info

„Faggot“ is still a very common swearword at school. Not always do the persons using it know whether the person they’re talking to really is gay. Because you just can’t see it. Already small differences to the norm of how boys have to behave can be enough to be called like this. The „faggot“ is someone, who’s just not like the rest.

To think in heteronormative structures is part or even the origin of homophobia. Boys have to be very boyish and girls very girlish. To this rule belongs that a boy has to fall in love with a girl and vice versa. But to this also belongs that a boy prefers to play football than with dolls, likes cars and doesn’t care about his looking. If one or all the three points do not fit, then the boy is different, says the norm and the bigmouth at school. So the boy differing has to be gay. And if he’s not? And if he is?

Heteronormativity expects a certain behaviour from certain persons – and confines not only homo- and bisexuals, but also heterosexuals. So if in the example above it turns out that the boy really is gay – is he going to tell it? If already the suggestion he might be gay brings him into troubles – what happens if he starts talking about it openly? In contrary to other minorities the sexual orientation can be kept secret. As also the homophobia can be, by the way. You’re invisible. Every time you meet a new person.

The typical, visible gay man hardly exists besides television. Lesbians almost don’t exist at all – not even in media. But about five to ten percent of all human beings are homosexual. That makes four million in Germany, for instance. Two million in Poland. And it’s an absurd thought that all of them are hairdressers, fashion designers and artists – all of them obviously gay, since lesbians don’t exist. So maybe people should consider that the woman at the bar, with long nails and a lot of make-up prefers to be asked for her girlfriend and not boyfriend.

Homophobia can also be compared to heterosexism. Because you can’t just talk about a dislike or fear towards homosexuals/homosexuality – you have to say that people attacking gays, lesbians and bisexuals are people, who see homosexuals/homosexuality as „abnormal“. Homophobe persons often feel disturbed or ensured in their own sexuality by homosexuals/homosexuality. It’s important to understand that homophobia is such a high problem as racism – a problem that’s often personal, but affects society and often really also is a society problem. And it has to be treated like this.

Here’s an explanation of the specialised staff:

Homophobia is an ideology, an opinion or the aware knowing by an individual, a group or the society that give expression to a strong negative view to homosexuality or to homo- and bisexual people. Is often connected to Transphobia.

Taken from: BRYT! from RFSL Ungdom, 2005