Examples of How Homophobia Hurts Everyone:

• Homophobia discourages emotional closeness and intimate relationships among same-sex friends, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Homophobia supports stereotypes, giving us all a distorted and inaccurate view of reality.
• Homophobia can condition heterosexual people to treat others badly and commit actions contrary to their basic humanity.
• Homophobia has been used to divert attention away from more pressing and serious societal concerns, and diverts energy away from the search for solutions to those concerned.
• Homophobia pushes heterosexual males to constantly “prove” their masculinity and thus their heterosexuality.
• Homophobia pressures young people to become sexually active with members of the “opposite” sex/gender to “prove” they are “normal”. This premature sexual activity can result in emotional damage, as well as increasing the chances of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
• Homophobia can be used to restrict education about sexuality and sexual behavior resulting in incomplete sexual education. Such lack of information has been shown to contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS and the increase in teen pregnancy.
• Homophobia results in prejudice and discrimination, creating a culture in which people who are members of the LGBTQ community live with fear of being rejected by family or friends, losing their jobs, or being physically assaulted.
• Homophobia causes people who are members of the LGBTQ community to struggle to achieve self-acceptance and maintain self-esteem.
• Homophobia can be used to stigmatize, silence, and target people who are perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender but who are in reality heterosexual.
• Homophobia reinforces rigid gender roles and limits the range of
• acceptable behavior by both men and women.
• Homophobia has led to an increase in “bullying” in our school system from elementary school to high school and even to college.