I deeply dislike the insinuation that any hate crime perpuated

[La Lioness Priyanka]

against gay people is done because of internalized homophobia.


When people of color are targeted no one assumes internalized color


To me its like saying "well you gay people are just hurting each other. straight people have nothing to do with it."

Internalized homophobia is a problem that in my observation often leads to self destruction and very rarely the destruction of others

Just my thoughts

[xchrom]

1. you have hit a sore spot with me.

i agree -- but here{du} it's a useless cause.

we like to make gay people even worse -- by attributing the evil acts of straights for to a hidden gay person within.

bullshit.

straight people can keep their evil deeds -- gay folk have enough of our own.

thank you.

[applegrove]

2. Can we say it is mis-guided testosterone? Cause that does alot of

bad in the world. Just look at Rummy.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. sure we can.

its just not always one of ours who is doing the hurting. thats all.

[Orrex]

3. Excellent, excellent observation

I deeply dislike the insinuation that any hate crime perpuated against gay people is done because of internalized homophobia.

If I'm reading you correctly, you mean "homophobia" in the now-less-often-used sense that "one fears oneself to be homosexual" rather than the more diluted "fear of homosexuals." Am I correct?

Either way, not only does that popular off-hand diagnosis trivialize the brutality of the associated crime, it's far too pat an answer for what is really a fundamental flaw in our society. To attribute it to some kind of "latent gayness" is to make a joke of the crime and, frankly, its victim, who becomes merely a tool of the attacker's denial (or catharsis).

[La Lioness Priyanka]

11. i mean internalized homophobia

as "hating being gay"

and thanks

[TallahasseeGrannie]

5. Boy, have you ever opened my eyes

and I see what you mean. Like only homosexuals are flawed enough to hurt each other... heteros are too "normal."

Never, ever, thought of it that way.

Sexuality is a mystery wrapped in a paradox to me.

[I Have A Dream]

7. I never really thought of it that way either. Interesting! n/t

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. welcome. i have been annoyed with this for years now.

[UncleSepp]

6. That's a really, really good point

I never thought of it that way before - but I will now. Thank you.

[guruoo]

8. Ditto that...

First time I've heard this angle.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. welcome.

[leftstreet]

12. Does a culture that forces gays to "hide" contribute to the problem?

Interesting thread.

Women and persons of color are easily identifiable. Has the "closeting" of gays contributed to the prejudice?

[xchrom]

15. no -- the point is that if a straight person

commits an act of hate against gay folk -- violent or other wise -- does not mean that said gay person is doing so because of internalized hate against the hidden gay person within.

they're not at all closeted.

they're just straight people with their ''hate agenda'' on.

it doesn't matter if we{gay folk} are closeted or not.

[leftstreet]

20. I didn't mean a "hidden gay person within"

I meant when we try to shield ourselves from people, by encouraging them to hide themselves, the "hidden" people are more likely to strike fear in others. The hate-filled person triggering more easily by fear.

But I agree with you. Bix Box McChurches are full of fundy nutjobs swaying and praying that God will eradicate their "enemies." That's just hate, plain and simple.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. the way men are socialized in society is the main problem

the way men are "trained" to react to fear by violence is why we have these crimes.

its not a crime of gay people against gay people.

its generally a crime of straight men against homosexuals.

and "straight male culture" should be re-examined not internalized homophobia


(again clearly i am NOT talking of all straight men...just the concept of masculinity and the way masculinity is enforced in society)

[leftstreet]

21. Couldn't agree more

Well said.

[w13rd0]

13. If this is in reference to that thing...

...that went bonko in a gay bar, yes, I know what you mean. No, I don't think that "man" was gay, just evil, brutal and stupid. There are plenty of people in the world that aren't "homophobic" so much as they are "homo-hating". They don't fear, they hate and want to kill. If it weren't gays they wanted to kill, it'd be minorites or puppies.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

18. exactly homophobia actually makes it sound less violent than it is

its more like "homohatred"

[Rowdyboy]

14. Simply put, not all homophobes are repressed homosexuals.....

Many are just nasty-ass, hate-filled straight people.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. exactly.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

22. I agree

and I think, therefore, "homophobe" is a misnomer. I think that homophobes are fearful of gay people, and I can't imagine why unless they are fearful they might become like them, or perhaps their children might become like them.

So maybe ignorant bigot is a better phrase, reserving homophobes for the real article.

[Smarmie Doofus]

19. It's a variant of the "blame the victim" impulse;

in this case... more like "blame the marginalized group".

Don't heterosexuals ever do *anything* wrong?

[gator_in_Ontario]

23. Thank you

for giving words to something I have felt, and not been able to express properly. You should be a writer (if you are not already).
"Internalized color" made me think of : "I was born a poor Black child." (Steve Martin)
Great post, and something to think about!
Another thought: why do we jump on internalized homophobia so quickly? It is like a knee-jerk reaction.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

24. thanks.

we go the internalized homophobia route because its easier. and most people are intellectually lazy.