Homophobia

This ignorance has given an increase to hate crimes against homosexuals. In 1991, only 8.9 percent of all hate crimes were against homosexuals. In 1995, it increased to 12.8 percent.

In a survey of 2 074 gay and lesbian people in 1983, showed just how much homosexuals were actually discriminated against. One in every five lesbians and one out of two gay men began to be harassed, threatened, and assaulted starting in either junior high or high school. Some even had it at home.

Fifteen percent of les/bi/gay people said they have been spit at. One of ten lesbians and one of five gay males said that they have been physically assaulted. Two out of five lesbians and three out of every ten gay men admitted to being sexually harassed or assaulted. Fifteen percent of lesbians and one out of every five gay men said that they had their property vandalized or been a victim of arson. Three of every five lesbians and two of every five gay men said that they were either chased or followed. One of five lesbians and three of ten gay men said that they have had things thrown at them. One of twenty lesbians and one out of every ten gay men have even been attacked with weapons.

On top of that, discrimination against gays is legal in the U.S. Homosexuals can be denied housing, employment, equal pay, public accommodations, and marriage.

In a survey that ran from 1976 to 1981, 850 companies in the United States were questioned on employers and sexual orientation. Sixty percent of gay employees said that they have had problems, forty-three percent were harassed, twenty-five percent were fired, and thirty three percent had a difficult time finding another job.

In a 1988 survey of 191 employers in Anchorage, Alaska, twenty-seven percent said they would not hire a homosexual, and ten percent admitted that they would fire one.

Another survey of 1989-1991 salaries stated that a gay male's income ran eleven to twenty-seven percent lower and a lesbian's twelve to thirty percent lower when compared to the incomes of their heterosexual counterparts.

Homosexuals are also denied the advantages of marriage. These advantages include heath insurance, tax benefits, and visitation in a hospital. All are given to heterosexual couples. A partner also has no right to funeral arrangements or to assume ownership of property (even when jointly owned).

Obviously, the worst form of hate crime is murder. On October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die in Laramie, Wyoming. He died on October 12, 1998, at 12:53 AM.

However, this is not the only instance in which someone was brutally murdered on account of being les/bi/gay.

Below is a list of American men and women murdered in anti-gay hate crimes between 1992 and 1994. It was taken from OUT magazine.

Many people who are homophobic make many ignorant stereotypes: Poor parenting causes a person to be les/bi/gay, les/bi/gay people lack morals and religious views, les/bi/gay people are perverted, gays try to recruit others, les/bi/gay people are most likely to get AIDS, les/bi/gay people are more likely to commit sex crimes etc.

Too many people out there assume they know what causes a person to be gay. Some people say it is because of childhood rape, poor parenting, lack of religious views, or a bad experience with the opposite sex. Some say it is a mental or emotional disorder, and some even say it is a choice. These, however, are nothing more than false assumptions. One person could grow up being rapped, be raised by bad parents, have no religious views whatsoever, and grow up to be heterosexual. Another person could grow up with a perfect childhood (without being rapped, grow up in an upper-middle class family, and go to church every week) and end up being gay/les/bi. Sexuality is not caused by experiences with the opposite sex either. One person could have many horrible experiences with the opposite sex and still end up being heterosexual just like another person could have no bad experiences and turn out to homosexual. Sexuality also has no connection with mental or emotional health. Scientists have been doing many tests to prove this. Why would any person in the right state of mind want to choose to be a controversial person in the society of today? Homosexuals do not choose their sexuality just as a heterosexual person does not choose theirs. In 1983, Doctor Lee Ellis and Doctor Ashley Ames did a three-year study on the causes of homosexuality. They concluded that sexual orientation is determined between the second and fifth months of pregnancy, and it is neither learned nor can it be changed.

Many people think that gay/les/bi people have no morals. However, sexual orientation cannot determine the amount of morals one has. Les/bi/gay people come from a variety of religious backgrounds and beliefs. Many hetero people lack morals just like there are les/bi/gay people without morals. A person's sexual orientation has absolutely nothing to do with morality.

Some people also assume that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are perverted and obsessed with sex. Many les/bi/gay people wish to stay with a single partner in a monogamous relationship, wish to get married, and raise a family (i.e. Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher) like many hetero people do. However, there are some gay/les/bi people do not settle down and have many lovers, but many heterosexual people also do this.

Homosexuals cannot recruit anyone. Just as you cannot make a gay person heterosexual, you cannot make a heterosexual gay. Scientists believe (with the information they have) that a person's sexuality is determined before or shortly after birth. So, if someone is les/bi/gay, it was meant to be.

Many people also assume that the homosexual male is the most likely to get AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) through sex. However, seventy percent of all people that have AIDS received it through heterosexual sex. Sharing needles and male homosexual sex take up about the next twenty-five percent of the AIDS population. Lesbians are the least likely to get AIDS through sex and take up only five percent of the people with AIDS.

Another common misconception about les/bi/gay people is that they are more likely to commit sex crimes. What they do not know it that the heterosexual male is the most likely to commit a sex crime. The acts are usually not about the sex, but about the power that they obtain behind it. Lesbians are the least likely to commit a sex crime.

People also assume that all gay men are non-athletic, sissy, and feminine. This is not always true. There have been many gay men to play professional sports and work at "macho" jobs. Dave Kopay played in the NFL for ten years with the Packers, Greg Louganis has won gold medals at the Olympics (although some people don't really consider diving a real "man sport"), Joe Steffan was a high ranked naval officer, Bob Jackson is a former Mr. Universe, and there are many gay police officers. There is no such thing as "Sissy-Boy Syndrome." Sure, some gay men are very effeminate. However, not all effeminate guys are gay, and not all "macho" guys are hetero. You cannot judge a person like that.

Many people also assume that lesbians hate men, all female athletes are lesbians, and all lesbians are macho. This is not always true either. Just because lesbians do not have sex with men, that does not necessarily mean that they hate men. Also, a woman's athletic inclination has no link to her sexuality and not all lesbians are necessarily macho. There are many hetero women that are very athletic, and there are many non-athletic lesbians. Not all lesbians listen to Melissa Etheridge, chop their hair short, and watch endless repeats of Ellen on Lifetime. My mom listens to Melissa Etheridge and thinks Ellen is hilarious, but she's not a lesbian! These are just ignorant stereotypes.

Heterosexism is basically the belief that heterosexuality is superior to bisexuality and homosexuality. For example, when you pick up a magazine and it gives women advice how to talk to and meet Mr. Right (or men advice on how to treat a woman). Although that magazine is assuming that everyone is hetero, not everyone is. Some women are in search of Ms. Right, and some men are in search of Mr. Right.

In 1992, Simon Levay studied human cadavers. If this study, he found out that homosexual men had a slightly smaller hypothalamus than heterosexual men. A heterosexual female's hypothalamus is smaller than a heterosexual male's.

Another study also shows that gay men have less testosterone than they do XY hormones. Lesbians tended to have more testosterone than they had XX hormones. Homosexuals also tended to have different blood chemistry, brain cells, aging, and sleep patterns.

There is much new evidence that points to a biological cause of homosexuality. Many people, however, fear the finding of a biological cause. Some people think that it may be able to be found before birth, causing parents to either kill their unborn babies or to inject it with hormones to "fix" it.

Gay/bi/les teens receive a lot of abuse, especially during high school. Of all the anti-gay violence, most of it is at school. Their peers in high school physically or verbally abuse forty-five percent of homosexual boys and twenty percent of lesbians. Young men are the most common to commit anti-gay violence, and only twelve percent of males between the ages of fifteen and nineteen said that they could befriend a homosexual.

Because of this abuse and discrimination, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered teens are five times more likely to miss school out of fear. Twenty-eight percent drop. These children are also more likely to abuse drugs (including alcohol), suffer from depression, and run away.

Of all the victims, 80 percent do not report the violence because they fear being "outed." It does not help much when 85 percent of teachers oppose les/bi/gay themes in their curricula. Forty-two percent of all homeless youth say that they are les/bi/gay. Most likely, they either ran away from the problems that may have developed with coming out to their parents, or they were kicked out.