Transcript: About homophobia/biphobia/transphobia/interphobia (Reading)

Homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and interphobia, most simply said, imply negative attitudes and aversion towards LGBTIQ people. All attitudes actually have cognitive, emotional and behavioural components, so you can, at the same time, think negatively about LGBTQI+ people, for example think they are sick, or have unpleasant emotions about them, for example anger or disgust or fear, and treat them unfairly, for example resist to employ someone just because they are LGBTQI+.

That negativity towards LGBTQI+ people can go from mild dislike to hatred and even violence and it can include invisibility of LGBTQI+ community in culture, education or laws. Also, it can include violence towards them, setting some norms that only being cisgender and heterosexual is normal and desirable. There are many examples in our society of all phobias.

Homo/bi/trans/interphobia is present in everyday life and it can also be manifested in very subtle ways.Because it is very common, people often use homophobic language without even realising it.

Here are some examples of homophobia and transphobia through frequent and common statements, commented by LGBTQI+ activists.

“I accept ‘them’ (LGBTQI+ persons) but the thing is, they want some special rights.” – This is a general mindset because people are not familiar with the basics of human rights, which belong to all of us, regardless of our individual differences.  When it comes to LGBTQI+ persons, they often do not have the same opportunities as the majority. They have to fight for their rights, to talk about the problem, loudly and publicly. And that’s why it may seem that they demand some ‘special rights’ because straight people don’t talk about this, but they don’t have to because their rights are not denied.  For example, if a black person is denied health care in a hospital due to skin colour, is that person asking for some special rights? Or if a woman applies for a job and gets rejected because she has children, is she asking for some special treatment? The same is with LGBTQI+ human rights. We are talking about the right to employment, right to have a family, right to health care; these are not special rights – we are all entitled to them.

“I have no problem with ‘them’, but it is not normal for two men to have kids.”- The role of a caretaker for children isn’t inherently male or female. It depends on the person: there are good homosexual parents, there are good heterosexual parents; there are bad heterosexual parents and there are bad homosexual parents, so one’s wish for parenthood isn’t inherently tied to somebody’s sexuality, and two men can take good care of children as can two women, a man and a woman, a single man, a single woman et cetera. It depends on the will of the person – if that person wants to take care of a child – not on their sexual orientation.

“’He’ can ‘change sex’, but ‘he’ will never be a real woman.”-  There is no set of universal rules that defines us by gender; there are no ‘real’ women or ‘less real’ women; we only have social norms, but they are also changeable in terms of time we live in, or in which part of the world we live. For instance, once women were not allowed to wear pants, and today we have men wearing dresses in some parts of the world. So, if these terms are based on our tradition, is a man who cries less a man? Or is a woman who undergoes mastectomy due to breast cancer less a woman? Of course not. Then, we come to the point that this statement is just our declaration, offensive and humiliating.  Also, the term ‘sex change’ is wrong because we are not talking about changing, we are talking about transitioning or gender-affirming surgery, where there is the need to adjust sex assigned at birth with one’s gender identity. So, this term ‘sex change’ is also used by the media in portraying transgender people as a sensation, and is also outdated because it is connected to misguided medical and social concepts.

“If everyone on Earth were gay,  the world and we as a species would collapse.”- The main problem with this statement is (that it is) really ridiculous because it implies that gay people cannot reproduce. I mean, you can have a gay man and a lesbian woman having children together and they COULD repopulate the Earth. And what about heterosexual people who aren’t able to conceive? So, in a way it really doesn’t make any sense to say that if everybody were gay, the society would collapse. It really builds up on prejudices and it really doesn’t build up on anything particularly logical because, again, you can have children regardless of your sexual orientation.

Internalised homophobia/biphobia/transphobia

Since the LGBTQI+ community lives in an oppressive society, they often internalise some negative attitudes about them(selves) and start believing in them and, actually, all underprivileged groups, like women or black people, can internalise those beliefs. So, for example, we can also internalise sexism or racism. Actually, whenever someone talks for a long time about you negatively and treats you badly, you often start believing in it. Internalised homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and interphobia mean great discomfort about being who you are and actually believing that you are not as valuable as other people.

Internalised oppression among the LGBTQI+ community can mean attitudes that you don’t deserve (to have) the same human rights as other people, that you are really less worthy than others, then great contempt towards people who are open about (their) identity, great discomfort about the idea that someone will discover your real identity and, generally, talking or commenting that maybe LGBTQI+ activism or pride marches are something that is bad and harmful for the community.

Consequences

All minority groups including LGBTQI+ people experience something we call minority stress. Living in an environment full of stigma, prejudice and violence actually causes you more stress than other people experience, and that is something that we also call chronic stress. It implies that LGBTIQ people often suffer from more mental health problems than other people, including anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts or attempts, and other mental health problems. Additionally, mental health has some stigma behind it already, so if you are an LGBTQI+ person with mental health problems, it actually often means double stigma.

When we talk about internalised oppression related to mental health, it actually means feeling less worthy and, as a consequence, having lower self-esteem, which is related to mental health problems.

There are some things that can help in dealing with internalised homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and interphobia. Support is maybe the biggest factor, both support from family and friends, but also support from community and very often the moment when an LGBTQI+ person relates with other people in the community is a very big step and a very important moment in their life. What is also important is protection – legal protection of human LGBTQI+ rights, but also making them safe in relation to, for example, violence and discrimination. Public perception of LGBTQI+ community is very important and influences how much we experience negative attitudes or negative comments about LGBTIQ people. And, also, coming out is a very important step. It is stressful and it is a process which no one should be pushed in, but actually it is really related both to better mental health of the LGBTQI+ community and to dealing with internalised homophobia. So coming out is a very important step to make.