HDF110 Quiz 4 Study Guide
Ch 9
Beliefs about the LGBTQ+ Community
● For many of us, beliefs come from family, friends, and people we know who identify as
LGBTQ
● ***Don’t forget that each of us has been influenced by IDEOLOGICAL power: power of
media/other institutions that spread ideas
● Still many individuals who disagree with the LGBTQ movement for equality:
○ Many cite “religion” as reason; reference Bible to believe that their religion
forbids homosexuality
○ EX- Many translations of bible use word ‘sodomy’ when referring to same-sex
acts, but many scholars show this to be gross misinterpretation
■ word sodomy derived from name of infamous Biblical town of Sodom
that God ultimately destroyed for its sins
■ Scholars believe that sins committed in Sodom were not referring to
homosexuality, but referencing sin of being uncharitable/abusive to
strangers-- in those days, person’s survival might depend upon charity
of strangers
○ Only a brief look at 1 of references used from Bible by homophobics--
■ many interpretations of ALL of verses cited by these people (as
explained in Pharr’s Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism)
■ Message to be taken from this-- consider context info that’s written and
what was happening historically & culturally at that time of writing
Why there is an Emphasis on Sin in Sexuality:
● Word ‘homosexual’ didn’t appear in bible until 1946
● 7 or 8 bible verses used to argue homosexuality is a sin; all of these verses are debated
by religious scholars and none come from Jesus
○ HOWEVER-- literally hundreds of bible verses, many from Jesus himself, ab
social justice & wealth distribution (not taking more than our share, helping
those in need, etc.)
○ Many people believe it is to take focus off of ourselves, and focus on what
OTHERS are doing wrong
Suggestions to Ending Homophobia (Pharr)
● Work towards equality rather than tolerance
● Explicitly talk about lesbians
○ Don’t assume when talking about women’s rights that lesbians are
automatically included because they’re not
○ Openly talking about lesbians takes some of power away from threat of being
called lesbian
● Focus on homophobic person (why is he/she prejudice) rather than being on defensive
● Be openly supportive of gays-- work to make difference versus supporting status quo
(by not speaking out)
● Don’t assume heterosexual identity of others (EX- don’t ask people if they’re married)
Weekly Review
● After reviewing the provided infographic on HRC’s platform, there is one that stands out
in reference to the largest impact on equality for those who identify as LGBTQ.
○ To be specific, the claim being discussed here is the fact that that nineteen
states, alongside Washington D.C., explicitly prohibit discrimination for housing
based on the buyer’s sexual orientation and gender identity.
○ Essentially, this means that there is still a large percent of home buyers within
the LGBTQ community who remain worried about housing discrimination.
○ The reason this holds the most significance in relation to equality is very
simple-- if people of this community cannot even buy or rent a home because of
who they love and how they view themselves, this in itself has exactly no
relevance to one’s sexual orientation.
○ With that in mind, it seems hard to believe they are going to find equality in other
areas of life where orientation (both sexual and gender) is somewhat relevant--
such as social contexts and/or the comfort of going out in public without being
judged.
● Institutional homophobia can be mainly identified as heterosexism.
○ In other words, this occurs when businesses, churches, organizations, and the
discriminate against others based on their sexual orientation.
○ Contrasting with this, interpersonal homophobia is described as the context
when discrimination of another is based on one’s personal homophobia
○ An example of this could be name-calling others and/or both verbal and
physical harassment.