter. People say "autopsy" when they should say "necropsy," so this is just another in that line. Like it or not, we have to go with the majority, lest we not be understood or be taken as pedantic.

Originally Posted by Maciamo

I checked my Oxford dictionary and it does exist in BrE too, but I have never heard it. "-phobia" words are usually for diseases such as claustrophobia, or agoraphobia, where people have a strong emotional reaction (fainting, panick, etc.). I have never heard of such reactions to homosexuals. What's more, phobia means fear, not "dislikes/hate", as some people suggested above.

I think the roots of "homophobia" are sarcastic and hyperbolic in nature, and I doubt that anyone thinks of it as a medical condition. It's similar to how people will call things "gay" that are inanimate, because they are uncool, cheesy, a little too "happy," etc.

[lexico]

Originally Posted by Glenn

I actually thought the same thing, but that doesn't really matter. People say "autopsy" when they should say "necropsy," so this is just another in that line. Like it or not, we have to go with the majority, lest we not be understood or be taken as pedantic.

Admitting that, I think the argumrent goes either way. For example, a society overly obsessed (in the sense of hyper-aware) with gay issues may easily forget the commonplace usage form the simple fact that it is unnoticeable. I say this because there were many instances when gayness was not an issue at all, yet the words were uttered, "no need to be homophobic." Or my mind is fooling me.

Originally Posted by Glenn

I think the roots of "homophobia" are sarcastic and hyperbolic in nature, and I doubt that anyone thinks of it as a medical condition. It's similar to how people will call things "gay" that are inanimate, because they are uncool, cheesy, a little too "happy," etc.

This is actually a very interesting phenomenon. How often does sarcasm influence the shift in the sense of a word? For example the word Christian was used by non-Christians to make fun of them; history seems to have made a full circle. Am I being sarcastic, too?

[Glenn]

Originally Posted by lexico

This is actually a very interesting phenomenon. How often does sarcasm influence the shift in the sense of a word? For example the word Christian was used by non-Christians to make fun of them; history seems to have made a full circle. Am I being sarcastic, too?

I'm not sure how often it's sarcasm, but I do know that words change meaning over time, and I'm sure it often plays a role. For instance, the word "gay" used to mean "happy," but the gay people started using it to describe their lifestyle, and it took on the meaning "homosexual." From there it has taken on the pejorative meanings that I described above.

I also heard that "meat" used to mean all food, and "white meat" had some other meaning (don't remember it right now). And I think that "hag" went from being a maiden or young woman to meaning "evil woman" or "witch," etc., probably due to sarcasm or scornful use by the masses.

[Brooker]

"Homophobia" is a very commonly used word.

I work with several openly gay people and it doesn't bother me. I think the biggest hurdle for accepting homosexuality is to understand that there are people of the same gender who truly and genuinely love each other. It took me a long time to realize that. I used to think it was just about sexual preference, but then I got to know some gay couples who love each other the same way anyone does and it's hard to condemn that.

It's the freaky, "I wanna have sex with everyone because I'm insecure and horny" people who kind of bother me, but plenty of straight people fit into that category.

[-Rudel-]

In the context of the younger generation... I believe that homophobia is the fear of gay people, both male and female.

If that word was brought up in the 20s or 50s, i think the context would of meant the fear of people, both male and female.

But now it's the 2000's and all generations are most likely taking it in the context I first stated. Especially after all the gay marriages that were stated or shown on T.V. around the world.

As for God loving people and disapproving, I can not answer this as I have my own beliefs. We all do right?

[Rayc]

Does Japan have gays?

[TwistedMac]

Originally Posted by Rayc

Does Japan have gays?

you're kidding right?
ofcourse there are gay people in Japan.

I think they have a hard time though. It's not exatly the most accepting society to stuff like that.

[Brooker]

Some Japanese people think that Japan has less gays than other places, but I'm sure that's not true. I'm sure every place has roughly the same amount of gay people it's just that homosexuality isn't very accepted in Japan, so the people who are gay are much quieter about it.

[einbert]

I just wanted to throw my opinion into the ring on this one.

homophobia.: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals

-www.m-w.com

I think this concept doesn't necessarily mean a fear of the people that are gay, but it represents more of a fear or aversion towards homosexuality in general. For example, many people that would be labeled as homophobes by society wouldn't really fear a homosexual person if they met one. Instead, they fear the societal acceptance of homosexuality in general. It also applies to people who just discriminate against homosexuals, whether they are doing it out of fear, hatred, or whatever other reason.

I think it's an important distinction.

[BlackGirls_are_nice2]

I am shocked to see a topic like this in here since I believe that some homosexuals might get offended, but anyway, I have also always agreed that words have more than one meaning.
So I guess I agree with all the different meanings even though I still feel strongly about the meaning of being afraid of homosexuals.

How's it going everyone? I didn't see Frank D. White's opinion on this thread. I think he is such a wise man and I appreciate his wisdom.
Okay everyone,
Ciao!

[lexico]

Accoding to Wikipedia "homophbia" is defined as follows.

Originally Posted by Wiki

Etymology
The word homophobia is a neologism coined by clinical psychologist George Weinberg in his book Society and the Healthy Homosexual in 1971. It combines the Greek words phobos, meaning "panic fear", with the prefix homo-, which means "the same". The "homo" in homophobia comes from the word homosexual, not to be confused with the Latin homo, meaning man (as in homo sapiens).

A precursor was homoerotophobia, coined by Dr Wainwright Churchill in Homosexual Behavior Among Males in 1967.

Since the word is a neologism, and there are many words that combine non-Greek words with the Greek -phobia "fear," the etymological reasoning has little substance. Two points that I do not know is whether

1) homophobia was never used before Weinberg in his 1971 book;
2) if it were, was the usage the same as in the current usage.

I am only asking this because I understood at least one stream of US culture to be tolerant of homosexualtiy. If not, I was greatly mistaken and consequently overestimated the level of social progress that US had achieved by the late 1980's, early 1990's.