Heterophobia
Encyclopedia
Heterophobia describes reverse discrimination
based on sexual orientation
and implies an irrational fear of, aversion toward, or discrimination againist heterosexual people and institutions. Coined as a direct analogy
to homophobia
, "heterophobia" is used by some opponents to various legal and civil rights for lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT
) people, when is used instead of heterosexism
.
, where it was defined as fear of heterosexuals. However, as of 1998, it didn't appear outside specialist literature, albeit it was already a searchable term on the then-innovative World Wide Web
.
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary includes the term homophobia
, which it traces back to 1958, but doesn't include heterophobia, which Raymond J. Noonan considers to be traceable to the early 1980s.
The 1990 book Kinsey, Sex and Fraud by Judith A. Reisman
, Edward W. Eichel, J. Gordon Muir, and J. H. Court included a whole chapter on heterophobia, describing it as a new concept and defining it similarly to Francoeur's definition. The term appeared again in 1996 in Raymond J. Noonan's book Does Anyone Still Remember When Sex Was Fun? where it was equated with the general sex negativity of the American society and defined a new concept called internalized heterophobia. Noonan in a later book made the claim that homophobia itself was partially empowered by heterophobia and promoted the adoption of a systems approach by the sexology community in studying the determinants of sexual attitudes.
In 1998 the book Heterophobia: Sexual Harassment and the Future of Feminism by Daphne Patai
offered the first comprehensive study of heterophobia outside the sexology community. Patai claimed that heterophobia was linked to what she called Sexual Harassment Industry (SHI) which she described as the attempt to keep women and men separated for selfish and political purposes. Dr Noonan on 6 November 1999 organized a workshop on heterophobia during the joint annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
(SSSS) and the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) in St. Louis, Missouri
, United States
.
SUNY
lecturer Dr. Ray Noonan, in his 1999 presentation to The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
(SSSS) and the
American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) Conference said,
in his 1987 book The Force of Prejudice to signify "fear of the different".
The term is used as the title of a poetry anthology by US slam poet, Ragan Fox.(heterophobia 2005)
Reverse discrimination
Reverse discrimination is a controversial term referring to discrimination against members of a dominant or majority group, including the city or state, or in favor of members of a minority or historically disadvantaged group such as African Americans being slaves. Groups may be defined in terms of...
based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
and implies an irrational fear of, aversion toward, or discrimination againist heterosexual people and institutions. Coined as a direct analogy
Analogy
Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another particular subject , and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process...
to homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, "heterophobia" is used by some opponents to various legal and civil rights for lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) people, when is used instead of heterosexism
Heterosexism
Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It can include the presumption that everyone is heterosexual or that opposite-sex attractions and relationships are the only norm and therefore superior...
.
History of the term
The term heterophobia was included in the Dictionary of Sexuality published in 1995 by American sexologist Robert T. FrancoeurRobert T. Francoeur
Robert T. Francoeur , Ph.D., A.C.S., is an American biologist and sexologist.Dr. Francoeur was born on October 18, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan. He earned a B.A. in philosophy and English at Sacred Heart College in 1953, a M.A. in Catholic theology at Saint Vincent College in 1957, a M.S. in biology...
, where it was defined as fear of heterosexuals. However, as of 1998, it didn't appear outside specialist literature, albeit it was already a searchable term on the then-innovative World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
.
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary includes the term homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, which it traces back to 1958, but doesn't include heterophobia, which Raymond J. Noonan considers to be traceable to the early 1980s.
The 1990 book Kinsey, Sex and Fraud by Judith A. Reisman
Judith A. Reisman
Judith A. Reisman is an American cultural conservative writer best known for her criticism and condemnation of the work and legacy of Alfred Kinsey...
, Edward W. Eichel, J. Gordon Muir, and J. H. Court included a whole chapter on heterophobia, describing it as a new concept and defining it similarly to Francoeur's definition. The term appeared again in 1996 in Raymond J. Noonan's book Does Anyone Still Remember When Sex Was Fun? where it was equated with the general sex negativity of the American society and defined a new concept called internalized heterophobia. Noonan in a later book made the claim that homophobia itself was partially empowered by heterophobia and promoted the adoption of a systems approach by the sexology community in studying the determinants of sexual attitudes.
In 1998 the book Heterophobia: Sexual Harassment and the Future of Feminism by Daphne Patai
Daphne Patai
Daphne Patai is a feminist scholar and author. She is a professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her PhD is in Brazilian literature, but her early work also focused on utopian and dystopian fiction...
offered the first comprehensive study of heterophobia outside the sexology community. Patai claimed that heterophobia was linked to what she called Sexual Harassment Industry (SHI) which she described as the attempt to keep women and men separated for selfish and political purposes. Dr Noonan on 6 November 1999 organized a workshop on heterophobia during the joint annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality , formed in 1957, is a non-profit, professional membership organization that says it is "the oldest professional society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality." It reports to have more than 1,000 members and has a quarterly...
(SSSS) and the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) in St. Louis, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
SUNY
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
lecturer Dr. Ray Noonan, in his 1999 presentation to The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality , formed in 1957, is a non-profit, professional membership organization that says it is "the oldest professional society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality." It reports to have more than 1,000 members and has a quarterly...
(SSSS) and the
American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) Conference said,
The term heterophobia is confusing for some people for several reasons. On the one hand, some look at it as just another of the many me-too social constructions that have arisen in the pseudoscience of victimology in recent decades. (Many of us recall John Money’s 1995 criticism of the ascendancy of victimology and its negative impact on sexual science.) Others look at the parallelism between heterophobia and homophobia, and suggest that the former trivializes the latter. Yet heterophobia may be one of the root contributors in the etiologyEtiologyEtiology is the study of causation, or origination. The word is derived from the Greek , aitiologia, "giving a reason for" ....
of homophobia, as Noonan argued in 1998. For others, it is merely a curiosity or parallel-construction word game. But for others still, it is part of both the recognition and politicization of heterosexuals' cultural interests in contrast to those of gays—particularly where those interests are perceived to clash.
Other uses
The term is used by Pierre-André TaguieffPierre-André Taguieff
Pierre-André Taguieff is a philosopher and director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in an Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris laboratory, the CEVIPOF...
in his 1987 book The Force of Prejudice to signify "fear of the different".
The term is used as the title of a poetry anthology by US slam poet, Ragan Fox.(heterophobia 2005)
See also
- BiphobiaBiphobiaBiphobia is a term used to describe aversion felt toward bisexuality and bisexuals as a social group or as individuals. People of any sexual orientation can experience such feelings of aversion...
- HeterosexismHeterosexismHeterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It can include the presumption that everyone is heterosexual or that opposite-sex attractions and relationships are the only norm and therefore superior...
- HomophobiaHomophobiaHomophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
- List of phobias