Transcultural Homo- and Transphobia

Negative attitudes toward homosexual and transsexual people are grounded on a number of reasons, ranging from sociocultural to psychological issues. Education, political and religious beliefs, and life experiences undoubtedly play pivotal roles. However, various factors weave together to cause discriminatory behavior toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, with such discrimination currently identified as homophobia and transphobia. Moreover, those exhibiting sexual and gender variations are often ostracized by various components of society: schools and work places as well as health services. Thus, despite Western media attention often aimed at diminishing homophobia and transphobia, negative attitudes and behaviors toward LGBT people persist, and may have actually increased due to expanded coverage of the issue. Therefore, homophobia and transphobia prevention campaigns need to employ rigorous methods that include assessing possible risk factors that give rise to homophobic and transphobic attitudes and behaviors within culturally defined contexts. In this regard, an accurate and specific sociocultural and transcultural reflection should be undertaken so as to prevent discrimination of sexual minorities worldwide

Negative attitudes to lesbians and gay men. Persecutors and victims

Negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men widespread in multiple spheres including mass media, politics, public institutions, pseudoscientific contexts, and interpersonal relationships can be very distressing and sometimes unbearable for the victims. The adoption ofthe term “homophobia” [Weinberg (Society and the healthy homosexual, 1972)], although it is not entirely satisfactory, can be considered a milestone in Social Sciences because it marked the transition of scientific paradigm from homosexuality (and its “causes”) to antigay hostility (and its causes). For clinical and research purposes, it is important to consider the role of prejudice in affecting psychological well-being and producing minority stress in gay people and their families. At the same time, a comprehensive understanding of sexual prejudice as a form of abuse is necessary to develop prevention policies and practices (e.g., against homophobic bullying) and to avoid antigay biases and secondary victimization (e.g., in the clinical settings). Some tools for the assessment of both explicit and implicit sexual prejudice (both in straight and gay people) will be briefly discussed