Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?

roid · Post by **roid** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 11:54 pm

while searching for mp3s of ambient nature noise, i stumbled across this of all things.
http://www.edifyingspectacle.org/weblog ... ianity.php

The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n = 35) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n = 29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980). The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies. (PsycINFO Database Record Â© 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
http://www.psycinfo.com/psycarticles/in ... =105&iss=3

what can i say, that's a pretty wild discovery they have there. mmm delicious worms straight from the open can

SilverFJ · Post by **SilverFJ** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 12:40 am

One could say that homophibia is a result of an uncomfortability with your own sexuallity, whether homosexually inclined or not.

Phoenix Red · Post by **Phoenix Red** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 12:53 am

Or maybe it has to do with the fact that when you're trying to ignore a film you find unpleasant the easiest thing to think about is the tape measure wrapped around your penis.

Iceman · Post by **Iceman** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:23 am

Discovery? I thought it was common knowledge and part of the definition of homophobia.

But ... I was wrong

Dictionary.com wrote:hoÂ·moÂ·phoÂ·biÂ·a Audio pronunciation of "homophobia" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hm-fb-)
n.

1. Fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay men.
2. Behavior based on such a feeling.

Anyhow, I have always thought the those that showed the most contempt for gays were simply disturbed by their own inner interests.

Note that there is a big difference between someone that us uncomfortable with the thought of gay sex and a homophobic. The homophobic is highly prone to being judgemental towards gays and show them a lot of hatred. However, There are lots of people that believe that it is wrong but refrain from being judgemental and show compassion and love to the gays even though they disagree with the lifestyle.

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:24 am

Aire Freshener is a nice generator of ambient nature sounds.

dissent · Post by **dissent** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 3:12 pm

Baked beans are also a nice generator of ambient nature sounds.

Ned · Post by **Ned** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:39 pm

If you want some ambient Weird Techno, try:

Starseeds: Parallel Life (Hard to find but AWESOME)
or some Compilations

One AD
Two AD

What about the millitary guy in Americal Beauty. I think most people have figured out what that study says. "He doth protest too much. . ."

snoopy · Post by **snoopy** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:43 pm

Can anyone say American Beauty? I'd totally believe it. One of the easiest ways to deal with something you don't like (like being excited by men) is denial... in this case, the denial manifests itself as homophobia.

Mobius · Post by **Mobius** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:47 pm

I always thought homophobics were latent homosexuals themselves, and their fear of their latency made them violent towards gay men.

Personally, I'm all in favour of homosexuals, because it increases the odds for the rest of us straighties!

Mobius · Post by **Mobius** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:49 pm

snoopy wrote:Can anyone say American Beauty? I'd totally believe it. One of the easiest ways to deal with something you don't like (like being excited by men) is denial... in this case, the denial manifests itself as homophobia.

That was the one scene in the movie I thought was very poor. It marred an otherwise very good, albeit slightly disturbing movie.

I couldn't understand the movitation nor rationale for that. I think it would have been a better movie if he just blew the guys brains out. IMO anyway.

Suncho · Post by **Suncho** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 5:44 am

I thought it was great. The fact that Kevin Spacey wasn't gay, really embarrassed him. =)

Bold Deceiver · Post by **Bold Deceiver** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:14 pm

Quote = BD Bets You Its Rubbish wrote:Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men and a group of nonhomophobic men . . .

Yes, of course.

"Right ... everyone in a line, now. All those who are nonhomophobic, please take a single step forward."

"Not so fast, Smitty."

Spare me. I mean really, folks. Let's start with an analysis of the very premise of "homophobia" as something that actually exists. Then let's wonder if it's really some kind of pervasive cultural problem that deserves our rapt attention. Then let's decide whether we really trust some academic guys in white coats to separate the lab rats ("Smitty, get back over there with the homophobics, damn you!"). Then let's measure their penile responses to homosexual stimuli, and head off for a few beers.

I used to have a great old 7th Grade physical science teacher in Houston, Texas -- a black man named Mr. Jennings. He carried a steel pole with him during his lectures in class (no doubt due to his twisted homophobia). He would raise the pole up high over his head and wack it down on the desk of any student he felt was (a) falling asleep; or (b) not paying attention.

For reasons that should be now apparent, I paid attention to Mr. Jennings. Here are words from Mr. Jennings that stuck with me: "Don't believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see".

BD

roid · Post by **roid** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:04 pm

they would have used a questionnaire that pryed into the opinions of these men about homosexual behaviour.

it would not have been:
Question 1 of 1
"are you homophobic... yes/no".

i have a hunch Bold Deceiver, that the summary i quoted in the OP was actually a summary, and that there is in fact a larger writeup of the experiment available for perusal should you be concerned enough to check it's authenticity. please do.

as for me? i'm going to assume the study wasn't written by a 9 year old.

roid · Post by **roid** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:18 pm

although i found this in wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia ... homophobia

Some claim (including Sigmund Freud in his psychoanalytic theory) that some or most homophobes are repressed homosexuals, but this claim is highly controversial. The notion, however, suffers from a serious logical fallacy known as post hoc ergo propter hoc. In 1996, a controlled study of 64 heterosexual (by experience and self-reported orientation) men at the University of Georgia5 found the allegedly homophobic men (as measured by the Index of Homophobia6) considerably more likely to experience more erectile response when exposed to homoerotic images than non-homophobic men. However, the homophobic men also tended to report more negative emotions in response to those particular images (not sexual arousal), and the researchers noted that general anxiety has been shown to enhance erectile response. There was no significant difference in results on the Aggression Questionnaire. The group recommended further research.

Pandora · Post by **Pandora** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:42 am

roid wrote:i have a hunch Bold Deceiver, that the summary i quoted in the OP was actually a summary, and that there is in fact a larger writeup of the experiment available for perusal should you be concerned enough to check it's authenticity.

You're right. What they had there is called an "abstract". It's basically a summary at the start of each scientific paper that gives a quick overview about what the researchers had done. Readers can then decide if the study interests them enough to have a closer read. All the details are found in the main article text.

As to how they differentiated between homophobic and non-homophobic men: They used a questionnaire that was already developed and has obviously gone through peer review, otherwise there would not be a reference (Hudson & Rickets, 1980). If it has gone through peer-review, then it usually has *some* validity and is not just conjured up out of thin air.

Your alternative explanation is interesting, though (homophobics respond with more negative emotions towards homoerotic pictures, and negative emotions lead to erections). You would have to look at the main article to see if they have ruled out this explanation. I tried to find the original article, but I don't have license for this journal, and it's also not in Google Scholar.

Pandora · Post by **Pandora** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:00 am

Here is an an interesting write-up of the research. The reactions of the Gay-rights groups are hilarious:

These findings have prompted the gay rights group OutRage! to write to a cross-section of 20 homophobic MPs challenging them to take Prof. Adams's test to counter suggestions that their anti-gay voting record might be evidence of repressed homosexuality.
(...)
Citing Prof. Adams's experiments, the OutRage! letter to MPs says: "In view of this research and your homophobic voting record, there is now bound to be speculation about your sexuality. We are sure this speculation is without foundation, but to end the innuendo that you might harbour homosexual feelings, we invite you to take Prof. Adams's test. Under medical supervision, OutRage! is offering to wire you to a penile circumference measuring device and show you gay sex videos. If you are not gay, there will be no penile enlargement and you will have strong scientific evidence to dispel any queries about your sexual orientation. We invite you to contact us to make an appointment at your earliest convenience".

but also interesting is this:

The response to the heterosexual video was also interesting. The homophobic group got less aroused by the heterosexual porn flicks than the non-homophobic group; which suggests that homophobia correlates with dysfunctional heterosexuality and impaired heterosexual erotic capability.

this kind of counters the idea that the increased arousal of homphobic men was due to more anxiety. If this was the case the homophobics should not have shown less arousal towards heterosexual images.

Money! · Post by **Money!** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 11:42 pm

Talking about movies... Deliverance?

rasta · Post by **rasta** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:55 pm

WELL WELL IT LOOKS LIKE IVE TAKEN THE AMERICANS ON A VOYAGE OF SELF DISCOVERY AND I WONDER IF MY TAUNTS HAVE MADE THIS SUBJECT COME ABOUT I DISCOVERD LONG AGO THAT MOST YANKS ARE GAY HENCE THERE MACHO POSTURING SO I CHOSE MY TAUNTS TO BE(now im gonna fuk you in the ass)and( bend over and take it up the tailpipe) TO WHICH THEY ALL REPLY THAT IM A FAG AMERICANS FAVOURITE WORD AND ARE SO HURT THAT IMTHE MOST HATED PLAYER IN D3 HISTORY SO IF THIS TOPIC WAS TO EXPOSE ME AS GAY ALL YOU DID WAS EXPOSE YOURSELF BECAUSE THST IS WHY I USE THE TAUNTS BECAUSE INO IT WILL HURT YOU AND PUT YOU OF YOUR GAME WE BRITS DISCOVERD A LONG TIME AGO THE YANKS DONT LIKE IT UPEM OH AND THE NAMES BAD BOY ANY TIME YOU WANNA TY AN TEST ME YOU NO WHO TA LOOK FOR

Jeff250 · Post by **Jeff250** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:57 pm

Does this study also infer that straight-o-phobes are also really closet straighties?

dissent · Post by **dissent** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 8:34 pm

Jeff250 wrote:Does this study also infer that straight-o-phobes are also really closet straighties?

LOL @ Jeff!

By God, we are all totally screwed

WarAdvocat · Post by **WarAdvocat** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 10:02 pm

Nobody cares, Bad Boy...

I will say that I'm not sure where this topic points (so to speak)...Is homophobia a sign of latent homosexuality or not?

....Because if it IS, I'm not homophobic in the least!!! Else, I am. :p

Ned · Post by **Ned** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 1:34 pm

Im not sure about the study

but if you are able to get a raging woodie while weeping profusely. . . seek help

Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?

Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?

CLOSET HOMOES