Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men

            The victimization of people because of their homosexual orientation is becoming less random and more vocalized and consistent among social groups, particularly our youth.  This rise in abuse may be attributed to much larger dominant cultural values, such as heterosexism, homophobic norms, ideas of masculinity, and peer pressure.  The most disturbing aspect of anti-gay behavior is the perpetrator's inherent belief that they are not actually committing hate crimes.  The perception towards anti-gay behavior is shockingly indifferent to the discriminators and those who witness anti-gay violence.  It is as though the discrimination of lesbian and gay men has become socially acceptable.

            The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force surveyed eight U.S. cities and concluded that 94% of the gay and lesbian participants had suffered from victimization, such as verbal and physical abuse, vandalism, being chased, followed, spat upon, and hit with objects.  Furthermore, the study affirmed that lesbians and gay men experienced more discrimination than any other minority group and not surprisingly, those of color were more likely to be victims of physical violence than whites.  The rise in anti-gay crimes broke 300% in only four years in 1984 and continues to steadily increase. [1]

            There are many ideologies manifested within an individual’s anti-gay prejudice that stem primarily from early socialization among family and peers.  Within our nation’s institutions (marriage, family, education, law, military, and media), certain values and beliefs about what is socially acceptable contribute to the marginalized status of lesbian and gay persons.  These social values are internalized by the youth, and hence perpetuate the discrimination of lesbian and gay individuals.

Heterosexism is “an ideological system that denies, degenerates, and stigmatizes any non-heterosexual behavior, identity, relationship, and community[2].”  Cultural heterosexism imparts negative stereotypes and attitudes about homosexuality through socialization.  This negative view sees gay males as effeminate; it conceptualizes gays as anti-family and therefore anti-American.  Cultural heterosexism stereotypes lesbian and gay men as sexually perverse, predatory to straight individuals. This ideology leads to an anti-gay bias that promotes gay and lesbian victimization. 

            Another survey found anti-gay behavior quite commonplace among college participants in a politically "liberal" and "widely tolerant" region.  The primary offenders were young men and the primary offenses were verbal and nonphysical.  These young men viewed their behavior as culturally permissible and their motivations as morally grounded.  This suggests that anti-gay violence among the youth is part of a larger pattern of sexist beliefs and the conception that violence is manly.  The extraordinary volume of non-physical, verbal harassment cases affirms anti-gay behavior as an unremarkable aspect of everyday behavior in the lives of young people; it reinforces male identities and relieves heterosexual anxieties.[3]

  Young adults with anti-gay mindsets do not recognize their volatile ideologies because they are socially acceptable.  They do not see their acts as hate crimes because the term implies a violent state of mind. Because anti-gay behaviors are culturally normative and usually go unreported, educational outreach to adolescents and preadolescents may be the key prevention strategy.  Society must attack the gender norm beliefs that lead to universal stigmatization of individuals who deviate from traditional sex-role orientations.  Focusing on changing the values and beliefs of our young people may lead to a more safe and open-minded society of the future.  By striking at the root of the problem, the lives of lesbian and gay youth might flourish and be less burdened by inequalities in employment, problems locating housing, discrimination in medical services, and acceptance of personal relationships.[4]

 

 

Works Cited

Franklin, Karen.  “Antigay Behaviors among Young Adults: Prevalence, Patterns, Motivators in a Noncriminal Population.”  Journal of Interpersonal Violence 15.4 (2000): 339-362. 

Herek, G. M. “The Context of Antigay Violence: Notes on Cultural and Psychological Heterosexism.”  Journal of Interpersonal Violence 5.3 (1990): 316-333.

Otis, Melanie D., and William F. Skinner.  “Prevalence of Victimization and its Effect on the Mental Well-Being among Lesbian and Gay People.”  Journal of Homosexuality 30.3 (1996): 93-121.