Is Homophobia More Prevalent than Racism?

by Michael A. Jones

Published March 09, 2009 @ 07:18PM PST

Racism and homophobia

Do people harbor more negative feelings toward LGBT people than they do toward people of specific races or ethnicities? According to the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology, the answer is yes.

But is this a destructive question to ask? I think the answer is yes. More on that in a paragraph or two, but first, here are the findings of the study.

* 35 percent of those surveyed revealed negative attitudes toward gay men;

* 41 percent held prejudicial attitudes toward lesbians;

* 28 percent held negative attitudes toward Asians;

* 25 percent held negative attitudes toward Black populations;

* 18 percent held negative attitudes toward Southeast Asians

These conclusions led one of the researchers, Pete Jones (no relation!), to say: "Without detracting from the seriousness of the prejudice that still exists against people because of their ethnic origin, the results of our study suggest that being gay or lesbian could be ‘the new black' when it comes to being a victim of prejudice."

It's certainly worthwhile to survey the prejudices and stereotypes that exist regarding sexual orientation and race. But isn't it slightly destructive to compare the two (racism and homophobia), and to label homophobia "the new black"? To me, that seems dismissive of the racist attitudes and behavior that people of color face in a myriad of ways, and suggests that racism is a bit easier than homophobia.

LGBT rights should certainly be considered part of the civil rights struggle. But homophobia and racism shouldn't be in a competition to outdo the other. Both deserved to be condemned equally.