Why is homosexuality "bad" to some people?

[Person Man]

Well, I am not asking you what you believe or whether you think its bad to be gay. All I am asking is what you think the source of homophobia is.

[John Dibble]

Well, obviously people today often have religious reasons to dislike it, but if you're of the secular persuasion like myself and you believe that human religions were not divinely inspired then you have to think there's something else in human psychology that made it come about.

Perhaps it's just because homosexuality is very 'different' from what is normal. Humans tend to prefer those who are similar to themselves, and are not always tolerant of those who are different. If half of all people were gay then it would probably be considered normal and would likely be accepted as just another part of everyday life. But that isn't the case, in reality it's only something like three or four percent, so maybe some people just thought it was really weird and that meant there was something 'wrong' with homosexuals that made them something to be reviled. But at the same time there have been primitive religious cultures that were much more accepting of it, so perhaps the above in conjunction with a sexually prudish culture would make it be considered unacceptable to the degree that those who practice it are hated.

[Person Man]

Gee... I wonder what that Oklahoma City commissioner would say...

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Usually the hate comes first (or the indoctorination) then the religion, especially in a religious market place like any major (or even medium sized) western city.

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Wasn't always that way though. And o/c as we all know homosexuality was illegal until recently.

The existence of Homosexuals simply doesn't fit into many human narratives - not just Christian or religious, but also social functionalist, darwinism, most forms of "enlightened" (pre-ww2) individualism actualy. Then there is always the doubt over one's sexual identity. Freud thought paranoia was a result of repressed homosexuality btw.

[Flying Dog]

I find stereotypical gays to be quiet annoying, too. Plus, they're a turn-off for me.

[HardRCafé]

When Elton John retires, this issue will go away.

[nclib]

A combination of what some believe the Bible says, and a repulsion against any behavior that doesn't fit social norms.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I find stereotypical gays to be quiet annoying, too. Plus, they're a turn-off for me.

aka flamers...

Nothing makes me grit my teeth together and tense up quite like flamboyant lispy sing-song tone of a flaming gay male.  uuuujucchh... it just makes me cringe thinking about it.

Then again, really masculine females bother me as well.

[Хahar 🤔]

Option 3.

[Person Man]

Option 3.

Can't disagree with that.

Usually the hate comes first (or the indoctorination) then the religion, especially in a religious market place like any major (or even medium sized) western city.

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Wasn't always that way though. And o/c as we all know homosexuality was illegal until recently.

The existence of Homosexuals simply doesn't fit into many human narratives - not just Christian or religious, but also social functionalist, darwinism, most forms of "enlightened" (pre-ww2) individualism actualy. Then there is always the doubt over one's sexual identity. Freud thought paranoia was a result of repressed homosexuality btw.

That is kind of odd. Then again, many secular human narratives have their origins in what we today would call fundamentalist christianity. One could even argue that modern secular liberalism does as well.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Because it's abnormal, strange and different. People do not like things that are abnormal, strange and different (see also public attitudes to immigrants). Other things feed into this, of course (such as the historical association of homosexuality with pederasty) but aren't as important. Going beyond that to ask, for instance, why homosexuality is abnormal, strange and different to most human societies (beyond the obvious reasons, obviously) is a little pointless. All you get is countless absurd psychobabblish theories that are all utterly worthless.

[afleitch]

Going beyond that to ask, for instance, why homosexuality is abnormal, strange and different to most human societies (beyond the obvious reasons, obviously) is a little pointless.

It is quite an interesting onion to peel though particularly when you look at non western human society and ancient human society (and to touch a raw nerve for some - society before it encountered those three desert religions)

Even when you do, you find more questions than answers. Roman 'abandon' did not end abruptly, Christian emperors funded gay brothels and employed gay soldiers and a liberal 'who cares' attitude lasted well into the Middle Ages (they were almost ridiculously obsessed with sex)  around the seats of learning and boomed again during the Renaissance. It can even lead to the conclusion that on the whole, Western society has been broadly tolerant.

Until the industrial revolution. Then we became obsessed with convention and conformity (just like the things we produced) and began establishing what many now think of as older social concepts, such as the 'mum, dad and kids' idea of the family amongst the new middle classes which in many parts of society was an alien concept even until the Second War and then promptly collapsed again 30 years later.

I promise not to rant about the 'nuclear family' again

[DownWithTheLeft]

I don't hate gays, I hate people that act over-the-top gay.  It's like, dude, we get it, YOU'RE GAY, please stop

[dead0man]

It's a religious thing (and to a lesser extent the "ick" factor).

[tik 🪀✨]

I don't hate gays, I hate people that act over-the-top gay.  It's like, dude, we get it, YOU'RE GAY, please stop

I agree, as long as it is truly an act. I hate people that act at all. There are plenty of gay (and straight, for that matter) people who simply are that way, but there are plenty more who make leaps and bounds just to fit the stereotype, which ironically fuels the intolerance.

Anyway, to answer the original question, I think that at heart people are afraid of what they don't understand. Religion gives people a "reason" to continue feeling this way. But deep down, it's fear. Fear fuels mankind's worst.

But back in the day, stigmas against homosexuality probably had roots in how it produced no children. You need to keep the generations and families and countries and races going - homosexuality is a hindrance to this, and therefore discouraged.

[JSojourner]

Well, I am not asking you what you believe or whether you think its bad to be gay. All I am asking is what you think the source of homophobia is.

They say it's God's will and have convinced themselves they truly believe it.  But it's number one, actually. 

Look, I am very open and take a live and let live approach to people and their sexuality.  But the thought of two dudes french kissing makes me nauseous.  Is that homophobia?  No way.  It's heterosexuality.  And it's probably how a lot of gay men view the thought of a man and a woman french kissing.

Of course, if it's two hot women french kissing...all bets are off.  That's just a thing of beauty.

[Torie]

It's the plumbing thing, no doubt in my mind, that fuels the phobe.

[afleitch]

It's the plumbing thing, no doubt in my mind, that fuels the phobe.

Yet many people 'plumb' (yes, that way) their own wife.

[War on Want]

This one is super easy, it is all because of religion, cultural taboos and,I suspect, a slight amount of natural instinct among straight people to think it is abnormal to be LGBT.

[Torie]

It's the plumbing thing, no doubt in my mind, that fuels the phobe.

Yet many people 'plumb' (yes, that way) their own wife.

True, but well, I stand by what I wrote. No one claimed the human mind is seamlessly logical.

[Sensei]

In my family, it's the "ew" factor more than anything.

[Flying Dog]

In my family, it's the "ew" factor more than anything.

Same here. Unfamiliarity fuels dislike, sometimes hatred.

As for me, as I've said before, I just hate the stereotypes and its follower.


I appreciate the good (in both) and what both sexes have to offer....well to me.

[JSojourner]

It's the plumbing thing, no doubt in my mind, that fuels the phobe.

Yet many people 'plumb' (yes, that way) their own wife.

True, but well, I stand by what I wrote. No one claimed the human mind is seamlessly logical.

You're both right.

It's a simple double-standard.  Sodomy is perfectly acceptible to 95% of anti-Gay people, as long as it's committed with one's spouse. 

[afleitch]

It's the plumbing thing, no doubt in my mind, that fuels the phobe.

Yet many people 'plumb' (yes, that way) their own wife.

True, but well, I stand by what I wrote. No one claimed the human mind is seamlessly logical.

You're both right.

It's a simple double-standard.  Sodomy is perfectly acceptible to 95% of anti-Gay people, as long as it's committed with one's spouse. 

Its also very much the 'new' thing to try to have the wife/girlfriend find the guy's prostate. Very few people will admit it, but you often get the missus let it slip.

[J. J.]

Well, I am not asking you what you believe or whether you think its bad to be gay. All I am asking is what you think the source of homophobia is.

They say it's God's will and have convinced themselves they truly believe it.  But it's number one, actually. 

I disagree.  It's because it is not average.  (Not being average does not make it wrong.)

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Okay, I agree on that point.