The Gay/Trans Panic Defense: What It is, and How to End It

Contents:

• YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF THE RED SRE, BUT THE LSER-KNOWN, ANTI-GAY 'LAVENR SRE' IS RARELY TGHT SCHOOLS
• HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?
• I'M AAID THAT I'M GAY
• GEE WEBERG DI AT 87; COED ‘HOMOPHOBIA’ AFTER SEEG FEAR OF GAYS
• THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE: WHAT IT IS, AND HOW TO END IT

YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF THE RED SRE, BUT THE LSER-KNOWN, ANTI-GAY 'LAVENR SRE' IS RARELY TGHT SCHOOLS

homophobia, culturally produced fear of or prejudice agast homosexuals that sometim manifts self legal rtrictns or, extreme s, bullyg or even vlence agast homosexuals (sometim lled “gay bashg”). The term homophobia was ed the late 1960s and was ed promently by Gee Weberg, an Amerin clil psychologist, his book Society and the Healthy Homosexual (1972).

Although the suffix phobia generally signat an irratnal fear, the se of homophobia the word stead refers to an attudal disposn rangg om d dislike to abhorrence of people who are sexually or romantilly attracted to dividuals of the same sex.

As dtrializatn brought migratn om ral to urban areas, the greater nsy of people ci permted same-sex attracted dividuals to anize (ially unr the cloak of anonymy), which ultimately led to greater visibily and the scientific study of homosexualy. In 1905 Sigmund Frd popularized the erroneo notn that homosexualy was the product of a child’s upbrgg, wrg, “The prence of both parents plays an important part.

HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?

The unual athetic appearance that Wil reprented, alongsi his penchant for athetic art and bety, helped formulate homosexual spicn for men who shared Wil’s feme flair. The power of homophobia is such that homosexual dividuals often feel culturally pelled to misreprent their sexualy (somethg known as beg “ the closet”) orr to avoid social stigma.

For men, petive team sports, vlence, rs, beer, and an emotnls disposn have been associated wh masculy (and th heterosexualy), while an appreciatn of the arts, fe food, dividual sports, and emotnal exprsnism has been associated wh homosexualy. In such a culture, is believed that anyone might be gay, and, as a rult, heterosexuals’ social, sexual, and personal behavurs are limed bee men fear associatn wh femy and women fear associatn wh masculy. Conversely, when cultural homophobia is so great that cizens do not generally believe that homosexualy is even possible (as many ntemporary Middle Eastern, Ain, and Asian cultur), there is no need to prove to one’s peers that one is not gay.

Men n, for example, hold hands many highly homophobic cultur (bee others do not perceive they n be homosexual), while hand holdg among men rais homosexual spicn the Wt. Known as the “Lavenr Sre, ” the policy was based on the unfound fear that gay men and lbians “posed a threat to natnal secury bee they were vulnerable to blackmail and were nsired to have weak moral characters, ” says historian David K.

I'M AAID THAT I'M GAY

Joseph McCarthy’s fear-mongerg “Red Sre” mpaign the early 1950s, which targeted alleged subversive munists workg the feral ernment, thoands of ernment employe were forced out of their jobs as a rult of the anti-gay policy. The polil and moral fears about alleged subversiv beme tertwed wh a backlash agast homosexualy, as gay and lbian culture had grown visibily the post-war years.

The Lavenr Sre tied the notns together, nflatg gay people wh munists and allegg they uld not be tsted wh ernment secrets and labellg them as secury risks, even though there was no evince to prove this. Johnson timat that somewhere between 5, 000 and 10, 000 people lost their jobs as a rult of the Lavenr Sre, although is difficult to know the te number of people affected, as the policy acted as a terrent to any gay man or lbian woman who would have been prospective ndidat for ernment jobs.

Acrdg to a 1983 oral history terview wh drag kg Rty Brown, who served the Navy, the fear went even beyond Washgton, permeatg the entertament dtry Hollywood and the bars and nightclubs New York Cy, as people were aaid they would be fired if their employers found out they were gay. And although 1975 the Civil Service Commissn announced new l that meant gay people uld no longer be barred or fired om feral employment bee of their sexualy, discrimatn ntued other agenci where employe had secury clearance, like the NSA, where Shoemaker worked. Wh the civil rights activist’s help, Shoemaker beme the first gay employee at the NSA to keep their job and their secury clearance after such an vtigatn, unr the ndn that he told his fay he was gay.

GEE WEBERG DI AT 87; COED ‘HOMOPHOBIA’ AFTER SEEG FEAR OF GAYS

And although Pete Buttigieg was recently announced as print-elect Joe Bin’s pick for Transportatn Secretary, which would make him the first openly gay Cabet member, discrimatn agast members of the LGBTQ muny is still prent current U. In orr to have doubts about one’s sexual inty, a sufferer need not ever have had a homo- or heterosexual experience, or any type of sexual experience at all. ” Some people’s doubts are further plited by havg such experienc as hearg other people talkg or lookg their directn and thkg that the people mt be analyzg their behavr or appearance and talkg about them – discsg how they mt be gay (or straight).

THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE: WHAT IT IS, AND HOW TO END IT

Let’s face , gay people have always been an opprsed mory wh our culture, and to sudnly thk of beg this posn, and to be stigmatized this way, n be ighteng. I have sometim wonred if those who experience the most distrs om such thoughts as the do so bee they were raised wh more strongly homophobic or anti-gay attus to beg wh, or if is simply bee one’s sexualy n be such a basic doubt.