Study: Homophobes May Be Hidden Homosexuals

[PoliticalTiger]

Homophobes should consider a little self-reflection, suggests a new study finding those individuals who are most hostile toward gays and hold strong anti-gay views may themselves have same-sex desires, albeit undercover ones.

.....

"This study shows that if you are feeling that kind of visceral reaction to an out-group, ask yourself, 'Why?'" co-author Richard Ryan, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, said in a statement. "Those intense emotions should serve as a call to self-reflection."

The research, published in the April 2012 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, reveals the nuances of prejudices like homophobia, which can ultimately have dire consequences.

"Sometimes people are threatened by gays and lesbians because they are fearing their own impulses, in a sense they 'doth protest too much,'" Ryan told LiveScience. "In addition, it appears that sometimes those who would oppress others have been oppressed themselves, and we can have some compassion for them too, they may be unaccepting of others because they cannot be accepting of themselves."

http://www.livescience.com/19563-homopho...xuals.html

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PERSONAL NOTE: I used to be homophobic, until I was able to accept the fact that I was indeed gay. Many gay men and women will tell you the same thing. We hate what we fear, and in this society that demonizes gay people and tells us we are perverts and that we are all going to hell, it's hard to accept one's true sexuality, so as a defense mechanism, we lash out at those who are living their lives free and open while afraid to do so ourselves.

My only regret is that it took me so long to "come out." Acceptance is freedom. Why hate yourself and others when you can love who you are? While portions of society may hate me, I now realize it's not my problem, it's their problem and they are the ones who need to be pitied.

[SeattleGirl]

I have long suspected this, PT, especially about the people who react violently -- in word and/or deed -- to gays and lesbians.

[PoliticalTiger]

(04-09-2012 10:27 PM)SeattleGirl Wrote:  I have long suspected this, PT, especially about the people who react violently -- in word and/or deed -- to gays and lesbians.

It's interesting. Since this study was published today it got me thinking, it's been almost 20 years to the day that I came out to myself. Before then, although I was always attracted to men, I used denial to protect myself, and denial is a powerful thing.

Before I accepted I was gay, I was never vehemently homophobic, I mean I didn't go around picking on gays, but I joined in with my straight friends calling gays "faggot" and all that. But there was this one guy I worked with who was out, and he was so gay he couldn't hide it even if he tried, and I was rather mean to him, and looking back, it was because I was threatened by him, and probably jealous. Here he was free while I was trapped in denial!

I'm very even tempered and easy going by nature, which is probably why i wasn't an asshole, but I remember another friend I worked with who was very homophobic and outspoken about it. Years later, I ran into him in a bar, a straight bar, where I was with another coworker who was female. We just stopped in for drinks after work. I saw him sitting at another table and recognized him so I decided to go say hello. Turns out he was with his boyfriend and he was not happy to see me, because he thought since I was with a woman she was my girlfriend and I guess he figured 'oh shit, I've been busted!' LOL Anyway, he was a prime example of what they talk about in that study.

But it's one thing to be homophobic and in denial and another to be homophobic while being gay on the side, and by that I mean the homophobic anti-gay Republican and religious right hypocrites who wail against the imagined "gay lifestyle" while hiring males escorts or having wide stances in airport bathrooms!

[SeattleGirl]

(04-10-2012 12:46 AM)PoliticalTiger Wrote:  

(04-09-2012 10:27 PM)SeattleGirl Wrote:  I have long suspected this, PT, especially about the people who react violently -- in word and/or deed -- to gays and lesbians.

It's interesting. Since this study was published today it got me thinking, it's been almost 20 years to the day that I came out to myself. Before then, although I was always attracted to men, I used denial to protect myself, and denial is a powerful thing.

Before I accepted I was gay, I was never vehemently homophobic, I mean I didn't go around picking on gays, but I joined in with my straight friends calling gays "faggot" and all that. But there was this one guy I worked with who was out, and he was so gay he couldn't hide it even if he tried, and I was rather mean to him, and looking back, it was because I was threatened by him, and probably jealous. Here he was free while I was trapped in denial!

I'm very even tempered and easy going by nature, which is probably why i wasn't an asshole, but I remember another friend I worked with who was very homophobic and outspoken about it. Years later, I ran into him in a bar, a straight bar, where I was with another coworker who was female. We just stopped in for drinks after work. I saw him sitting at another table and recognized him so I decided to go say hello. Turns out he was with his boyfriend and he was not happy to see me, because he thought since I was with a woman she was my girlfriend and I guess he figured 'oh shit, I've been busted!' LOL Anyway, he was a prime example of what they talk about in that study.

But it's one thing to be homophobic and in denial and another to be homophobic while being gay on the side, and by that I mean the homophobic anti-gay Republican and religious right hypocrites who wail against the imagined "gay lifestyle" while hiring males escorts or having wide stances in airport bathrooms!

Exactly, PT! I hate that hypocritical shit. I'm not saying you were hypocritical; I don't think you were. As you said, it took you quite some time to come to terms with your own self. The hypocrites I'm thinking of are those that you mention -- the ones hiring male escorts and having wide stances in airport bathrooms. It's one thing to be a person who has to work (and struggle) to come to terms with who one is; it's another to pontificate in the way the righties do, knowingly putting people down for doing what they themselves are doing.

[jaxx]

I think it's very interesting that this has come out...finally. Thanks PT for sharing your story. I remember my sister telling me she knew she was gay in the 7th grade when she shaved her legs....and had to wear long pants for the next 10 years so our folks wouldn't know. How they denied it for 30 some years is another mystery, but they did. We knew and just accepted it and when she had the courage to finally become the woman that she had always been inside it was a crying moment....for happiness for her. My other sister and I went and bought her a fancy birth certificate that said.....It's a Girl.

She was treated badly by so many people, but she is still hanging in there with therapy and love.

[There Is No Spoon]

This is something I've believed for a long time, though it's not something one can discuss with those who are in the "feel threatened" category. I think your personal anecdote about this brings the point home much more succinctly than "just another study" - glad you shared it with us. I find people are even threatened by semi-intellectual people like me who, while I might act like a neanderthal while watching a football game, alternately will discuss issues that cause said neanderthals to become highly uncomfortable. I do risk having one flip out, which does happen from time to time. I try not to laugh too hard while simultaneously avoiding getting hit.

[OptimistesMaddie]

31 and I think about all of those years I dated people I was never going to love or fall in love with. I was doing the what was normal to fit it.

I can say I am much happier today than ever, I have been in my relationship for 18 years and we are doing great.

I hope others find peace in their lives and accept who they are.

[Peadar O Suileabhain]

The attorney general's office has confirmed that Greenland Police Chief Mike Maloney was killed this evening.