Sexual Prejudice and Homophobia

Author: Ushna Nawaz

        Homophobia is the irrational fear of gays and lesbians that is associated with prejudice and anger towards homosexuals. This phobia can be the cause of discrimination for homosexuals in multiple areas such as housing, areas of employment, legal rights, and sometimes bullying, also extreme homophobia may tend toward murder. It was confirmed by a study that homophobia is associated with homosexuals (Adams, Wright, & Lohr, 1996). Later on, another term was recommended in place of homophobia i.e. sexual prejudice because it was considered more suitable and approved by an empirical study that the heterosexual’s antigay attitude can be justified as a phobia in clinical view.

Unlike homophobia, sexual prejudice can be used to explain the negative attitudes towards any sexual orientation i.e. heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual but mostly homosexuals and bisexuals are targeted. Like other prejudice, sexual prejudice also involves negative concepts, resentment or dislikes others (maybe a group or its member). There are several benefits of using term sexual prejudice instead of homophobia such as sexual prejudice is an explanatory term and does not target a single population (homosexuals) and it helps to understand that evaluating others negatively or making judgments about others is illogical and immoral. People may have sexual prejudice because of their religious values and cultural concepts as it has been seen that people having sexual prejudice are religious and respect their religious ideologies, and more likely to follow their traditional gender roles, therefore, they possess a conservative attitude about sex roles. It was approved by a study that people with intrinsic religious orientation reported a higher level of sexual prejudice and low level of racial prejudice (Herek, 1987; Rosik, Griffith, & Cruz, 2007; Wilkinson, 2004).

Another concept that can be considered as the reason for sexual prejudice is the social norms, It might possible these people consider them as someone who violates the social norms, and therefore they mostly do not like to have contact with gays or lesbians and are not involved in homosexual behaviors. Sexual dominance orientation can also as motivation for sexual prejudice because heterosexuals are considered superior over homosexuals in multiple regions and this dominance also validates their hostility and discrimination towards homosexuals (Savin-Williams, Pardo, Vrangalova, Mitchell, & Cohen, 2010). Moreover, disturbance of the natural reproduction cycle, portraits of masculinity and femininity tend to raise sexual prejudice as it is integral to their identity.

Various studies were conducted to measure the level of sexual prejudice in men and women and to verify if masculinity and femininity play any role in sexual prejudice. It was found that men were more sexual prejudice as compare to women furthermore it was explained that most people dislike homosexuals because they thought that they willingly abandon their prescribed identity that is shameful and unjustifiable. It was also revealed that heterosexual men consider that they must not accept gay men to satisfy their sense of masculinity as in many regions masculinity and femininity are defined as polar ends. Though women were less sexually prejudice those who considered femininity as a significant part of their self-concept were more likely to support sexual prejudice (Savin-Williams, Pardo, Vrangalova, Mitchell, & Cohen, 2010).

Sexual prejudice also leads towards internalized homophobia (self-disgust and shame of homosexual individuals), which is higher in gay men as compare homoerotic women. They find it difficult to disclose their sexual orientation and suffer more anxiety and depression, expanded guilt, less romantic relationship satisfaction, and have lower self-esteem.