Homophobia within a Single Equality Framework

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Homophobia within a Single Equality Framework
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Outline

• What is oppression?
• What is privilege?
• What is homophobia?
• Where does it come from?
• What are its effects?
• Homosexuals
• Heterosexuals

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What is Oppression?

• Victimisation
• Power imbalance
• Bullying
• Lack of Rights
• Discrimination
• Less eligibility
• Disempowerment
• Low self worth
• Lack of respect
• Alienation
• Being kept down
• Feeling of isolation
• Internalised oppression

• Being made to feel worthless and inferior
• Social control disguised as being 'for the good
  of society'
• Restrictions/barriers to freedom of behaviour,
  speech
• Can be overt and covert attitudes and behaviour
  that stops others from being themselves
• Brow-beaten into another's way of living
• Abuse/misuse of power
• Not being allowed to own views
• Effect of socialisation

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What is Privilege?

• PRIVILEGE The rights, advantages and immunities
  enjoyed by a small usually powerful group or
  class, especially to the disadvantage of others.
  

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Unearned Privilege

• Privileges or advantages one gets just because
  one belongs to a valued group in society, not
  because of individual efforts which earned
  them, but simply because of involuntary
  membership in a privileged group
• Being born with a silver spoon in your mouth
• Example left-handed people

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Table ExerciseHeterosexual Privilege

• Heterosexual privilege questionnaire in pack
• Read through individually
• Discuss your responses with colleagues on table

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Who is Oppressed? Privileged?

• Lower Class
• Women
• BME Groups
• Disabled Groups
• Old People
• Young People
• Some religious groups
• LGBTs

• Poor
• Learning Difficulties
• Size
• Travellers
• Mental Health
• Drug users
• HIV People
• Unemployed

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Pair Exercise

• External Internal frameworks in pack
• Identify which oppressed and privileged groups
  belong to
• Share an example of oppression and an example of
  privilege you have experience
• 2.5 minutes each

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What is homophobia?
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Putting it another way

• Similar definitions for racism, sexism,
  disablism, ageism, classism.
• Two sides to coin oppression/privilege
• Works in similar way against all oppressed groups
  (although there are some important differences)

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Where does homophobia come from?
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Creation Perpetuation of Homophobia

• Similar lists for all oppressed groups
• We are not born with these ideas
• Apart from language, what are the six main
  institutions that create and perpetuate
  homophobia (sexism, racism, disablism, etc)

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RELIGION Its a Sin

• Anglicanism homosexual genital acts fall short
  of the ideal (gay priests)
• Catholicism homosexuality is an aberrant
  deviation (pope)
• Judaism Late Lord Jakobovits abortion of
  foetus if homosexual
• Islam Late Dr Siddique elimination of gays
  gays assassinated in some countries

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Medicine Its a Sickness

• Homosexuality classed as sickness in Britain
  until 1993 put into mental institutions
• Causes arrested development, a phase, immature,
  parents fault too distant, too close
• We can help you change electro shock lobotomy
  Christian therapy
• Recent research combination including genetic
  environmental with a genetic predisposition
• Little acknowledgement of effects on mental
  wellbeing lack of services

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LAW Significant Changes

• Until recently
• Age of Consent illegal for gay men under 18/21
  (lesbians invisible) until 2001
• Section 28 no promotion of homosexuality
  repealed 2003
• Employment (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
• Civil partnership 2005
• Goods Services 2007
• Criminal Justice Immigration 2008 (incitement
  to hatred based on sexual orientation)
• Still hierarchy of oppression even with Single
  Equality Bill Duty to challenge homophobia
• Allows religious homophobia

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MEDIA Its Entertainment

• Used to be invisible or negative images
  perverts, pansies, predatory still stereotypes
• Sensationalise lipstick lesbians (or
  pornography), camp gay men
• Allow homophobes to spread hatred ignorance in
  the interest of balance
• Powerful editors

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EDUCATION Its Invisible

• No/few visible role models
• Homophobic bullying goes unchallenged
• Few books, little information
• Limited content in curricula
• Creating homophobes
• Powerful head teachers

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FAMILY Its Heterosexual

• Brought up to be heterosexual
• Brought up with parents (often negative) views
• Parents usually ignorant of effects of homophobia
  on child
• Some disown or dont want to know
• Initially often preoccupied with their own
  responses to be able to support child

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What are the effects on LGBT Youth?

• Isolation from family, friends, society, peers
• Pressure to conform, family rejection,
  homelessness
• School Isolation, bullying, truancy, drop-out,
  poor exam results
• Verbal, physical, mental harassment

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Internalising Stigmatised Identity

• Like all minority groups, LGBT young people
  internalise negative messages
• Some minority groups have the support and
  understanding of their families and friends to
  challenge internalised messages
• Others might not, for example, Black and Minority
  Ethnic Adoptees, as video extract from Adult
  Adoptees shows.

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What are the effects on heterosexuals?
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PSYCHOLOGICAL

• Do not internalise stigmatised (inferior/bad)
  sexual identity internalise superior/good
  sexual identity resulting in higher self esteem
  (but classism, racism, disableism, sexism)
• Not dealing with demons of homophobia during
  adolescence, not question who am I? in relation
  to sexual orientation get on withbeing
  straight - developing social skills,
  relationship skills, communication skills, get on
  with education/exams
• Affects attitudes and behaviour

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ATTITUDES

• 1983 50 of adults surveyed believed sexual
  relationships between people of same-sex always
  wrong
• 1985 59 (AIDS)
• 1989 58
• 1992
• 41 between two men
• 37 between two women
• 23 between stable gay/lesbian couple

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Mori Poll (2001) 1,693 adults 15

• 95 acknowledged existence of prejudice against
  minority groups
• 36 said they held no prejudice against any
  minority
• 64 prejudiced against at least one group
• Of these, 16 hard core antipathy towards 3 or
  more minority group
• Strong correlation between holding homophobic and
  racist views

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Table Exercise Personal Homophobia

• Hand out in pack
• Complete individually
• Discuss findings with colleagues on table

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BELIEFS BEHAVIOUR One extreme Less Powerful
People

• HHC is prevalent all over the UK (remember, so is
  hate crime based on race, gender, disability)
• Approximate levels experienced

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BELIEFS BEHAVIOUR A second extremePowerful
People Stopping Support

• Dec 1987 L.A. Tory leader, after watching film
  on safer sex said The film said how to avoid
  AIDS, but it did not say specifically stop being
  queer. Its disgusting and diabolical. As a
  cure I would put 90 of them in the ruddy gas
  chamber. Are we going to keep letting these
  queers trade their filth up and down the
  country? 2004 Tory councillor tries to stop
  grant to GALYIC.

• 1994 Dr Colin Newman, executive secretary of
  British Psychological Society said By accepting
  a Section devoted to the study of lesbianism, the
  Society will be giving a public signal that it
  endorses behaviour which, by the biblical
  standards they personally seek to follow, is
  incompatible with their own standards of
  morality. Took another 4 years to set up LGB
  section.
• 2009 Who doesnt want a duty placed on tackling
  homophobia?

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Shire Professional (2009)