![]() ![]() phobia n comb form 1 : exaggerated fear of inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003) gives one definition for the noun phobia but two definitions for the suffix -phobia: Merriam-Webster on 'phobia,' '-phobia,' and 'homophobia' Discussing the word as a literal psychological diagnosis is a political statement from the opposite end.) Like if someone asked what the word "entropy" means, I don't know how I could reply without bringing physics into the conversation. (I'm sorry if this answer is "political", but it's a political word and any discussion that does not mention the politics is seriously incomplete. Classifying everyone who disagrees with you as mentally ill is a handy way to shortcut debate. They don't normally started sweating and shaking with fear because a homosexual entered the room. ![]() But most of the people classified as "homophobic" disapprove of homosexuality on moral or religious or social grounds. He might just believe that it is morally wrong and bad for your health.Īre there people who have an irrational fear of homosexuals, in the same psychological sense in which some people have an irrational fear of closed spaces (claustrophobia), or an irrational fear of cats (ailurophobia), etc? Maybe. Just like, if someone said that he believes that smoking cigarettes is morally wrong and bad for your health, he might have an irrational fear of cigarettes. He might fear or hate them, of course, but not necessarily. Of course a person could believe that homosexuality is morally wrong, or unhealthy, or bad for society, without either having an irrational fear of homosexuals or hating homosexuals. The word was invented by people trying to cast anyone who disagrees with them as having an irrational psychological disorder. fear of the same? Fear of sameness? But that's not what people use it to mean. Trying to break it down into component parts doesn't result in etymological sense. Well, the word "homophobia" is a political word invented for political purposes. (Weinberg's book, Society and the Healthy Homosexual) Thus, regardless of the accuracy of Weinberg's thesis, homophobia became shorthand for hatred of homosexuals The psychologist who coined it, George Weinberg, believed that hatred of homosexuals stemmed primarily from that literal fear. ![]() The word as coined did refer to a fear, specifically a fear of being near homosexuals or being thought homosexual. Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality ( M-W) )įear, hatred, or mistrust of lesbians and gay men.( AHD )
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