[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Jords

I would just like to highlight that phobias are often irrational. Yes there can be rational arguments applied to why a gay person may not be fond of straight people - similarly a straight person may not be fond of gay people and not necessarily be homophobic. This leaves room for heterophobia.


To put an example in to context...

A gay person who feels threatened by straight women who can date straight men and displays 'hate' for straight women could be seen as heterophobic. Firstly the gay person should not feel threatened by straight women in this way because they do not have a chance with straight men anyway, plus there are other gay men to date, but also this is a very exaggerated and insecure response.

Its to do with anxiety and feeling fearful - this could be directed at straight women themselves or to the situation in which a gay men, straight women and straight men are all together and there is an opportunity for dates to arise (e.g. clubs). In the latter they dont necessarily 'hate' straight women but they show heterophobic tendencies when this sort of situation arises. Irritational.

This context also works with homophobia...

A straight man who feels threatened by gay men who aims to date men may 'display' hate for gay men and be homophobic. Again, the straight man should not feel threatened because the gay man might not try it on with him - or if he does can easily reject the offer - but once again its a very exaggerated and insecure response resulting from anxiety and feeling fearful. Furthermore they dont necessarily 'hate' gay men but they show homophobic tendencies again when this sort of situation arises. Irrational.


Obviously this context is just based on 'dating' but it extends into wider social structures. For example homophobia may be based on the disagreement and fear of what it means to have to 2 men living together as a 'family unit' - whilst heterophobia may be based on the disagreement and fear of society's insistence that 1 man and 1 woman should live together and have children as a 'family unit' and ideally be married etc. etc.


If one exists so does the other.

I wouldn't say homophobia was a 'phobia' in the true sense of the word either.
Just a made up word to describe fear and ignorance.