Why do people still not accept homosexuality today ?

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I am not a gay person but I think it shouldn't matter whether you are straight, gay, bisexual or whatever. It just annoys me that now in the early 21st century, some people still have medieval attitudes towards homosexuality and not universally accepted because some christian sects believe it is wrong, an ''abomination'' is ''sinful'' etc and there a lot of people (not a majority) in the UK who think it is wrong and there is probably a lot more in the US who feel the same. I found its not just them, lots of other religious sects see as unacceptable and in some countries in Africa and the Middle East where religion is the law its punishable by death or life in prison. Do they think the Nazis did the right thing when they murdered thousands of homosexuals in the concentration camps ? or that they think it was right that Alan Turing was chemically castrated for his homosexuality after he did amazing work during World War 2 with cracking coded messages that enabled us to defeat the Nazis and saved millions of lives. The British government under Gordon Brown apologised for his death and even the Queen pardoned him posthumously.

Last edited by chris1989 on 04 Oct 2020, 9:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

Most people who dislike homosexuality wouldn’t think the Nazis were right, nor that it was right that Alan Turing was castrated.

Nevertheless, I find absurd and stupid that homosexuals are disliked so much by many. I have friends who are gay. They are usually like most heterosexuals in most ways.

I am glad for the considerable progress homosexuals have made. I could not conceive, 30 years ago, that gay marriage exists—no less it being legal on an equal standing with heterosexual marriage in many locales.

Agreed.

I remember being a teen, my gay friends were all closeted (except within our safe peer group) because of fear. None of them wanting to get their butts kicked for it or ridiculed, whatever. Those of us who were bi mostly flew under the radar by dating the opposite sex or no one at all. I went to my first gay wedding a few years back. It was awesome to be there. We've come a long way. That was unimaginable not that long ago. Granted, we still have a way to go, but I'm happy progress is being made.

I don't get it why people get hung up on gay, straight, or something else. Why does it matter who someone does or doesn't fall in love with or who someone is or isn't attracted to. It's Makes no sense to me.

I have never really understood this, except that unfortunately there are many people who just need excuses to put down others.
Being gay (or queer, or transgender) hurts no one. Besides, sex life and love life are very intimate areas of life, so discriminating someone on basis of anything belonging on those areas of life seems like some people would want to exert control over the most intimate and private aspects of lives of complete strangers, and discriminate others based on properties that are none of their business whatsoever. It just doesn't sound quite healthy to me to be so occupied with thoughts about genitals of strangers, or what people do privately with their genitals...
The way I see it, this world does not suffer from overabundance of love, joyful sex or committed long-lasting family relationships. Quite on the contrary, in fact. So I fail to understand, how come there to be people who are willing to be hurtful to others in order to prevent them from having sex, loving and developing partnerships.
It really seems to me that those people would be far better off if they focused in improving their own lives...I can't see that anyone who is truly happy, content and loving wants to deny the same from others.

Nice to see you back, Chris.

I might have to disagree on this one. I believe that these days homosexuality has become so accepted that anyone who doesn't like homosexuality are shamed and labelled "homophobic". In other words it is politically incorrect to not accept homosexuality.

But it is homophobic to not accept it.

But homophobia is just as shamed as what homosexuality once was. It's like people aren't allowed to have their own opinions these days.

Hating someone for who they are is not an opinion. People have died from homophobia and have been oppressed because of their sexuality so this "opinion" should not be tolerated. Also gay people have been disowned and abused by family members for being gay so this is not something to be taken lightly.

Acceptance of homosexuality seems to have waxed and waned throughout history. In fact, the very concept of homosexuality as a distinct category is a more recent one.

In the West, homosexuality was famously quite accepted in ancient Greece and ancient Rome (several Roman emperors had male lovers). And in both cases, rules and taboos about sexual relations were often more defined by age and social status than by gender.

Outright homophobia also seems to be mostly associated with the Abrahamic faiths, and Christianity and Islam in particular. There is no similar equivalent in the Indian religions (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism... and even Sikhism has no explicit mention of homosexuality in its scriptures).

And in China, homosexuality was basically a "non-issue" until the arrival of Christian missionaries. An ancient Chinese euphemism for homosexuality (and to my knowledge the earliest - 3rd century BC - Chinese mention of homosexuality) is "the divided peach", which is the reference to a (semi-mythological) male lover of Duke Ling of Wei (534-492 BC).

I'm not talking about prejudice or hatred to the point of disowning a friend or a loved one just because they're gay. I just mean people who accept their gay friends or loved ones for who they are but secretly don't agree with being gay. My dad is rather homophobic but not in a horrible way. If me or my brother were gay, he wouldn't disown us or see us differently, but inwardly he'd prefer us to be hetersexual (which we are).

And because of history of gays not being accepted, people take strongly to homophobia because of the past. Just like how the N word isn't taken lightly because of how it was used to put black people down and how they were treated.

Anything with a harmful history where humans were actually harmed is not taken lightly today. So you can understand why it's not just a different opinion.

I can't tell someone "I am gonna kill you" without facing a serious consequence because we have had school shootings. So this phrase is no longer taken lightly.

I've heard quite a few reasons and I've experienced homophobia first-hand. Fortunately, the UK has made significant progress and I feel fairly safe being openly gay in this country (England) but it isn't entirely risk-free. Being open about it as an adult has been a lot easier than it was when I was teenager.

Personally, it tends to annoy me more when someone initially acts as if they're OK with it, but later reveals that they hold homophobic beliefs than if they were to simply show their disgust from the start. Especially if they try to change or guilt you into acting straight after pretending to be your friend for a while.

The usual arguments I come across are....

1) That it's too political.

I remember talking to a friend once where the subject of how long a couple had been dating came up. The couple we were talking about happened to be gay. We were on a game server and there weren't many people on it, so we were just making small talk. Someone walked in and started to complain that we were making things too political. He then went on a rant about not agreeing with homosexuality and wanted to debate us. I believe he was probably just a troll, but you do meet people like this sometimes. At first we all just ignored him and continued to play the game, but he kept walking up to us determined to have an argument. So my friend went on a long rant too dissecting the points he made and pointing out the flaws. Then he started claiming to be oppressed and how he isn't allowed to have an opinion anymore. If you go out looking for a debate, don't complain when you get one.

2) It will lead to child and animal abuse.

*Sigh*. If I really need to explain to you why abusing a child or an animal is not the same as being gay, then I question your moral code.

3) The human extinction threat.

This one is usually based in the misconception that homosexuality is a choice and / or contagious. It is neither. We're not going extinct any time soon.

4) Mistaking homosexuality for narcissism.

"But, if you're a woman, and you like women, aren't you attracted to yourself? Aren't you just a narcissist?" No. That's not how it works. If I were, I'd be interested in women that look and act exactly like me, but I am not.

5) Not my gender roles!

But women do this, men do that! Anything else threatens the very fabric of reality!

*Sigh* The world isn't going to implode because gay people exist.

6) Gay people aren't actually gay, they're just confused!

I know I've been asked why I am gay and if a man caused it. No.

"Are you annoyed at men?" No.

"Trying to make a point?" No.

Some view it as ideology that spreads and that we are convinced to be gay. Not how it works. I know people who have been disowned or fight with their homophobic family. People who are staying in the closet because they'll be cut off financially if they don't. Individuals who want to get married but are conflicted because if they do they won't be able to go back to their home country. When the person I pretended to date whilst in the closet came out, his supposed friends attacked him. I was also physically attacked as a teenager for being gay after a group overheard me come out to someone. Thankfully university has been an accepting environment. You learn to know when to walk away, and it has helped to confide in others in the community.

These days those who espouse homophobic bigotry might be labelled for doing so by some people. That doesn't mean that homophobic bigots aren't still an issue or that society is 100% accepting, it just means that the bloc that is accepting has gotten large enough that they can push back against those who are openly hostile.

No one's taking away the bigot's right to hold the opinion, others are entitled to view that person as a homophobic bigot if that's what that person espouses.

If one views homosexuality or homosexual relationships as inherently less valid than heterosexual ones that term is a fair one to apply to that person. They're still entitled to their opinion as others are entitled to theirs.

Fair point.

Homosexuality is more accepted today than in the past. Those who are against it are those who are very religious. They take everything in the Bible seriously. Despite the majority of people who accept it, there are always going to be those few who don't accept it. It is the same thing with race. Most people are not racists, but there are always going to be those few people who are racist. It's just a fact. You are never going to get rid of bigotry 100%. There are always going to be sexists, racists, and homophobes. It is not illegal to hold certain feelings towards certain groups of people. People can be bigoted all they want as long as they don't hurt anybody. It's not right in a moral sense, but it's not illegal.

Why?

And to what degree does this lack of acceptance qualify a person as 'homophobic'?

• Demanding that all homosexuals be locked up and/or deported? (Obvious)

• Demanding that all homosexuals be 'cured'? (Obvious)

• Demanding that all homosexuals be denied their rights to education, employment, and/or housing? (Obvious)

• Demanding that all homosexuals be shunned by or otherwise segregated from everyone else? (Obvious)

• Actively being involved in the beating of someone because of their homosexuality? (Obvious)

• Passively and knowingly letting someone get beaten because of their homosexuality? (Obvious)

• Knowingly being uninvolved in the homosexual rights movement? (Not so obvious)

• Knowingly being uninvolved in the life of someone who is homosexual? (Not so obvious)

• Not caring if someone is homosexual? (Not obvious at all)