I learned something very interesting based on this post.

I went to dictionary.com. I looked up the following -

acrophobia - irrational fear of heights
arachnophobia - irrational fear of spiders
hydrophobia - irration fear of water
(a whole bunch of others, including clown phobia, blah, blah, blah)
homophobia - fear or contempt for lesbians or gay men

Now, I did not find one phobia, with the exception of homophobia, that was defined with "contempt for". In fact, the definition of homophobia stands out because it is different. The definition of this word has evolved for what I believe are political purposes - allowing the word to be used for anyone who does not like homosexual behavior. It allows a wider use of the word to label people. No other phobia I found says anything but fear, because of the word origins.

Edited to add - Had a thought. Looked up xenophobia. It also uses the word contempt.

I get what you are saying, but it's easy to take a stance on something and to see only black and white, until the subject strikes closer to home. That personalizes it, and one would be expected to revaluate in this situation. I know, because it has happened in our family. A very close relative belongs to a religion that demands you turn your back on homosexual family members. SHe did not, and refuses to. She admits she doesn't understand it, but she'll never turn her back on this person, and she loves her with all her heart. She is also much more sensitive about others comments on the subject. This person changed her mind on how she viewed homosexuality, largely due to the fact that it became personal.

At the same time, if this is truly how he feels, then he has the courage of his convictions and I respect that.

Isn't homophobia a word made up by popular culture, unlike the other phobias, which are scientific terms?

Could be.....

Dammit, I was BORN a Disneyfag :D

(OK that adds nothing to the argument but I'm in a goofy mood today.) :p

On that same site, check out the def for "phobia"

shall we define this phobia? Hatred of the BEHAVIOR or the PEOPLE??? For political and socieological purposes it is used to beat people over the head and accuse them of hating the people- not the behavior- therein lies my quibble with it. I do not have to accept and like everything someone does to like the person.

I suspect that where we lose each other is that I can see the difference, whereas being gay defines who you are- and so in your mind, someone disliking one seems to naturally lead to them disliking the other-

I do appreciate your attempt to understand, but I disagree. Being gay is a part of who I am, not my defining characteristic.

I'm glad to hear that, I was grasping at straws trying to figure out why people are so sure that disapproval of the action equates to not loving the person.

So true. Sometimes I let it define me because people are so into labels. But heck, there's a lot more to me than just being a friend of Dorothy (or more recently the Wicked Witch of the West... Love that 'Wicked' Soundtrack...) :)