Search
Press "Enter" to search and "ESC" to close.
Inicio » English » Pride » How to spot internalized homophobia

How to spot internalized homophobia

Suscríbete a Nuestro Boletín
Recibe por email las noticias más destacadas
  • Understanding what internalized homophobia is.
  • 5 things that could indicate that you suffer from internalized homophobia.
  • Why it’s important to fight it.

Internalized homophobia happens when people are subjected to negative attitudes and prejudices towards homosexuality and begin to accept them. This acceptance and belief can originate from discrimination, harassment and the social and cultural pressure that LGBTQIA+ people have experienced at different stages of their lives. Although, heterosexuals can also experience internalized homophobia, it’s especially destructive when a member of the LGBTQIA+ community turns those negative feelings inward, leading to shame and self-hatred.

This can manifest itself in different ways, including fear of coming out of the closet, denial of one’s own sexual orientation or gender identity, discrimination towards other members of the LGBTQIA+ community or the internalization of stereotypes and negative prejudices about the LGBTQIA+ community. In all cases, these attitudes have a negative impact on a person’s mental and emotional health, as well as their ability to form meaningful and satisfying relationships.

5. What is internalized homophobia?

internalized homophobia
Shutterstock

One way to detect internalized homophobia is to spend time reflecting on your own attitudes and determining if, at some point in your life, you have had feelings of shame or rejection caused by another person’s sexual orientation or by your own.

People can experience feelings of rejection if they don’t think they’re fulfilling the role associated with an accepted gender identity or sexual orientation. For this reason, in some cases, people may try to adapt to what is expected of them for fear of experiencing their sexuality freely and being rejected by their family or community.

4. Feeling ashamed when dealing with heteronormative environments

lgbt flag
Shutterstock

Internalized homophobia does not only affect heterosexual people, it is also frequently found among members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially those who have grown up in environments where there is a rejection of any attitude that is different from the expectations that society has placed on men and women.

Several scientific investigations carried out with homosexual men have shown that a large percentage of these prefer to adopt attitudes that are considered masculine, either for fear of rejection by society or because they believe that their own identity could be seen as negative.

3. Making negative comments about homosexuality

internalized homophobia
Shutterstock

If you’ve ever made jokes about someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity (or even your own), you could be suffering from internalized homophobia, which creates added stress for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Negative comments towards homosexual people, especially if these are based on criticism of their attitudes, behavior, speech, or how they look are also considered part of internalized homophobia.

2. Feeling ashamed of one’s own sexual orientation

lgbt
Shutterstock

Sticking to heterosexual culture could be a defense mechanism to avoid the rejection that both heterosexual people and those who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community can come to feel regarding homosexuality. This can be harmful to one’s mental health.

One of the main risks of internalized homophobia, at least in LGBTQIA+ people, is the inability to come out, either with themselves or with their circle of trust. Fear of rejection and discrimination are two of the factors that most influence people to avoid accepting their own sexuality or gender identity.

1. Defending oppression of the LGBTQIA+ community

lgbt oppression
Shutterstock

Currently, in most of the Western world there is openness towards the LGBTQIA+ community, and activist groups are always fighting to generate inclusive laws for this community, despite the challenges presented by religious, social or political groups that are against legislation in favor of LGBTQIA+ people.

Defending oppression by hate groups or justifying their actions is also a way of manifesting internalized homophobia.

Etiquetas:
Related post
Regresar al Inicio