lpetrich

Some people may be genuinely grossed ought by the thought of same-sex sex, and I would not want to disturb such people.

But some opponents of homosexuality seem to think that the legitimacy of heterosexuality is at stake -- that homosexuality being legitimate somehow implies that heterosexuality must be illegitimate.

That's a rather odd-looking opinion, but that seems to be a subtext of those who call homosexuality "anti-family".

dshimel

People with a religious based foundation for reality see homosexuality as violating God's laws for moral behavior.

Beyond that, there are all kinds of social taboos and even biological factors involved. In many animals, the dominate male will dry hump other males as a way of showing them "who is boss". I think many men think of male-male sex in the Dominant/Submissive context. They would not want another man to dominate them, and thus male-male sex violates the general rule of good behavior.

Female-homosexual behavior seems less effected by this negative steriotype of "bad behavior". Men want a woman that enjoys sex. If a woman is with a woman, clearly she enjoys it....

For many, however, there is this Victorian Era hangup that "proper women" do not enjoy sex. Women that do are not proper.

Then again, many men don't like the idea of gay women, just because that is one less woman they can scroe with... Bi-women, oh yeah.... Gay, no, that is not good.

In short, I don't think it is a homosexual-heterosexual war. It is natural vs. unnatural. It is thinking of it as "How could any guy allow that?" instead of thinking of it as two guys sharing an experience? It is a wide range of emotional and subconscious reactions.

Ever see the movie "Chasing Amy"? GREAT MOVIE. The guy gets all hung up on the idea of his girlfriend hainvg allowed two guys to be with her at the same time. "How could you let them use you like that?" Her response was that it wasin't the two of them using her, it was her using the two of them. Male-male homosexuality has this same "who is using whom", stigma to overcome.

Let's face it, homosexual rape is about the only type of rape that men have to fear. Unfortunatly, male homosexuality in general has to deal with being the victim of that fear.

hinduwoman

I think there are two reasons for it:

i) it lessens the population, and therefore the resources of the tribe.
ii) I think Western Christian cultures are more obsessed with masculinity. Every man has to be a warrior, and manly behaviour includes sex with females, a separate species, and not with one's warrior brothers.

In the east homosexuals are lokked down upon, but not considered to be such a threat or abomination.
I think the image of the macho man has a lot to do with it.

capnkirk

NT Christian prohibitions against same sex sex derive from OT Jewish prohibitions. The OT Jews were always such a small group that increasing their numbers was an enduring priority. Therefore, ANY sex which did not serve to increase the population was prohibited. The prohibition was reinforced by attaching a stigma to it. Other forms of non-procreational sexual release like masturbation (spilling thy seed upon the ground) were similarly prohibited and stigmatized.

As you well know, once a thing, thought, or prohibition has been ordained and accepted, the ordination lives on long after the rationale that spawned it has been forgotten. By the time the NT was written, the wrongness had long since been transfered from population needs to the expressed stigmata.

Arvel Joffi

I think a lot of the negative attitude stems from most peoples' inability to view things objectively. If you say to a man that sex with men is okay, he is usually repulsed by his own reaction to the idea and is only capable of judging it in reference to himself. He pictures another man's naked body, another man's penis, and another man performing sexual acts with him, and he is incapable of handling it.

I had a coworker a few years ago who told me that he thought homosexuality was wrong, but that he was aroused by lesbianism. I told him it was because he was putting himself in the womens' place, he was being subjective. He liked touching women, so he extended it: who wouldn't like touching a woman? If two beasts are arousing, how wonderful must four breasts be? However, he despised the idea of touching a man; how could anyone want to do that?

He couldn't separate the event from his own experience, real or imagined. After a couple hours of discussion, he told me he realized that it wasn't fair to judge other peoples' desires by his own personal tastes. He had learned to think objectively about homosexuality.

And we both agreed to agree that lesbian sex is hot!

vixstile

I get violently grossed out at the thought of having sex with a really old person. Creepy! I imagine that is how certain men feel about gay sex. Although i'm not gay, i'm not really grossed out at the thought of gay sex.

And then there is homophobia

Rusting Car Bumper

I think it might be deeper than that.

I think it might come from more primitive impulses about mating. That is, anti-homosexuality may be some manifestation of something primitive related to the protection of the ability of the species to have offspring.

Yes, this is just a hypothesis and I accept it as such.

DC

Janaya

I don't think that a threat to hetero beliefs is valid unless the survival of the species is at stake. Considering the population I don't think that it is a problem.

Let us consider, for a moment, an overpopulated society. I would gladly undtertake my cousins education if I myself had not produced any children.

From an evolutionary standpoint, I can certainly understand the benefit of anyone who does not actively participate in propogating the species when the environment does not allow for such propogation. I can certainly accept the role of homosexuality to be important in such instances. Successful offspring, whether my own or closely related, is the only thing that matters. At least as far as propagating goes.

From what I understand, homosexuality has really only affected around 10% of the population. I would consider this more or less essential in preparing the other 90% for successful propogation. This goes back to family and nurture and social standing IMO.

I think that those that most vehemently protest homosexuality are those battling the urge to do so. Which in turn goes back to culture.

I think the question essentially goes back to "who's on top?", an issue of domination.

Peace,
Janaya

Fr.Andrew

(Fr Andrew): Is your question about the rationale behind homophobia, or about what may lead some straight people to believe that the existence of homosexuality is a threat to the existence of heterosexuality?
If it's the latter, I've heard it often and wondered myself--and have made it a point to ask the opinions of people whom I've heard express that belief. None have been able to articulate just what the threat is.
If your question is "Why is there homophobia?", the answers are ancient and complex.
It won't do to assign it to a universal fear among humans that the tribe will be reduced, because some tribes, particularly in North America, valued the homosexuals among them as assets.
I think our particular cultural homophobia is a direct result of a misunderstanding of the Biblical myth of Sodom and Gomorrah, fueled by the more ancient and misguided stereotype of the homosexual as effeminate and unable or unwilling to defend the state like a "real' man.

Rusting Car Bumper

What exactly are "hetero beliefs"??

DC