Sunday, June 3, 2012

The Harmful Affects of Homophobia



Yesterday, I was perusing through Buddy Bear's blog, One Step at a Time (which if you've never checked it out, you should), and came across his post, "10 Ways Homophobia Hurts Straight People.". I found this list he posted from the British Columbia Federation of Teachers to be very interesting.  I would love to hear my readers opinions on this list.

      • Ten ways homophobia affects straight people
  1. Homophobia forces all people to act "macho" if male or act "feminine" if female. This limits our individuality and expression.
  2. Homophobia puts pressure on straight people to act aggressively and angrily towards LGBTQ people.
  3. Homophobia makes it hard to be close friends with someone of the same sex.
  4. Homophobia often strains family and community relationships.
  5. Homophobia causes youth to become sexually active before they're ready in order to prove they are "normal." This contributes to an increase in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
  6. Homophobia prevents vital information on sex and sexuality to be taught in schools. Without this information youth are putting themselves at greater risk for HIV, and other STDs.
  7. Homophobia can be used to hurt a straight person if they "appear to be gay."
  8. Homophobia makes it hard for straight people and LGBTQ people to be friends.
  9. Homophobia makes it hard to put an end to AIDS.
  10. Homophobia makes it hard to appreciate true diversity, and the unique traits that are the mainstream population.
So, what do you guys think?

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