The word "homophobia" has recently become a frequently used term, which is now even more often used by politicians than by representatives of sexual minorities themselves.
Definition of homophobia
Translated from the Greek "homo" means "similar, the same", and "phobos" - "fear, fear". Homophobia refers to negative reactions to homosexuality and its manifestations. The term was first used in 1972 by psychiatrist George Weinberg in his book Society and the Healthy Homosexual. Today, the term is also present in international official documents of the European Parliament.
Weinberg himself originally defined homophobia as a fear of contact with homosexuals and homosexuals' aversion to themselves. The definition was expanded in 1982 by Ricketts and Hudson to denote the emotions of disgust, anxiety, discomfort, anger, fear that heterosexuals may experience towards gays and lesbians.
Interestingly, until 1972, homophobia in psychiatry meant fear of monotony and monotony, as well as fear or aversion to the male sex.
Quite often you can hear quite a fair comment that the word "homophobia" is not quite right, since "phobia" implies fear. So, a person with agoraphobia is afraid of open spaces, and with acrophobia - heights. People are usually not afraid of homosexuals, but they may not sympathize with them or be against the spread of such a phenomenon in society.
Actual problems
Homosexuals who are respectable citizens certainly deserve respect and acceptance on an equal basis with representatives of the traditional orientation. Their discrimination, insults and aggression against them is unacceptable.
But recently there has been a tendency, rather on the part of a number of politicians, to impose the promotion of homosexuality on society, and there are even rumors that some scientists have recognized homophobia as a mental illness. But it is common for people to have different opinions on different issues, and it is rather strange to label them as people with a mental disorder just because they have different opinions about different sexual orientations.
Aggressive and persistent propaganda often backfires, increasing homophobia, as traditional people perceive this as imposing homosexuality on them. They are afraid that soon they themselves may become a so-called minority, and already they will have to defend their right to heterosexuality.
The problem of balance between the needs and rights of representatives of traditional and non-traditional orientations is still relevant and can be solved when humanity reaches a high level of awareness.
Also, against the background of a systematic decline in the birth rate in the countries that are now called "civilized", there is a danger for them in the competition with other countries, whose population is more numerous. In this regard, the consequences of promoting same-sex relationships can also have negative consequences.