Is there any NON-RELIGIOUS reason to be a homophobe?

[King Tyrant Lizard]

Yes, because the mob are united under some common cause (ie, beating your face off.) However, you could not judge wider society or people from that mob, as a mob is still a single entity (albeit made up of multiple individuals.)

Wider society is just a big mob, and they act in concert just like any group of street demonstrators do. There are many perfectly valid judgements youc an make of very large parts of society (and society as a whole) based on their collective actions and thoughts.

 

[You]

But when you come down to it, it still boils down to deep and abiding stupid from the homophobes, and signs of a deeply defective personality. I'm pretty hostile to swishy gayness on a personal level, but I'm also hostile towards rap music and sitcoms with laugh tracks. There's an incredible amount of narcissism and arrogance to go from finding something annoying to wanting to ban things associated with it, and restrict the rights of anyone who might do things that annoy you. Why should someone's personal pet peeves drive policy?

I couldn't agree more. It's one thing to have an irrational fear or dislike of something, but it's important to recognize it as such and not let it affect one's behavior. It's perfectly natural to be a little put off by the big, hairy mole on the face of the person you're talking to, but you still need to be polite. We all have our big, hairy moles.

 

[williamcardno]

I have most certainly heard a few arguments thrown my way.
"you aren't contributing to the survival of the human race"
"gay men just want to fuck every guy they see"
"homosexuality causes hiv"
and, the obvious
"it's unnatural"

All these are easy to rebut, yes, but it doesn't stop them in their perseverance. The point is that homophobia isn't something confined to religion, and while Christians can take it from the bible in a context they would otherwise never use, they are just hiding behind their God instead of being homophobic as an extension of their faith.
People are generally that xenophobic, yes - because "if it's different and we don't understand it then it must be wrong" or something like that.
Bottom line, Religion doesn't cause homophobia - it merely tells people they don't have to justify it.

 

[Mafiaaffe]

I think most hederosexual men think its a bit disgusting when they see 2 men kissing
or think about men having sex.
But for me that is just anoher prove that the bible was written by men not
by a supreme beeing. These men as well as many men today
found it disgusting and they couldnt understand it.
The knew it is "unnatural" so they defined as a sin.
Another prove for this hypothesis is that you cannot find one verse about homosexual
women in the bible. If god wrote or dictated this book and god hates homosexuals
why he only wrote passages about homosexual men. The reason is men wrote this book
and men are rather attracted by homosexual women.

But to answer your question i think there is absolutely no reason to hate them
once understand its not their own choice but a genetical accident.

 

[Hammerstein]

Cooties.

Checkmate!

 

[Josan]

[...]
and, the obvious
"it's unnatural"

All these are easy to rebut, yes, but it doesn't stop them in their perseverance.
[...]

I hate it when people try to use that argument. Even some of my friends over the years have said things like "I accept them of course, but you have to agree, it isn't natural". And I am disgusted every time, of course it's fucking natural. When someone tries to pull that argument on me, it doesn't matter who it is, I loose a lot of respect for that person on the spot.

But to keep on the track of the topic at hand. I don't think there are any objective/rational reasons for homophobia.

 

[Dyroner]

Of course there's no logic or reason to being a homophobe. Homophobia by it's definition is an irrational and unreasoning fear or aversion to homosexuals.

 

[Aught3]

I don't think anyone's suggesting that it's an actual phobia.

 

[Dyroner]

Regardless, it is defined as irrational and illogical. The original topic was decent, but everyone is demanding that the reasons make sense when by definition they can't.

 

[Aught3]

Regardless that nobody is using the word in the way you define it?
An irrational fear is not the only way to use the -phobe suffix.
For example, in technical language such as hydrophobic or common usage such as homophobe.
If your going to take it literally then what it really means is an irrational fear of similarity. This definition is obviously not what people are talking about.

 

[Dyroner]

If you would just go look up the word you would see it is not the way I defined it, it is just the way it is defined.

 

[Aught3]

Princeton WordNet: (n) homophobe: a person who hates or fears homosexual people

http://bitbucket.icaap.org/dict.pl?alpha=H
HOMOPHOBIA
Literally an uncontrollable fear of homosexuals and of homosexuality, but the term is generally used for a negative and contemptuous attitude to same-sex sexual relationships and to those who participate in them.

Wikitionary:
Originally:
homo-, as in same or man, + -phobe
1. A person who fears sameness or men.
Recent definition:
homo-, from homosexual, + -phobe
1. A person who is opposed to homosexuals and homosexuality.

translationdirectory:
Homophobia: Any attitude, action or institutional structure which systematically treats an individual or group of individuals differently because of their sexual orientation.

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

I'll give you the OED, but in my opinion they use a narrow and unthinking definition.

 

[Finger]

I've heard of studies showing a direct correlation between strong feelings homophobia and latent homosexuality. So there could be many homophobic people who are so because they are in denial of their own homosexuality. But it also could be argued that that denial is fueled by religious/cultural pressures.

 

[WolfAU]

Havent read through the whole thread, suspect this point has already been raised but still...

any phobia is usually defined (psychologically) by being IRRATIONAL, motivated by an instinctual emotional response rather than a logical reason (this is also true of alot of philia's, an irrational like/love of or obsession with something).

As such true homophobia kinda by its nature is void of 'reasons' for it. It is more a base reasonse to them, either a dislike because you feel their sexual behaviour makes them immoral, or that they may sexually assault you (look up Homosexual or 'Gay Panic' defense), or that their presence may influence people like your friends/brothers/children into doing it.

In general though my experience is people kinda reach a crossroads in their lives, where they must choose between blind emotion or reason. Those who choose emotion usually go on to embrace a variety of different beliefs (ie fanatical religion, environmentalism etc), or embrace logic. Usually those motivated by logic see the simple truth that homosexually really isn't that big an evil, and that I fear sexually repressed gays far more than I fear out of the closet gays, whereas irrational tend to react on their base dislike of what they do (anything from 'fear what you don't understand' to generally finding the thought of gay sex disgusting, 'abomonation of nature' arguments etc).

 

[EagleEye]

Because I'd love to hear them.

Hmmmm... how about thinking that sex between two men can only be a dirty and nasty thing since it entails the use of an orifice that is used to expel the nasty waste products of our bodies?

In other words... It's frickin gross.

That said... I only pose this as a direct answer to the question and don't really see a problem with homosexual sex. Whatever floats your boat, and whatever you do in private is your business, and all that jazz...

Of course, you're also talking about being a homoPHOBE... which is basically being AFRAID of homosexuals or homosexual behavior. I think, perhaps, you meant something else but used the wrong word?

 

[WolfAU]

how about thinking that sex between two men can only be a dirty and nasty thing since it entails the use of an orifice that is used to expel the nasty waste products of our bodies?

Well for starters alot of gay men practice oral sex, mutual masturbation or other forms of non-penetrative sex as their main or only forms of sexual behaviour, so the homophobic stance of 'Gays = anal sex = gross' starts to fall apart.

Besides, one can easily say the same thing about the mouth (vomiting) or the male or female genitals (urination, menstruation etc). Plus, I'm surprised at the number of straight couples I know who have tried or regularly practice anal sex.

Though I am aware that is not your personal stance.

Of course, you're also talking about being a homoPHOBE... which is basically being AFRAID of homosexuals or homosexual behavior. I think, perhaps, you meant something else but used the wrong word?

Yeah, I agree, I think alot of the time a dislike of homosexuals or homosexuality is labelled homophobia, which is a misuse of the term.

 

[Penguin_Factory]

I have yet to ever hear a good reason for hating homosexuals, of any kind. I just can't see any intellectual justification for it.

I mean don't get my wrong- if you hate gay people that's your right. I don't agree with you at all, but it's your right. Just don't pretend you've got a good reason for it if you don't.

Hmmmm... how about thinking that sex between two men can only be a dirty and nasty thing since it entails the use of an orifice that is used to expel the nasty waste products of our bodies?

That's a perfectly valid reason not to like homosexual intercourse, but it offers no justification for having a problem with homosexuals themselves. I don't particularly like the idea of traditional sex (I'm attracted to women, but having sex with them doesn't interest me) but I don't dislike people who do it.

 

[Jotto999]

I have yet to hear of any reason to be a homophobe.

Seems to me the homophobes often use the intellectually deficient justification of "they're annoying".

First of all, who gives a shit? People in general are annoying, that is nothing special to homosexuals. So they are annoying, whoop-dee-doo, learn to ignore them. Anything a homosexual could possibly do, specifically as a result of being a homosexual, should not be a big deal to anyone. They act girly, good for them. Okay, so it isn't "normal", again who cares? Homosexuality doesn't hurt people. In fact, all the gay people I've ever met have been very polite, generous people who keep to themselves.

It's not like they are raping straight men as we walk down the street...it's not like they are destroying anything, or affecting us in any way. There is absolutely zero reason to be a homophobe.

 

[Th1sWasATriumph]

Hmmmm... how about thinking that sex between two men can only be a dirty and nasty thing since it entails the use of an orifice that is used to expel the nasty waste products of our bodies?

In other words... It's frickin gross.

It's odd how often that "reason" comes up from homophobes, but the same people seldom denounce heterosexual couples who enjoy a bit of pooperfun once in a while.

I admit a certain amount of bias towards the female arse, but the function is the same - so why don't antipoopers attack heteroanal folk?

I think we all know the answer.

 

[Sparky]

Phobias often stem from an event that occurred at an impressionable time in their lives. For example, a young child sexually assaulted by an obviously gay man could develop a phobia of gay men. A phobia is not a hate. It is a fear! I have ornithophobia or something bordering on it. I have an unreasonable fear of birds. This stems from some experiences I had a young child between the ages of 2-4. I have dealt with it to a certain degree as one could not function well if they were running for cover every time they saw a bird but they still make me nervous if they get within a certain distance of me. Also certain kinds are worse than others eg. chickens are far worse for me than say sparrows and blackbirds, perhaps as I see sparrows and blackbirds every day as opposed to very rarely visiting farms.