Is Some Homophobia Self-Phobia?

Over at Science Daily, a report on a study that suggests that the answer is yes:

Homophobia is more pronounced in individuals with an unacknowledged attraction to the same sex and who grew up with authoritarian parents who forbade such desires, a series of psychology studies demonstrates.

The study is the first to document the role that both parenting and sexual orientation play in the formation of intense and visceral fear of homosexuals, including self-reported homophobic attitudes, discriminatory bias, implicit hostility towards gays, and endorsement of anti-gay policies. Conducted by a team from the University of Rochester, the University of Essex, England, and the University of California in Santa Barbara, the research will be published the April issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

“Individuals who identify as straight but in psychological tests show a strong attraction to the same sex may be threatened by gays and lesbians because homosexuals remind them of similar tendencies within themselves,” explains Netta Weinstein, a lecturer at the University of Essex and the study’s lead author.

Related articles

• Some Homophobia Is Self-phobia (talkingmonkeynews.wordpress.com)
• Homophobes: Externalizing an Internal Conflict (slog.thestranger.com)
• Finally! Study Confirms Homophobes Are Actually Damaged, Closeted Homosexuals (practikel.com)
• Homophobia Is Probably Caused by Supressed Homosexuality, Study Says (blogs.sfweekly.com)
• Survey Says: Homophobic? Hate Gays? Here’s Your Closet (uncommontary.com)
• Homophobia linked to lack of awareness of one’s sexual orientation and authoritarian parenting, study shows (medicalxpress.com)
• Self-Loathing Closet Cases Often Virulent Homophobes (lezgetreal.com)
• Homophobia is more pronounced in individuals with an unacknowledged attraction to the same sex (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
• Homophobia = Self-phobia? (thesituationist.wordpress.com)
• Is some homophobia self-phobia? (eurekalert.org)