As I have frequently pointed out in my view extreme homophobes are in reality very disturbed individuals who have severe issues concerning their own sexuality and sexual matters in general. As a result, those who are comfortable with their own sexuality - particularly LGBT individuals - cause extreme emotional disturbance/fear in the sexually repressed set - like Matt Barber pictured at left - who belong to religious denominations that are literally obsessed with sex: e.g., the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention. James Hipps at GayAgenda that features an article by Rev. Dr. Jerry Maneker that looks at the underlying psychological problems of homophobes and how they project their own emotional/sexual issues against others, particularly gays. The bottom line analysis is that rather than attacking gay citizens, these folks would be better served by securing appropriate mental health intervention. Here are some highlights from Manaker's article:*
Sexuality is such a primal urge, that it manifests its energy in a variety of ways; not only in sexual activity. That energy that is part and parcel of one’s sexuality, especially when feared for all sorts of ostensibly “moral” reasons, or the fear that one’s currently repressed sexual complexities will come to consciousness, can be, and frequently is, directed to the perceived source(s) of anxiety provoked by that threat, an anxiety that the homophobic individual can find to be almost unendurable.
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One of the major defense mechanisms that one can use to minimize his/her anxiety provoked by that threatening stimulus, in this case of his/her sexual issues and/or repression that is provoked by LGBT people, is “displacement.”
*
In the case of homophobic people, Gay people are the precise threat because they bring to the homophobe’s consciousness his/her sexual issues, largely because of the unfortunate equation that Gay=Sex. So, when vulnerable people are brought face to face with Gay people or the issue of equality for Gay people, that threat can be of enormous proportions triggering an anxiety of enormous proportions.
*
Rather than seeing Gay people as posing no threat, as the defense mechanism of “displacement” posits, Gay people pose an enormous threat to the sexually vulnerable. Otherwise, why would strident homophobes be so insistent in making a veritable career out of defaming Gay people and doing everything in their power to prevent and/or rescind Gay people’s civil rights?
[W]hen one is stridently homophobic, not only does rationality play no part in being able to change their minds, but that person often resorts to irrational rhetoric (”traditional family values,” “for the good of the children,” etc.) to lessen hiWe must counter strident homophobia by asking such questions as: What are you so fearful of? Why do you evidence lack of sexual intactness by having to bear false witness against Gay people? What sexual issues are you repressing or suppressing so that you seek to deprive fellow human beings of equal rights based solely on their sexuality?
*
What I am suggesting is that rather than play “defense” in the fight for LGBT equality, we take the “offense” and question and seek to analyze the emotional/sexual repressions and issues that seemingly coerce strident homophobes to make a veritable career out of irrationally maligning their fellow human beings based solely on their sexuality and gender expression.
*
Ultimately, the issue of LGBT equality rests in the political-legal arenas, but the strident homophobia that seeks to prevent a constitutionally protected outcome for Gay people rests in the warped psyches of the sexually repressed homophobes who, by their bearing false witness and their resorting to irrational arguments to justify their homophobia, show themselves to have frail, if not warped, psyches worthy of public examination and analysis.
*
Dr. Jerry S. Maneker is a Ph.D, and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at California State University, Chico, having been a professor there since 1970.
Sexuality is such a primal urge, that it manifests its energy in a variety of ways; not only in sexual activity. That energy that is part and parcel of one’s sexuality, especially when feared for all sorts of ostensibly “moral” reasons, or the fear that one’s currently repressed sexual complexities will come to consciousness, can be, and frequently is, directed to the perceived source(s) of anxiety provoked by that threat, an anxiety that the homophobic individual can find to be almost unendurable.
*
One of the major defense mechanisms that one can use to minimize his/her anxiety provoked by that threatening stimulus, in this case of his/her sexual issues and/or repression that is provoked by LGBT people, is “displacement.”
*
In the case of homophobic people, Gay people are the precise threat because they bring to the homophobe’s consciousness his/her sexual issues, largely because of the unfortunate equation that Gay=Sex. So, when vulnerable people are brought face to face with Gay people or the issue of equality for Gay people, that threat can be of enormous proportions triggering an anxiety of enormous proportions.
*
Rather than seeing Gay people as posing no threat, as the defense mechanism of “displacement” posits, Gay people pose an enormous threat to the sexually vulnerable. Otherwise, why would strident homophobes be so insistent in making a veritable career out of defaming Gay people and doing everything in their power to prevent and/or rescind Gay people’s civil rights?
[W]hen one is stridently homophobic, not only does rationality play no part in being able to change their minds, but that person often resorts to irrational rhetoric (”traditional family values,” “for the good of the children,” etc.) to lessen hiWe must counter strident homophobia by asking such questions as: What are you so fearful of? Why do you evidence lack of sexual intactness by having to bear false witness against Gay people? What sexual issues are you repressing or suppressing so that you seek to deprive fellow human beings of equal rights based solely on their sexuality?
*
What I am suggesting is that rather than play “defense” in the fight for LGBT equality, we take the “offense” and question and seek to analyze the emotional/sexual repressions and issues that seemingly coerce strident homophobes to make a veritable career out of irrationally maligning their fellow human beings based solely on their sexuality and gender expression.
*
Ultimately, the issue of LGBT equality rests in the political-legal arenas, but the strident homophobia that seeks to prevent a constitutionally protected outcome for Gay people rests in the warped psyches of the sexually repressed homophobes who, by their bearing false witness and their resorting to irrational arguments to justify their homophobia, show themselves to have frail, if not warped, psyches worthy of public examination and analysis.
*
Dr. Jerry S. Maneker is a Ph.D, and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at California State University, Chico, having been a professor there since 1970.
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