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By *edhot4blk OP   Couple
over a year ago

York/London/Crantock

i certainly need help on this minor problem, we(girls in the office today)were having a healthy debate about the word homophobic as one of the girls has a brother and he is always complaining about the hurtfull comments he recieves about he being gay..

i looked in the dictionary and the word phobic comes from a very old greek term to "" fear or morbid fear"" so this means the dictionary is totally wrong(which i very much doubt)or the gay scene has it wrong nasty comments held against gay people cant be phobic it can only be hatred...its a funny old world we live in..lol

stella..xxxx

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

[Removed by poster at 01/04/10 19:20:47]

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

It is the fear that homophobia instills in gay people that explains the use of the word to describe it. Perhaps not so much in today's society as it did pre-1960 when gays were routinely beaten up with the Law turning a blind eye to such crimes. If a group of people had a grudge about heterosexual people I doubt it would be labelled heterophobia as it wouldn't instill much fear in those of us who are heteroseuxual, we'd probably just laugh at them, so maybe humerophobia would be a better description.

-------------------------------------

This is a poem about the pain that victims of homophobia have to endure, often in silence and alone.

-------------------------------------

THE CRUELTY OF CROWDS

In solitude, he sat on a window sill,

He had never felt so utterly lost.

Through misty windows, he mused until -

A clock chime reminded him of the cost.

That he had loved, he had loved in ritual,

The baying of mobs was always too loud;

The tenderness of the individual,

Hidden from the cruelty of the crowd.

~

Believing in his orientation,

He was the one that would always suffer.

A Quentin Crisp in an alien nation;

Tender loving for his sexual buffer.

Beaten and bloody by a phobic mewl:

In dim alleyways he fearfully cowed,

This tenderness of an individual,

Hidden from the cruelty of the crowd.

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By *edhot4blk OP   Couple
over a year ago

York/London/Crantock

wow i was born in the 60's and look what i missed, i must live in a different world..lol

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Watch The Naked Civil Servant, it's about the life of Quentin Crisp portrayed by John Hurt, for which he won a BAFTA in 1976. The film is an accurate depiction of what it was like for an 'out' gay man in the 60s/70s in the UK.

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By *edhot4blk OP   Couple
over a year ago

York/London/Crantock

lol i do know of that film, book, and play and if what ive heard is right they are going to make it into a musical, but our circles do not include gay or bi people really in a sexual sense so really ive know idea..i think my driver is gay from what ive learned though..lol

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By *zMaleMan
over a year ago

penzance

The term phobia stems from years ago people realy believe that homosexuality was contagious, so heterosexuals became fearful of catching it. Hence homophobia. That doesn't explain whty the term is still used today tho

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By *exyslapperCouple
over a year ago

newcastle

i think the powers that be maybe needed a new word to wave about so to speak and chose the wrong word, i mean to say how can one be scared of a gay person.. they are just people like us and present a problem that i can see..xxxx

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By *exyslapperCouple
over a year ago

newcastle

dont*

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


" but our circles do not include gay or bi people lol"

are you not Bi?

same thing really if str8 females were wary of you crossing boundaries, or you were going to pounce on them without invitation or they just dont like bi fems or lesbians.

phobia is phobia.

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By *iamondsmiles.Woman
over a year ago

little house on the praire

Blimey if i could count the times that id love to be a gay male as there are so many gorgeous ones out there. The bi ones are pretty hot as well

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

hm i thought that a phobia was to be scared of something and because we are humans if we fear something we retaliate against it because of the fealing of inferiority that comes from being scared of something i.e think of if you have a fear of spiders or wasps you would say you hate them and you want to kill them because we are human these feelings can be controled in a rational society but agressive emotions often come to the surface

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By *iamondsmiles.Woman
over a year ago

little house on the praire

lol well im terrified of rats but cant remember the last time i stood hurling negative abuse at one

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"lol well im terrified of rats but cant remember the last time i stood hurling negative abuse at one"

but did you want to get rid of it?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The dictionary isn't wrong OP, and homophobia is a reasonable term. People often fear what they don't understand, and can react to that fear with hatred, because of their ignorance. Just look at Islamophobia or racism. How many straight men automatically assume that a gay man in their company is going to want to have sex with them? The nervous joking about 'not bending over.' Very arrogant at best.

Of course, we shouldn't forget that many of the most vocal homophobes may well be masking their own insecurities about their sexuality!

As you say, it's a funny old world.

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By *edhot4blk OP   Couple
over a year ago

York/London/Crantock

i think personally as a female even though i am bi the word homophobic used towards the hetrosexual people could be taken as an insult, i have to press home the fact the word phobic arrives from the greek word "phobas" which means to be scared or morbid fear as ive already mentioned, in those days it had nothing to do with homosexuals so why did the homosexuals of this day and age choose it..??? to refer to hetrosexuals..??? we have many gay friends and they havent a clue either.. its a funny old world..stella..xxxx

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"Of course, we shouldn't forget that many of the most vocal homophobes may well be masking their own insecurities about their sexuality!"

That has to be the most closed and ridiculous argument I have ever heard and it's use always irritates me.

If I scream out loud how much I hate something then I MUST be one. If I say nothing and don't condemn then it's assumed I am one. Kinda leaves a person with nowhere to go and no defence doesn't it?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

'homo' : man

'phobia' : fear of

The word 'homophobia' was created by men when it was men who were the scholars of the world and women had zero input into academia and the development of language. One can derive from that that learned men sought to create a word that described the fear of sexual contact between two men, it is condemned in the bible don't forget. Man shall not lay with man, yet before the constructs of organised religion same sex orgies were commonplace throughout the world and there was no dogma attached to same sex relationships. In some societies it was considered perverse not to be involved in a same sex relationship.

Bearing all of this in mind I think organised religion has a lot to do with the bigotry that is homophobia and yet perversely the Catholic Church is under the most intense scrutiny that is has ever been subjected to for not keeping it's own priests in order with regard to homosexual clergymen who have preyed on boys.

Islam also actively promotes the persecution of homosexuals as it regards it as an act of evil.

One could argue that homophobia is not the fear of gay men per se but the fear that condoning acts of what the Church considers to be perverse will lead to the destruction of the faith and the fall of man itself. The fear is deep rooted than most realise I suspect.

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By *zMaleMan
over a year ago

penzance


"Of course, we shouldn't forget that many of the most vocal homophobes may well be masking their own insecurities about their sexuality!

That has to be the most closed and ridiculous argument I have ever heard and it's use always irritates me.

If I scream out loud how much I hate something then I MUST be one. If I say nothing and don't condemn then it's assumed I am one. Kinda leaves a person with nowhere to go and no defence doesn't it?"

I couldn't agree with you more Wishy. As a heterosuxual guy I am happy with who I am and what I am. The generalisation of many that assume that because I say I'm straight on my profile means I must be at least Bi curious infuriates me. It also annoys me when I'm called ignorant and bigotted. I won't say I've investigated homosexuallity in any depth at all because it really does not float my boat but I do know that it is not me and not for me.

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By *ugby 123Couple
Forum Mod

over a year ago

O o O oo


"Of course, we shouldn't forget that many of the most vocal homophobes may well be masking their own insecurities about their sexuality!

That has to be the most closed and ridiculous argument I have ever heard and it's use always irritates me.

If I scream out loud how much I hate something then I MUST be one. If I say nothing and don't condemn then it's assumed I am one. Kinda leaves a person with nowhere to go and no defence doesn't it?"

* nods *

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"Of course, we shouldn't forget that many of the most vocal homophobes may well be masking their own insecurities about their sexuality!

That has to be the most closed and ridiculous argument I have ever heard and it's use always irritates me.

If I scream out loud how much I hate something then I MUST be one. If I say nothing and don't condemn then it's assumed I am one. Kinda leaves a person with nowhere to go and no defence doesn't it?

* nods *"

I loathe hate and detest paedophiles with every fibre of my being....doesn't make me one

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"Of course, we shouldn't forget that many of the most vocal homophobes may well be masking their own insecurities about their sexuality!

That has to be the most closed and ridiculous argument I have ever heard and it's use always irritates me.

If I scream out loud how much I hate something then I MUST be one. If I say nothing and don't condemn then it's assumed I am one. Kinda leaves a person with nowhere to go and no defence doesn't it?

* nods *

I loathe hate and detest paedophiles with every fibre of my being....doesn't make me one "

My point precisely. QED.

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By *edhot4blk OP   Couple
over a year ago

York/London/Crantock

i think ur right about the word homophobia but im sure i wasnt mentioning that word...i think...yes im sure i mentioned the word phobic..lol which comes from the greeks many hundreds of yrs ao which started off as phobas...lol

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By *zMaleMan
over a year ago

penzance


"i think ur right about the word homophobia but im sure i wasnt mentioning that word...i think...yes im sure i mentioned the word phobic..lol which comes from the greeks many hundreds of yrs ao which started off as phobas...lol"

Phobic-phobia = same meaning, a fear of.

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By *edhot4blk OP   Couple
over a year ago

York/London/Crantock

have to say im scared of nothing with 2 legs, 4 legs and things that squirms along on their bellies i might be though..lol. oh yes and eight legs as well

stella..xxxx..

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By *itchfieldMan
over a year ago

Portsmouth

I'm fairly sure that the reason why homophobia is such a popular word is that journalists aren't held to a high standard of English anymore. If they were I wouldn't hear them calling sportsmen 'legends', people who don't like Islam 'racists' and people who hate something phobic. I have heard people say that if you hate something it's because you fear it. That's nonsense of course, I'm sure there are people who hate homosexuals and fear them but one doesn't necessarily follow the other.

There's a lot of words that are commonly misused and our national papers and broadcasters aren't doing their part to stop it I'm sad to say.

Anyway I don't have time to say anymore because I have to go and be abusive to someone I know for being an arachnophobe.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"It is the fear that homophobia instills in gay people that explains the use of the word to describe it. Perhaps not so much in today's society as it did pre-1960 when gays were routinely beaten up with the Law turning a blind eye to such crimes. If a group of people had a grudge about heterosexual people I doubt it would be labelled heterophobia as it wouldn't instill much fear in those of us who are heteroseuxual, we'd probably just laugh at them, so maybe humerophobia would be a better description.

-------------------------------------

This is a poem about the pain that victims of homophobia have to endure, often in silence and alone.

-------------------------------------

THE CRUELTY OF CROWDS

In solitude, he sat on a window sill,

He had never felt so utterly lost.

Through misty windows, he mused until -

A clock chime reminded him of the cost.

That he had loved, he had loved in ritual,

The baying of mobs was always too loud;

The tenderness of the individual,

Hidden from the cruelty of the crowd.

~

Believing in his orientation,

He was the one that would always suffer.

A Quentin Crisp in an alien nation;

Tender loving for his sexual buffer.

Beaten and bloody by a phobic mewl:

In dim alleyways he fearfully cowed,

This tenderness of an individual,

Hidden from the cruelty of the crowd."

To me its pointless debating the semantics....whatever we call it.. it is still real...and active in today's society...in both covert and overt forms...L.G.B.T.G...help lines are inundated...with peeps seeking support and advise re "homophobic" attacks and discrimination...

Nice choice of moving poetry wishy...there you go surprising me again

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"'homo' : man

'phobia' : fear of

The word 'homophobia' was created by men when it was men who were the scholars of the world and women had zero input into academia and the development of language. One can derive from that that learned men sought to create a word that described the fear of sexual contact between two men, it is condemned in the bible don't forget. Man shall not lay with man, yet before the constructs of organised religion same sex orgies were commonplace throughout the world and there was no dogma attached to same sex relationships. In some societies it was considered perverse not to be involved in a same sex relationship.

Bearing all of this in mind I think organised religion has a lot to do with the bigotry that is homophobia and yet perversely the Catholic Church is under the most intense scrutiny that is has ever been subjected to for not keeping it's own priests in order with regard to homosexual clergymen who have preyed on boys.

Islam also actively promotes the persecution of homosexuals as it regards it as an act of evil.

One could argue that homophobia is not the fear of gay men per se but the fear that condoning acts of what the Church considers to be perverse will lead to the destruction of the faith and the fall of man itself. The fear is deep rooted than most realise I suspect."

Sorry, but you are so wrong with your ancient Greek language and culture. The ancient Greek meaning of "homo" is "same", not man as you state, from which we get the word homosexual, meaning attraction between the SAME (homo) gender - it therefore applies to women too. It also gives us the word homogenous, used to descibe a material that is the same throughout, for example. The ancient Greek for "man" is anthropos, from which we get words like anthropology. That is, the "homo" part has nothing to do with "man".

Homosexual, derived from the Greek, actually means "same gender sexuality", and applies to either gender. Taking it further, homophobia would mean "fear of the same", which would actually be a fear of same-gender sexuality - that is, you are straight. It wouldn't actually mean a fear of homosexuals themselves. Furthermore, phobia also means a dislike, in the same way you might dislike a curry. A phobia most certainly is not a hatred.

Finally, the ancient Greeks did not frown upon homosexuality, in many parts of society, for example, the military, or athletes, they actively encouraged it.

They would however frown upon our current usage of the word homophobia as a travesty of their language.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"i certainly need help on this minor problem, we(girls in the office today)were having a healthy debate about the word homophobic as one of the girls has a brother and he is always complaining about the hurtfull comments he recieves about he being gay..

i looked in the dictionary and the word phobic comes from a very old greek term to "" fear or morbid fear"" so this means the dictionary is totally wrong(which i very much doubt)or the gay scene has it wrong nasty comments held against gay people cant be phobic it can only be hatred...its a funny old world we live in..lol

stella..xxxx"

Words and their meaning change through time, would you use the word Gay to describe your happy, cheerful etc rather than like same sex, sex?

The world and his dog, understands what homophobic means in 2010.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"The world and his dog, understands what homophobic means in 2010."

Maybe, but the problem is that those who disagree with homosexuality, for whatever reason, are described as homophobic, whereas in every other aspect of life phobic is used to describe a fear, as in agoraphobic, for example. Those who fear open space, or those who fear water, would agree with being labelled agoraphobic or aquaphobic. Those who disagree with homosexuality take issue with being labelled homophobic because they would not agree that they have such a fear.

If you disagree with paedophilia would you agree that you are paedophobic, or paedophiliaphobic ?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

This thread should be renamed...the semantics of the words Homo and Phobia.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

What word should be used by people who don't like homosexuals, oh that too is not strictly correct in the context....

Words are simply used to describe something, their use get changed over the years. This is why English is thriving, spoken lead, many 'older' languages like Welsh are led by academia and the words don't fit in with people who speak it on a daily basis...

What word would like to use (bigot, fuddy duddy, narrow minded, intolerantly et al, etc etc)?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"What word would like to use (bigot, fuddy duddy, narrow minded, intolerantly et al, etc etc)?"

Yes, any of the above will do, except perhaps bigot, which should be constrained to religious use. Homophobic is such a naff made up word - fear of the same !

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"What word would like to use (bigot, fuddy duddy, narrow minded, intolerantly et al, etc etc)?

Yes, any of the above will do, except perhaps bigot, which should be constrained to religious use. Homophobic is such a naff made up word - fear of the same !"

Needs another word to go with them, if that all you have...

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"'homo' : man

'phobia' : fear of

The word 'homophobia' was created by men when it was men who were the scholars of the world and women had zero input into academia and the development of language. One can derive from that that learned men sought to create a word that described the fear of sexual contact between two men, it is condemned in the bible don't forget. Man shall not lay with man, yet before the constructs of organised religion same sex orgies were commonplace throughout the world and there was no dogma attached to same sex relationships. In some societies it was considered perverse not to be involved in a same sex relationship.

Bearing all of this in mind I think organised religion has a lot to do with the bigotry that is homophobia and yet perversely the Catholic Church is under the most intense scrutiny that is has ever been subjected to for not keeping it's own priests in order with regard to homosexual clergymen who have preyed on boys.

Islam also actively promotes the persecution of homosexuals as it regards it as an act of evil.

One could argue that homophobia is not the fear of gay men per se but the fear that condoning acts of what the Church considers to be perverse will lead to the destruction of the faith and the fall of man itself. The fear is deep rooted than most realise I suspect.

Sorry, but you are so wrong with your ancient Greek language and culture. The ancient Greek meaning of "homo" is "same", not man as you state, from which we get the word homosexual, meaning attraction between the SAME (homo) gender - it therefore applies to women too. It also gives us the word homogenous, used to descibe a material that is the same throughout, for example. The ancient Greek for "man" is anthropos, from which we get words like anthropology. That is, the "homo" part has nothing to do with "man".

Homosexual, derived from the Greek, actually means "same gender sexuality", and applies to either gender. Taking it further, homophobia would mean "fear of the same", which would actually be a fear of same-gender sexuality - that is, you are straight. It wouldn't actually mean a fear of homosexuals themselves. Furthermore, phobia also means a dislike, in the same way you might dislike a curry. A phobia most certainly is not a hatred.

Finally, the ancient Greeks did not frown upon homosexuality, in many parts of society, for example, the military, or athletes, they actively encouraged it.

They would however frown upon our current usage of the word homophobia as a travesty of their language."

I suggest that before you correct me incorrectly that you perform some research yourself. I found the following definitions for the word 'homo' in 5 seconds:

~~~~

homo

noun

1: someone who practices homosexuality; having a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex [syn: homosexual, gay]

2: any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae [syn: man, human being, human]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0

~~

Homo- \Ho"mo-\ A combining form from Gr. "omo`s, one and the same, common, joint.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

~~

HOMO. This Latin word, in its most enlarged sense, includes both man and woman. 2 Inst. 45. Vide Man.

Source: Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

~~

So you see we are both correct.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

i like homer simpson does that count?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"i like homer simpson does that count? "

No, don't be silly, he's a cartoon and you can't have sex with a cartoon unless you're Bob Hoskins!!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

believe me i should get the jail for what iv done with roger rabbit!!! xx

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

I suggest that before you correct me incorrectly that you perform some research yourself. I found the following definitions for the word 'homo' in 5 seconds:

~~~~

homo

noun

1: someone who practices homosexuality; having a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex [syn: homosexual, gay]

2: any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae [syn: man, human being, human]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0

~~

Homo- \Ho"mo-\ A combining form from Gr. "omo`s, one and the same, common, joint.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

~~

HOMO. This Latin word, in its most enlarged sense, includes both man and woman. 2 Inst. 45. Vide Man.

Source: Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

~~

So you see we are both correct.

"

Sorry, but we are not both correct. Nor do I need to research it before "incorrectly" correcting you, I have been able to read, write, and speak Latin and ancient Greek for some thirty years now.

The word homophobic derives from two Greek words, where the Greek homo means "same", as I said earlier, and which you have now found out from other sources. The Latin source you have discovered has nothing whatsoever to do with the word homosexuality, the Latin root gives us words like hominid, human, and thence on to homo sapiens, etc. The Greeks had one meaning for homo, the Romans another. Homophobic comes from the Greek only, and does not mean fear of men. Note that your Latin source identifies homo with man, in fact, with human, your Greek source identifies the word as meaning "same", which is what I said eralier. My correction of your misunderstanding of ancient Greek was correct.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

I suggest that before you correct me incorrectly that you perform some research yourself. I found the following definitions for the word 'homo' in 5 seconds:

~~~~

homo

noun

1: someone who practices homosexuality; having a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex [syn: homosexual, gay]

2: any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae [syn: man, human being, human]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0

~~

Homo- \Ho"mo-\ A combining form from Gr. "omo`s, one and the same, common, joint.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

~~

HOMO. This Latin word, in its most enlarged sense, includes both man and woman. 2 Inst. 45. Vide Man.

Source: Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

~~

So you see we are both correct.

Sorry, but we are not both correct. Nor do I need to research it before "incorrectly" correcting you, I have been able to read, write, and speak Latin and ancient Greek for some thirty years now."

Yes of course you have. You're right and the rest of the literary world is wrong, just because you've been seaking Greek AND Latin for thirty years. I wonder what the odds would be on encountering a fellow swinger on a swinging forum who can speak, read & write both Greek AND Latin fluently.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

Yes of course you have. You're right and the rest of the literary world is wrong, just because you've been seaking Greek AND Latin for thirty years. I wonder what the odds would be on encountering a fellow swinger on a swinging forum who can speak, read & write both Greek AND Latin fluently. "

The rest of the literary world agrees with me. You cannot find any source that shows that the word homophobic means a fear of men which is what you originally posted !

Or, as the Romans would have said : QED

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

Yes of course you have. You're right and the rest of the literary world is wrong, just because you've been seaking Greek AND Latin for thirty years. I wonder what the odds would be on encountering a fellow swinger on a swinging forum who can speak, read & write both Greek AND Latin fluently.

The rest of the literary world agrees with me. You cannot find any source that shows that the word homophobic means a fear of men which is what you originally posted !

Or, as the Romans would have said : QED"

Source: dictionary.com

ho·mo·pho·bi·a (ho'm?-fo'be-?)

n.

1. Fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay men.

2. Behavior based on such a feeling.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

~

Source: Collins Online

homophobia

n.

an intense hatred or fear of homosexuals.

homo(sexual) + phobia

If you take it that the word homosexual as derived from the Greek it would mean the fear of same. If you intepret it from the Latin it would mean fear of sex with members of the same sex. I've never seen a female homosexual, as they are known as lesbians, so the term homosexual applies to men. Thus, homophobia means fear of sex with men.

I know you're aren't going to accept this so this will be my last word on it in here. A closed mind is a limited tool.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"If you take it that the word homosexual as derived from the Greek it would mean the fear of same. If you intepret it from the Latin it would mean fear of sex with members of the same sex."

I take it that the word is derived from Greek because it is, and the rest of the world agrees, except you.

You are getting quite confused here, and seem to be quoting sources that disagree with you. You originally said that homophobia was a fear of men. I corrected you, and did so correctly. You have subsequently traweled the internet looking for something that agrees with your derivation, but have failed to do so. Quoting current meanings of English words doesn't demonstrate their origin, by the way. Electricity derives from ancient Greek, but that doesn't mean the ancient Greeks had power stations.

You said that homophobia derives from homo "man" and phobia "fear", thereby MIXING your Greek and Latin, and then went on to criticise men, and religion, on this basis. However, it derives from the Greek only, you have yet to show otherwise.

It is of course nonsensical to claim two different meanings for a word because you find its components in two different languages and cultures. The ancient Greeks and Romans didn't get together and form a working group in order to match words and meanings.

If you hunt around enough you will probably find an ancient language that has homo as meaning butterfly, so you could then argue that homophobia must also mean a fear of butterflies. Your logic appears to be that because you are derived from your parents, you must aslo be derived from all other parents.

"I've never seen a female homosexual, as they are known as lesbians, so the term homosexual applies to men."

oh dear. Whether you correctly choose Greek as the origin, or incorrectly choose Latin, homosexual will still not apply to men only. The Greek root gives you "same". The Latin root gives you "human", unless you feel that homo sapiens means "gay sapiens". And, of course, lesbian derives from ancient Greek too.

"Thus, homophobia means fear of sex with men."

At last ! It no longer means "fear of men". Glad we got there eventually.

"A closed mind is a limited tool."

True, but don't berate yourself, I'm happy to help with your education.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

If you'd care to trawl back to my original post about what 'homophobia' means you'll see clearly that I stated:

"One can derive from that that learned men sought to create a word that described the fear of sexual contact between two men"

So I was always referring to fear of sex between men and not fear of men, as you've tried to argue. Whether the word 'homo' has it's roots on Greek or Latin is irrelevant, it appears in both cultures so it's use today is open to individual interpretation. I think you'll find that the majority of people, either rightly or wrongly, believe the word 'homo' to mean 'man' as borne out by:

"The English adjective 'human' is a Middle English loan from Old French 'humain', ultimately from Latin 'humanus', the adjective of 'homo' - "man"."

The word has firm roots in Latin as well as Greek and homophobia could be interpeted the same in both languages:

Gr. "Fear of sex with members of the same sex"

Ln. "Fear of sex with men"

But like you say, I'm sure we can both find corroborating sources to back our arguments.

You lost me on the parent analogy, and again on the sapien reference, perhaps you should stick to the point in future.

Lastly,...

Although homosexual can be applied to women also there has not been much instance of its use, with lesbian being the preferred method of distinction between gay men & women. You can argue that point until you are blue in the face but you only need to ask a gay woman what she refers to herself as, homosexual or lesbian. I don't think you'll find a single gay man that will call himself a lesbian though, but you're welcome to try.

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By *ouvakMan
over a year ago

clacton on sea

untill my late teens i always thought that when someone was said to be HOMEOphobic it meant they were like myself and scared to go HOME when they knew they were in trouble LOL

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"untill my late teens i always thought that when someone was said to be HOMEOphobic it meant they were like myself and scared to go HOME when they knew they were in trouble LOL "

God, I remember that feeling - every school report day!!

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By *ouvakMan
over a year ago

clacton on sea


"untill my late teens i always thought that when someone was said to be HOMEOphobic it meant they were like myself and scared to go HOME when they knew they were in trouble LOL

God, I remember that feeling - every school report day!! "

what only on school report day ???? you goody goody you

i can remember me DA standing behind the door with his leather belt on many occations

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By *oe_Steve_NWestCouple
over a year ago

Bolton


"i certainly need help on this minor problem, we(girls in the office today)were having a healthy debate about the word homophobic as one of the girls has a brother and he is always complaining about the hurtfull comments he recieves about he being gay..

i looked in the dictionary and the word phobic comes from a very old greek term to "" fear or morbid fear"" so this means the dictionary is totally wrong(which i very much doubt)or the gay scene has it wrong nasty comments held against gay people cant be phobic it can only be hatred...its a funny old world we live in..lol

stella..xxxx"

So the word is correct - it means a fear of homosexuals - fear can also turn to hatred or contempt - the ancient Greeks were pretty clever you know! Z

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

So the word is correct - it means a fear of homosexuals - fear can also turn to hatred or contempt - the ancient Greeks were pretty clever you know! Z"

Or more correctly, a fear of same-gender sexuality, which in practice can be regarded as fear of homosexuals. My point is that it isn't fear of men, that would be androphobia or somesuch, and that often those who oppose homosexuality aren't necessarily afraid of it. I oppose peadophilia, but I don't fear paedophiles.

"the ancient Greeks were pretty clever you know!"

yes, and they've given us a lot towards our language and culture, but apart from that, what have the Romans done for us ?

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By *oe_Steve_NWestCouple
over a year ago

Bolton


"

So the word is correct - it means a fear of homosexuals - fear can also turn to hatred or contempt - the ancient Greeks were pretty clever you know! Z

Or more correctly, a fear of same-gender sexuality, which in practice can be regarded as fear of homosexuals. My point is that it isn't fear of men, that would be androphobia or somesuch, and that often those who oppose homosexuality aren't necessarily afraid of it. I oppose peadophilia, but I don't fear paedophiles.

"the ancient Greeks were pretty clever you know!"

yes, and they've given us a lot towards our language and culture, but apart from that, what have the Romans done for us ?"

lol - what have the romans done - lol absolutely nothing! Z

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"If you'd care to trawl back to my original post about what 'homophobia' means you'll see clearly that I stated:

"One can derive from that that learned men sought to create a word that described the fear of sexual contact between two men"

Indeed, and that derivation would be wrong, as you have used the Greek word homo as meaning man, which it isn't. My correction still stands, and you started your post with phobia = fear, homo = man.

Since homo means "same", and homophobia derives entirely from the Greek, your subsequent derivation is incorrect. Referring to your original post (which differs in position from your subsequent posts) doesn't

"Whether the word 'homo' has it's roots on Greek or Latin is irrelevant, it appears in both cultures so it's use today is open to individual interpretation."

The word appears in both cultures, and has two different meanings. Its use today is not relevant, as your original posting was concerning derivation, not current use.

"I think you'll find that the majority of people, either rightly or wrongly, believe the word 'homo' to mean 'man' "

Which it does, when derived from Latin. When derived from Greek, it means same.

"The word has firm roots in Latin as well as Greek"

but it doesn't, that's the point.

From wordinfo :

"This Greek prefix forms many scientific and other terms, often in opposition to hetero-. Don’t confuse this Greek homo- element with the Latin homo- which means “mankind”."

"and homophobia could be interpeted the same in both languages:

Gr. Fear of sex with members of the same sex

Ln. Fear of sex with men"

as homophobia is an invented word, not used by the ancients, it is silly to then try and translate it from what they might have thought if they had that word.

"But like you say, I'm sure we can both find corroborating sources to back our arguments."

well, you've yet to show me a source that says homophobia comes from Latin.

"You lost me on the parent analogy, and again on the sapien reference, perhaps you should stick to the point in future."

You are easily lost then. If you take a current word, and then show that part of it appears in different languages, it doesn't mean that those different languages are all the source. Just because you derive from your parents, doesn't mean that two other parents with the same name as your parents must also be your parents. The fact that you can find homo in Greek and in Latin doesn't mean that each language is therefore the source of the word.

As for homo sapiens, if you wish to argue that homo is deriving from an ancient word from homosexual, then homo sapiens must mean gay man. Simples.

"I don't think you'll find a single gay man that will call himself a lesbian though, but you're welcome to try."

Now what point are you trying to make ? Nobody has suggested that the word lesbian applies to men. It is a rather brainless tactic to try and put words into somebody else's mouth just so you can show those words to be wrong.

As you seem so fond of cut n paste, try Wiki :

The word homosexual is a Greek and Latin hybrid with the first element derived from Greek ?µ?? homos, 'same' (not related to the Latin homo, 'man', such as in Homo sapiens), thus connoting sexual acts and affections between members of the same sex, including lesbianism.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

lots of quotes, but has anyone come up with another word to replace homophobic?

Which means dislike of the same sex, sex liking people...

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"lots of quotes, but has anyone come up with another word to replace homophobic?

Which means dislike of the same sex, sex liking people...

"

Sticking with ancient Greek, that would be homerotophobia or homoerotophobia, a word which was actually used before homophobia. You'd need the ero bit so that it actually refers to sexuality. If you feared the opposite sex, you could use heteroerotophobia.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

[Removed by poster at 06/04/10 14:16:28]

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"lots of quotes, but has anyone come up with another word to replace homophobic?

Which means dislike of the same sex, sex liking people...

Sticking with ancient Greek, that would be homerotophobia or homoerotophobia, a word which was actually used before homophobia. You'd need the ero bit so that it actually refers to sexuality. If you feared the opposite sex, you could use heteroerotophobia."

Whats ancient Greek for...YOU GEEK...???

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

Whats ancient Greek for...YOU GEEK...??? "

isn't it bimbos ?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

Whats ancient Greek for...YOU GEEK...???

isn't it bimbos ?"

LOVING IT...

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"p.s. Try and learn how the quote system works on here as it helps to break up a long and boring passage of text and shows what you are quoting and what is your own words.

"

You've lost your argument, and the best you can do is start to criticise how somebody uses a website that isn't yours ?

Putting quotes inside quote marks has been a technique that's been around for a long time, that's why they are called quote marks. Simples, again.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"

Whats ancient Greek for...YOU GEEK...???

isn't it bimbos ?

LOVING IT... "

now, repeat after me, amo, amas, amat....

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By *ugby 123Couple
Forum Mod

over a year ago

O o O oo

oh my.

Maybe you two could take this to mail instead.

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