Why is it called homophobia?

Most people who have a problem with homosexuality don't actually "hate" the actual people who are involved in homosexuality...I mean, how can you "hate" someone you have never even met?

I think the term "homophobia" would apply to someone who fears homosexuality, not just homosexual people themselves.

I do think that homophobia could get to the point where someone who suffers from this psychological condition does fear people who they perceive as being homosexual, even to the point where he/she could possibly harm them. I also think that someone with this phobia would be terrified of finding even the tiniest spark of homosexuality in themselves, to the point where they would shun anything that might even appear "gay"...for instance a male homophobe would be unable to shop for perfume or lingerie for his girlfriend, or a female homophobe would be unable to wear jeans...

Now, if you are speaking about the natural disgust some folks feel when confronted with homosexuality, that is something completely different. There is no fear involved here, only the very natural revulsion that normal, healthy folks feel when presented with any sexual perversion. In other words, to them, homosexuality is no different than bestiality, or pedophilia, or necrophilia, or incest, or any other such perversion.

You wouldn't say that these folks are afraid of people who like to get it on with goats or cows, or kids, or dead people, or their siblings or other family members....you would just say that the practice disgusts them.

You may think that homosexuality shouldn't be listed along with these other perversions...but a great many people would disagree with you.

OH, and did you know that incest and pedophilia occur in the animal kingdom even more often than homosexuality? So, it must be perfectly "natural", so why do you feel queasy when you think about it?

Bestiality and necrophilia also occur among animals....just not as often....

EDIT:

I found your remark about Smirk's answer not being true, because then atheists "would be scared of" Christians and God very interesting...and very revealing.

With those few words, you told us a great deal about yourself...

Homophobia does not just mean "fear of homosexuals"

Homophobia is defined as,

" Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals "

And phobia is defined as,

"1 : abnormal fear of

2 : intolerance or aversion for"

This is where the stronger sense of it comes into play, the defintion of Aversion.

"1 : a feeling of repugnance toward something with a desire to avoid or turn from it"

Repugnance,

1 a: the quality or fact of being contradictory or inconsistent b: an instance of such contradiction or inconsistency

2: strong dislike, distaste, or antagonism

Antagonism

1 a: opposition of a conflicting force, tendency, or principle b: actively expressed opposition or hostility.

Homophobics are often very, very verbal, some times physical in their opposition and hostility towards homosexuals. How they can claim to NOT be homophobic is amazing to me.

and another bigot tries to redefine words

phobia is to do with fear

Smirk is right

"homosexual" was only coined in 1869, it isn't a sin or anything

edit: AIDS is passed through blood which is how babies have it, many heteros have AIDS too

edit2: many are in the closet due to homophobia not what you claim

edit3: angesltress is trying and failing at rationalising hatred - LBG people seek consent unlike people who abuse etc

atheists can't hate/fear God as atheists don't believe and many christians push their views on others which is why they get told to go away and many even promote lies, bigotry and hatred

When that term first came around the story was that so called "macho men" would go around and beat up homosexuals because they had a deep seated fear that they themselves had homosexual feelings towards other men and so in order to cover that up and protect themselves from shame they would go out and persecute homosexuals all the time being homosexuals themselves who were just afraid to get in touch with their feelings and come out of the closet.

That was the story anyway.

I think smirk called it. The phobia is about the fear. I wouldn't say that we always hate what we fear, but typically we are fearful of those things that we hate. Hatred is so strong a word, but it accurately describes somebody who is unwilling to leave homosexuals alone and feels some need to beat them up or something.

It all comes down to semantics. Jesus Christ taught us to love the sinner but hate the sin. Accordingly, he would want us to show the love of Christ to all people, heterosexual or homosexual.

Is that a 'troll' avatar?

I work with a gay guy and I hate him. He's a s*it person. Doesn't make me homophobic, he reckons it does. I don't think talking sleazy to children and sh*t stirring is defendable by accusing people of being phobic! What an a**hole.

To the question, yeah homophobia is good enough. Everyone knows what it means and the alternatives are usually more offensive.

Because, it's nicer and less condemning to say someone is homophobic as opposed to saying they're a person so full of hate it is brimming over and effecting the lives of others.

I guess it is a bit dishonest in a lot of circumstances though.

I have never met someone who hated gay people who did not have an irrational fear of them.

When asked why they hate they always demonstrate that fear.

These irrational fears include getting disease from them, getting hit on, having their god attack their towns because of them, etc, fear of having to see two people they don't like kissing kissing, fear of having gay kids, fear that people will realize that straight people don't think about these things as often as the homophobe does....

It isn't really fear of the people who are gay. It is more like fear of the message rather than the messenger. Phobes hate to even think about what gay's and lesbians do with each other, and the very existence of them makes phobes think of it.

Exactly. People that hate homosexuals don't have a phobia of them. If you hate something it doesn't mean you have a phobia of it!!

I don't think they can, because that would make them afraid of themselves, which would be kind of more freaky.

If it exists in some people, I would change the name to "HomoHate"