Brief definition and history of the term “homophobia”

Text published on the website of the Lambda Éducation association (Switzerland), freely translated by Luca Canetti

Homophobia is a feeling of fear and aversion that some feel towards homosexuality and homosexual people. This feeling can be found in anyone, whether heterosexual or homosexual, and it conveys prejudices that are harmful first and foremost to homosexual, lesbian and bisexual people, but also to their families and friends.

Its origins must be traced back to Judeo-Christian history and to complex cultural, sociological and psychological phenomena and it is worth underlining that it is present in society at different levels, in the hearts and spirit of many people, in current vocabulary, in books as well as in institutions. .

Intimately linked to the problem of sexism (male domination) and to some stereotyped definitions of masculinity and femininity, homophobia generates discrimination (exclusion, verbal or even physical violence) towards homosexual people and those close to them, it generates feelings of discomfort precisely when the topic of homosexuality is raised and forces gays, lesbians and bisexuals to hide their emotional orientation.

Homophobia is a source of social marginalization, depression, even suicide attempts, particularly among adolescents who discover their homosexuality in a society that favors neither the development nor the acceptance of their sexual orientation.

It seems that the term «homophobia» was first used in the United States in 1971, but it was only in the 1990s that this term appeared in French-language dictionaries. For the Nouveau Petit Robert, a homophobe is someone who feels aversion towards homosexuals and towards Petit Larousse homophobia is the rejection of homosexuality, the systematic hostility towards homosexuals (1998).

Original text: Homophobia in 6 tables: Some definitions