"Individuals who identify as straight but in psychological tests show a strong attraction to the same sex may be threatened by gays and lesbians because homosexuals remind them of similar tendencies within themselves," explains Netta Weinstein, a lecturer at the University of Essex and the study's lead author."
"In many cases these are people who are at war with themselves and they are turning this internal conflict outward," adds co-author Richard Ryan, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester who helped direct the research."
The study provides new empirical evidence to support the theory that the aversion and hostility that some “seemingly heterosexual people” hold toward gays and lesbians is often the manifestation of of their own repressed same-sex desires.
To be honest I actually feel sorry for those that have become so self-loathing. Imagine growing up in a household (or surrounding society) that is so anti-gay that you become afraid of your own thoughts and feelings. You become conditioned to reject anyone similar to you just to keep them from reminding yourself of who you really are. The fear of being exposed and the subsequent rejection of one's own family is a powerful burden to carry and can manifest itself in different ways in one's psyche.
ReplyDeletePsychiatrist Dr Loren Olsen, author of Finally Out: Letting Go of Living Straight , explains that some withhold exploring their sexuality until they are free of their family and home surroundings, all the while having healthy attitudes towards what it is to be gay. Others however are taught such fear of homosexuality that they internalize the fear to the point that they reject their own self.
These self-loathers tend to grow up in a family with strong anti-gay convictions. Making children feel bad for who they really are, to hate their own skin, is actually a form of child abuse.
Are all gay haters actually gay themselves?… certainly not. People hate for many reasons. But those that turn out to be gay should be lovingly brought into the fold and nurtured by the LGBT Community. Simple forgiveness and acceptance is a far greater (and kinder) motivator to help them come to terms with themselves rather than rejecting them outright for their past indiscretions.