Homophobia, just like every other form of prejudice, is a direct result of irrational fear and ignorance. People quite naturally fear that which they do not understand. The fears and negative views that cause homophobia can take root in a person's consciousness in a variety of ways, but regardless of how a person becomes homophobic in their attitudes, it is clearly a learned behavior; none of us is ever born into the world with a hatred for our fellow man.
In my experience, there are usually two main ways in which a person's homophobic ideas and opinions are shaped. These are their upbringing and family environment, or their religious background. Most people have little-to-no first hand knowledge of homosexuality or gay people; the entire concept of homosexuality is completely foreign to them, and is therefore very frightening. They often base their view of homosexual people on the opinions that they have learned from the family environment in which they have grown up, or on the years of religious conditioning that they receive in church, which has taught them that homosexuality is a sickness to be cured or overcome, and that homosexuals are perverts who choose their dirty, sinful lifestyle.
Despite the fact that there is more than enough conclusive scientific and medical data to prove these teachings false, they are still generally accepted as truth. This means that everything that most people learn about homosexuality is based entirely on the misinformation that they have been picking up all their lives. Families are raised to believe in the same half-truths, innuendos, and stereotypes that have been passed down from the generations that came before them. People are taught to accept completely without question, and to place blind faith in the teachings of a church that blatantly misuses and abuses the words of its Bible to condemn everything with which it does not agree.
In light of these facts, a homophobic viewpoint seems all the more irrational. If more people were willing to be honest with themselves when examining the reasons behind their homophobia, they would see that holding these opinions based on second-hand information (the accuracy of which is questionable to say the least) rather than forming opinions based on their own personal experiences with gay people, is short-sighted and unfair. If you have never known a gay person, then you are in no way qualified to judge the content of their character, or the state of their Soul...period! I can only imagine the ruckus that these hypocrites would raise if they had to endure being judged by the same ridiculous standards!
Although I feel very strongly about my statements on this topic, I do believe that it is only a very small percentage of people who are full of deliberate meanness. I may be crazy...or maybe I'm just plain naive...but I believe in trying to see the good in people. I think a majority of people are kind and well-meaning; they don't set out to be homophobic or hateful. I believe that homophobia is born not out of malice, but out of ignorance; most folks simply don't know any better. I mean, think about it. Most people have believed all of the misinformation for years because it is all they've ever had to go on. If they lack the correct information to understand what homosexuality is all about, then of course they are going to fear it; how could you expect them to react any other way?
Oh sure, it is definitely true that you will always find a certain segment of people who disagree with our lifestyle, and therefore use this false information about gay people for their own malicious and manipulative purposes. Unfortunately, I do not believe at this point that we will ever be completely free from some form of opposition to our lifestyle. The situation may improve to the point where the opposition will become much less visible to us, but it will remain there, just as it has in the case of every other kind of prejudice that the world has known. I hope that someday, I am proven wrong about that; but for now, I'm not holding my breath. For now, all we can do is realize that there are some people out there who will just stubbornly refuse to change their minds on the issue no matter how much evidence you can produce to refute their beliefs. When it comes to these folks, the only option we have is to accept that which we do not have the power to change; that stinks, but it's the truth.
However, gay folks do have their supporters as well. The number of people who view us negatively has slowly been decreasing, and is relatively small compared to what it was even a few short years ago. I think that a majority of people genuinely want to understand us. I have found that if I am in a group of people and happen to mention that I am gay, people have a lot of sincere questions, but always feel awkward asking them. But I always notice that as I give them honest answers, they seem to relax into discussing the subject. I find this encouraging; it leads me to believe that there are more people in today's society who simply lack the education to come to a truthful understanding of homosexuality. I further believe that if these people were to be educated with the correct information, then more people would change their views on the matter than would not.
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