Homophobia & Heterosexism

Anti-Semitism and Heterosexism: Common Constructs of Oppession

All oppressions have common roots. Born out of misinformation and directed toward the "other," the goal of any oppression is the unjust, destructive, and unequal distribution of power to the advantage of one group over another. And although there is no specific hierarchy of oppressions, the context in which they manifest themselves - history, economics, or politics - makes some types of oppressions more closely related than others.

The Developmental Experience of Gay/Lesbian Youth

I propose that everyone in our society is homophobic. In addition, it is my strong belief that gay and lesbian individuals, prior to coming out, are among the most homophobic people in our society. Most of us do not think of ourselves as homophobic, however, and many people will disagree with this concept of universal homophobia, especially as applied to them.

Position Statement on Homophobia

As an organization striving to be affirmative of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgendered, queer, and intersexed persons, NOMAS understands homophobia to be the individual and psychological response to those who do not conform to the expectations of binary heterosexual expression. “Homophobia,” as an irrational fear and loathing, is to be distinguished from heterosexism, which is the presumption of heterosexuality as the normative state, and identifies L/G/B/T/Q/I persons as deviating from the norm.

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