By Joshua D. Copeland
Staff Writer
Homophobia is not a real disease.
At least not according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition
(DSM-5), where the term is nowhere listed. Yet many homosexuals today face discrimination, which is
what many consider the definition of “homophobia.”
But when the term is broken down, the Latin root “homo” means “man” or “human being” while
“phobe” or “phobia” means “fear of.” Thus, to be homophobic is to fear humans…not homosexuality.
And the rejection of homosexual behavior is incorrectly interpreted as hatred towards gay people.
However, a movie like “Get Hard” featuring iconic comedians Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell hits the
theaters, and millionaire James King (Ferrell) seems very “homophobic,” indeed.
The recent film has received tons of negative backlash. Of the film’s many offenses, including
negative portrayals of racial and homosexual stereotypes, King’s biggest fear is being raped in prison.
And while the fear of man may not necessarily be real, the fear of rape is very real.
From a straight man’s perspective, masculinity is definitive. Society is guilty of associating masculinity
with power. Therefore, emasculation, by any sense, is threatening to men, especially from rape. To be
raped is to be stripped of your power and violated beyond any means of control. Being raped is a fear
that both men and women share. The thought of being sexually overpowered by a man more masculine
is unnerving to straight men especially.
Women are (and rightfully so) the focal point of victimization in what many are calling today’s rape
culture. But speaking of rape culture, we rarely hear anything about the rampant rapes in prison, which
in many cases occur much more often.
In prison, young men are hyper-violently raped repeatedly by their inmates for the establishment of
dominance. There is no protection from their attackers, and no police to really report to. There is
usually no sympathy for inmates who endure these traumatic experiences. Instead we’re taught to
believe that inmates are deserving of torture, so we laugh and make jokes about men being raped.
Something that we wouldn’t dare do in the case of women victims.
Despite the debate of whether or not a person is born gay, Dr. Umar Johnson reports that 95% of his
patients who were homosexual experienced sexual abuse in their earlier lives. Meanwhile, most male
rape victims have to deal with rape trauma and anxiety without support, and many risk engaging in
homosexuality due to sexual confusion.
Will Ferrell in “Get Hard” may be a satire on thin ice, but think about it: As a masculine man, how do
you admit that kind of fear openly? How does masculinity admit any kind of fear openly? Is it possible
that the fear of rape is the core of homophobia? Are gay men are just scapegoats to distract from the
real fear – of being sexually violated by another man?
Matt Weaver • May 23, 2016 at 8:56 pm
I heard about this article the other day from one my business associates. I have never been so moved in my life by a piece of literature. The writer knows exactly how to convey and articulate what he is thinking and feeling. Mr. Copeland, if you ever need a job at a newspaper, there will always be an opening for you at the Koala.
Ryan Downs • Mar 11, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Hey, so a few things.
A) Homophobia means bigotry toward homosexuals. Look it up. We’re all very impressed you know what the latin and greek definitions of the prefix “homo” and the suffix “phobia” mean, but I would think a college student should understand that English words have different definitions from their root latin words.
“Tiger shark” is a genus of shark, and yet, despite having the word “tiger” in it’s name, is not classified as a mammal or kept in zoos to perform in what would almost certainly be Siegfried and Roy’s most disappointing stage show.
Sure, the latin definition of “homophobia” does mean something different, but, as I found out when my attempt to vote in a state election by wearing a toga and putting rocks in a pot was rebuffed, we do not live in Rome and we do not speak latin. We use the English definition of words, even when the definitions might make us uncomfortable. I am made uncomfortable by the word “moist”, yet I do not insist on people using a different definition when they use the word to refer to my hygienic state. Instead, I make efforts to improve my hygiene, as you should perhaps make efforts to improve your understanding of homosexuals.
B) In all seriousness, I can’t even accuse the writer of homophobia, because I’m really not sure where he’s going with this. To accuse the article of pushing a homophobic agenda would be to accuse the article of having a coherent point. You go back and forth between consternation over the public reaction to a mediocre Kevin Hart movie (otherwise known as “a Kevin Hart movie”), to odd attempts to defend the incredibly offensive and nonsensical notion that homosexuality is a byproduct of sexual abuse, to equating discomfort of homosexuality with discomfort with prison rape. Really, this needed more time with an editor. Unless the Opinion editor was swamped this week (as is wont to happen to editors, trust me) in which case I know for a fact that the Chronicle office has at least one very lovely paper shredder this should have made contact with.
Bruno • Jul 2, 2022 at 4:16 pm
i am a transgender man. i was sexually abused when i was 7 by my foster brother and at 16 at a highschool party. i developed a certain type of homophobia after transitioning. but my fear is not gay people. i was once a lesbian, and i feared being raped. now i am a man and i still fear being raped. but i know the type of person who would rape me now is somebody attracted to men. so if they are bigger and stronger than me and are gay and flirting with me it freaks me out. any man acting not straight with me scares me, but i love gay men. i watch so much gay and lgbtq content, i love everybody. but i have a fear built from trauma of RAPE. and sadly now as a man the only people i feel unsafe around are people that could be attracted to me. where as when i was a female i felt no fear of gay men. i had gay friends in highschool. i knew they wouldnt like ME. i am part of the community and i love our community. but i for example would LOVE to heal from this. i want to move and and fix this. and in looking online this is the ONLY thing i could find that validated my feelings without being descriminitory or praising the feeling. Its UNDERSTANDING the feeling without judgement. i dont want to feel this way but i do. i feel terrible about it constantly. But if my feelings are made to seem evil, then it will be harder to heal. I understand your reaction and i admittedly did not read all of it, i get the gist, you dont like it, but please understand if you havent lived through certain things, there are things you wouldnt understand, and not everyone who isnt as deconstructed as you is not there because he doesnt want to be. We arent all starting from the same place, if youve never been sexually assaulted, i really dont expect you to understand the very real fear of it that stays with you forever. There is nothing like it, and no matter how much you dont want to fear people, and you know its illogical, all fear is illogical and its very hard to get rid of it. but im trying , i would love to learn more, read articles, what doctors have to say about this, but everything on the internet is just youre bad youre bad youre bad, when my fear is based in trauma not in any desire what so ever to hate anyone or make anyone feel bad ever.
Joshua D. Copeland • Jun 27, 2015 at 11:55 pm
LOL Now I’m homophobic? Cute.
I hate to burst your bubble, but I have nothing against gays, nor am I afraid of them (or anyone for that matter). This article was to provoke intellectual dialogue as to where homophobia comes from and why it exists. I myself didn’t associate homosexuality with rape culture in prison alone. The movie “GET HARD” did.
Is rape the real reason for gay prejudice? Probably not. Does the fear of rape play a big chunk? Who knows? Can people talk about this prejudice without referencing the Bible? Are we really scared of gays and why? Lets TALK about it. Not get all caught up in our emotions and insult eachother with judgements (you know, a “judgement-free zone” kinda like what your community preaches).
Oh and another thing. “Homo” is the Latin root word for MAN which derives from the GREEK root meaning SAME. Phobia has nothing to do with hate and strictly means fear. Therefore “Homophobia” means either “fear of the same,” or “fear of man.” It ultimately means “fear of humans,” but it does not mean “fear of the same sex.” That makes no sense. Sorry.
P.S. Michael O’Mara – Your love poem has a lot of grammatical errors. 🙂
Shannon • May 13, 2015 at 4:57 pm
You are a horrible writer. How did you even get a the position of “staff writer”? Please read more, do some more research to back up your “facts”, and open your damn mind.
Sincerely,
S.
Michael OMarah • May 12, 2015 at 3:17 pm
There is a lot wrong with this essay. First, people are born gay, and to start off a conversation that contains “despite the debate of whether or not a person is born gay” is supporting that view, especially when you link it to a psychologist? medical doctor? doctor of philosophy? Also, it is homophobic in and of itself. Plus, let us say that this is a psychologist…HE DEALS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE ISSUES. His specialty is probably in helping people overcome sexual abuse as children, so it makes sense that his clients would have suffered some form of sexual abuse as children.
Homophobia is prejudice, just like racial prejudice, just like sexist prejudice, it is based on ignorance and fear. Not ignorance and fear of being raped, just ignorance and fear. So, I ask you, are you straight (I am assuming here) because you weren’t sexually abused as a child or raped in jail (or a rapist)?
Homophobia’s roots are as convoluted and ingrained as any prejudice facing any other group. Like with so many other groups, the bible is used to create homophobia. People are homophobic for any number of reasons, not just because someone fears being raped. If that were a true fear, don’t you think that there would be fewer crimes committed?
Also, rape is an act of dominance and aggression. Period. To connect the rapes that occur in prison to the queer community is a horrific act on your part (and again, take a look at your own homophobia).
Last thing…”homo” means “same,” like homogenized milk…”hetero” means “different, like heterogenous. Homophobia is fear of the same sex.