Heterosexism: A Psychological Disorder

In today’s society, it is common practice to make use of derogative slang when concerning the homosexual community. Slang terms such as “fag” and “homo” are often used to refer to odd or effeminate people. In fact, in a culture where racial slurs and bigotry are shunned, these indicators of prejudice are consistently used in mainstream media. The explanation for the permissibility of this stigmatization can be found in the fundamentals of psychology. The predisposition to heterosexuality is defined in psychological terms as homophobia. Within the past several decades, studies have been conducted that have resulted in a thorough definition of the irrational fear, possible causes, and, inevitably, potential methods for treating the phobia.

First, it is important to address the escalation of this prejudice and at what point it deems the classification of a psychological disorder in the form of a phobia. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) , a phobia is a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that constitutes dysfunction within an individual, and causes present distress. Therefore, if a person only expe

 
 

6. more likely to be religious and subscribe to a conservative religious ideology

Psychoanalysis, the theory or treatment of abnormal mental functioning that emphasizes unconscious psychological forces as the cause of psychopathology. Sigmund Freud, perhaps the most famous psychologist in this field, suggests that an exclusive heterosexual orientation is a result of biological causes, social prohibitions on homoeroticism, and early experiences with parents . An attraction to same-sex parents is repressed in dissolving the complete Oedipus complex. When incomplete repression occurs, the individual develops homosexual tendencies. Freud also asserts that homosexual arousal which an individual is either unaware or denies is termed as latent homosexuality. This phenomenon explains the emotional malaise and irrational attitudes that are displayed by those who feel guilty about any homosexual impulses they may be feeling. Psychoanalysts, Barlow, Sakheim and Beck developed the theory of the role of anxiety and attention in sexual response . It states that homophobic individuals view homosexual stimuli that create anxiety that biologically causes erections in men. This physical reaction causes resentment within the anxious person, thereby causing homophobic tendencies of avoiding homosexual stimuli.




Some topics in this essay:
Cognitive Theory, Gregory Herek, DSM IV, Board Trustees, Psychological Disorder, Sigmund Freud, Sakheim Beck, Psychological Association, homosexual stimuli, homophobic individual, homophobic tendencies, psychological disorder, unconscious conflicts, irrational fear, unconscious conflicts homophobic, homophobic behavior, negative attitudes, mental disorders, conflict homophobic,
 
   
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