Negative Attitudes to Lesbian Women and Gay Men: Persecutors and Victims

Although, in Western countries, much progress has been made, negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men are still widespread. Homophobia—a term adopted by George Weinberg in 1972 that may 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)—can still be found in several contexts, including mass media, politics, public institutions, pseudoscientific contexts, and interpersonal relationships. As a prejudice that can be expressed at different levels, it can become a source of stress to which minorized people are subjected. For clinical and research purposes, it is important to consider the role of prejudice in affecting psychological well-being and producing the well-known “minority stress” in themselves and their families, as well as the role it plays in intimate partner violence (IPV). At the same time, a comprehensive understanding of sexual prejudice as a form of abuse—often expressed subtly as a microaggression—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 where some clinicians still try to alter clients’ sexual orientation through treatments categorized as human rights violations by the United Nations Human Rights Council). Some issues related to the best clinical practice and assessment tools will be briefly discussed.