Homophobia 101

By Broadside Opinion Contributor Daniel Pino

Everybody’s in a hooplah about Westboro Baptist Church's protest at Mason this upcoming Monday. As a gay student and LGBT activist, I’ve had my own struggles with it and I'm debating if I will even attend the protest.

But in all this conversation about how messed up Fred Phelps is and how bad Shirley Phelps’ witchy stringlike hair looks, I think to myself—what is homophobia? And could it actually have some positive roots?

Here’s what I came up with:
1. Homophobia is the hatred of the ‘L&G’ on the spectrum of LGBT. It says nothing of the specific torments and discriminatory actions facing bisexuals, transgender individuals or heterosexuals (biphobia, transphobia and heterophobia, respectively).

To say the least, I worry that lumping the entirety of the LGBT community into one specific term gives a. both privilege to lesbians and gays in the discussion of LGBT discrimination and b. doesn't address the concerns facing the entirety of our community. For purposes of this article—however—I’m going to use homophobia as a holistic term.

2. Homophobia is not the sole issue facing the LGBT community.
Racism, classism, sexism, xenophobia, and hell, even sizism runs rampant among members of the LGBT community. How much talk do we actively hear of the issues facing non-white LGBT individuals? How often do we judge people solely by what designer they wear? Think of a time where we thought to ourselves that for all our love of “girl power” we don’t bring women to the table when talking about issues facing our community.

Don’t get me wrong, for every question I pose I am struck by the irony and privilege that I, as a white educated gay man, have in the LGBT community.

I've done and said some things that are not keeping with what I am speaking about —God knows I’ve said, “tranny mess,” quite a lot. This is a struggle and internal issue that our own LGBT preachers and politicians need to consider when they so blatantly throw around victimologist language.

3. Homophobia is nothing to be afraid of—it is the fear of LGBT people. If Harvey Milk, Sylvia Rivera and Kate Bornstein all decided to shrivel up in fear about the angry protesters where the hell would we be today? I argue that homophobia is an opportunity to organize, to self reflect, to educate and to take pride in self-recognition of who we are as individuals and as a community.

4. Homophobia has its perks. No doubt some of you just did a double take or spat our your extra foam lattes your papers.

But now, before you get your knickers in a twist, let me remind you that I am not a fan of homophobia—I’ve had my fair share of slurs thrown my way. I’ve been called, “fag-this” and “fag- that” and every other defaming comment from strangers and family.

Trust me—homophobia sucks.

However, when I hear the rather, badly informed individuals and groups preaching this rhetoric against LGBT individuals I find it quite lovely. For a couple different reasons:

A. They started a dialogue —we get to finish it. When Westboro Baptist Church traipse its rather homely group to my campus and preaching hellfire and brimstone because we have a rather fantastic week of diversity education I think to myself: Thank you.

Thank you for coming to my campus and thereby encouraging people to do the following: counter protest, raise money for PRIDE, get us front page access on local newspapers, and open our classrooms up to meaningful and educational discussion on my campus. My friends had no idea who WBC is, I get to talk to them about it, I get to help educate them and they get to see first hand what homophobic rhetoric—in its most vile form—is.

B. They turn me into the biggest flamer ever—to the point that I have such an activist fire in me I could explode like a gay pride firecracker.

I may or may not attend the protest, but my policy work and my zeal for LGBT activism through policy work, community organizing and educational development is so on fire because these people showed up.

5. Homophobia isn’t a product of ignorance or an uneducated mind: it’s the product of fear and miseducation.

This, like racism, is learned. It is not innate to who we are as people.

It is not inherent or biologically determined. Homophobia is developed and cultivated both at home and in other environments.

Experiences can create homophobic feelings.

So, my fellow LGBT activists —please stop and think before you call WBC people, “ignorant Christians.”

While I cannot judge the status of their Christianity the same way they cannot judge my sexuality, what I can say is that they are the product of deep-seated fear of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people.

They do not need to be screamed at. They need to be met with compassion and thought. They need to be—reeducated—for them homophobia and protesting is a drug in which they are addicted to the attention, the hatred and the sense of cultural dominance. Treat them like it.

6. Homophobia doesn't define my Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Pagan, Agnostic, Athiest or any other religious/non-religious friend of mine.

I know some amazing people who have accepted and loved me for who I am—they demonstrate their beliefs through their actions. WBC is the perversion of beliefs which esteem and bring hope to hundreds of people. Don’t let WBC define those people or their beliefs the same way you would not allow WBC to define who LGBT people are.

7. Homophobia makes me feel lucky. I live in a country where homophobic remarks can be screamed at from the highest mountain and the lowest valley.

I also live in a country in which I can stand on the same damn mountain and the same damn valley telling my boyfriend that I love him.

I don’t have to like or agree with whats being said, but I do have to honor the ability for those people (no matter how disgusting I think they personally are) to express themselves freely.

Does it irritate me? Hell yes. But does it make me proud to be gay and express myself anyway I choose when the members of WBC aren’t around?

You better believe it.