Homophobia and Its Effects: Past and Present
Homophobia refers to the irrational fear of or discrimination against homosexuals. This prejudice, along with institutional influence, results in heterosexism. “Heterosexism refers to attitudes and behaviors that deny, devalue, or stigmatize any non-heterosexual form of community, relationship, identity, or behavior and can manifest on individual, familial, institutional, political, and cultural levels” (Szymanski, 2008). Some examples of heterosexism include rejection by family or religious affiliation due to sexual orientation, refusal of marriage rights and associated protections by the government, harassment and violence, anti-gay jokes, and discrimination of employment and housing.
Homophobia was rampant in the 1960’s; this was evident by frequent police raids of gay establishments. However, members of the GLBT community were quickly growing tired of being treated as lesser persons. In the early morning of June 28, 1969, the typically pacifist gay and lesbian community fought back. Police officers conducted a raid at the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York City. Their raids were common and usually followed the same pattern of events including: police entrance and announcement, checking of IDs, arrest of any “deviant” customers, and arbritrary dismissal of patrons. That night, as each patron was allowed out of the bar and onto the street, the crowd grew from being cheerful to being angry. The on-lookers began to throw coins at the police to symbolize the payoffs that gay bars were expected to make to the police to stay in business at the time. Coin throwing turned into throwing bottles and stones. Riot-control police officers were alerted to break up the demonstration, but it went well into the night before the crowd could be controlled. For the next week, demonstrators continued to riot and protest for gay and lesbian rights each night (Matzner, 2004).
Shortly after Stonewall, the Gay Liberation Front was formed as a politically focused organization. Other groups were created and gay and lesbian publications increased dramatically; although groups existed prior to Stonewall, they did not have as dramatic an effect. Beginning in 1970, the gay pride marches were held every year on the date of the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall Inn is now a national historic landmark. Stonewall means different things to different people, but the GLBT community agrees that it played an influential role in the Gay Pride Movement (Matzner, 2004).
Both homophobia and heterosexism are cultivated by society through media and government regulations. GLBT persons continually surrounded by these attitudes may internalize stereotypes and develop low self-esteem and self-hatred. They may live closeted lives in order to avoid harassment and discrimination. The fear of lifelong stigma can lead to depression, chronic stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues for GLBT persons (Evans, 1991). Research has shown that the fear of discrimination keeps many GLBT persons away from the health care system. Studies illustrate that 45% of lesbian and bisexual women and 44% of gay men have not disclosed their sexuality to their physicians (GLBT, 1999). In order to minimize underutilization of essential health care services, providers must make their settings safe, welcoming places if all men and women are expected to make truthful disclosures about their health and sexual histories (Gay, 2006). A health care provider may need to inquire about a patient’s sexual orientation to identify risk factors. Information recorded in the medical record could be used out of context to stigmatize the patient. The provider should obtain permission from the client to include information in the medical record on her sexual orientation.
The GLBT community’s fear of harassment is not irrational. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (2008), 1,460 hate crime offenses based on sexual orientation occurred in 2007. These hate crimes made up 15.9% of the total hate crimes in the United States in 2007. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law October 2009, attached to the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3326). This bill was named after Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in 1998, and James Byrd Jr., a gay Black man who was chained to a pick up truck and dragged to his death the same year. There is more legislation emerging over time at the state level to facilitate protection from hate crimes. The Human Rights Campaign website features an interactive map so you can determine the current state of hate crimes legislation in your state and how the situation has changed nationally over time.
Some families may be even less accepting than the general public. When coming out to a family member or close friend, GLBT persons often take the risk of losing or damaging relationships. Extent of acceptance of others can depend on a person’s culture or religious beliefs (Gilbert, 2003). Family members and friends often respond in a variety of heterosexist ways. They could be in denial or insist that the person was just “going through a phase.” Sometimes the family might even try to “cure” the person or encourage them to be more heterosexual. Certain families will disown their relatives because they are angry that the person has rejected their family’s values. Other families simply feel depression, guilt, and grief for the person who has lost their expected heterosexual lifestyle (Szymanski, 2008). In a 2000 survey, 34% of respondents stated that at least one member of their family had refused to accept them due to their sexual orientation. Many people feel the need to hide their sexual orientation from their relatives rather risk rejection (Herek, 2006). Due to these reactions, GLBT persons often have nontraditional systems of support created in place of or in addition to their biological families. These support systems are commonly made up of other GLBT persons in their community or close friends who understand and recognize their life choices (deVries, 2009). Reactions like these can negatively impact future family relationships.
