HOMOPHOBIA

noun (People and Society) Fear or dislike of homosexuals and homosexuality. Etymology: Formed by adding the Greek suffix -phobia (meaning 'fear' or 'dislike') to the first part of homosexual. The formation is objected to by some people on the grounds that homo- as a combining form would normally mean 'the same' (as it does in homosexual) or that the word was already in use in the sense 'fear of men' (see below). History and Usage: Homophobia was originally coined in the twenties in the sense 'fear or dislike of men', but as a hybrid formation mixing Latin and Greek elements (Latin homo 'man' and Greek -phobia) it did not really catch on. The impetus for a completely separate word based on homosexual rather than Latin homo and meaning 'fear or dislike of homosexuals' came from the gay liberation movement in the US in the late sixties, when consciousness of gay issues among the general public was being 'raised'. The term was popularized by American writer George Weinberg in articles published throughout the seventies, but did not reach a wide audience until the advent of Aids turned the phenomenon it described into a growing reality. A person who fears or dislikes homosexuals is called a homophobe; the adjective homophobic was derived from homophobia in the mid seventies. Some [homosexuals] even alleged darkly that a supposedly homophobic Reagan administration was deliberately withholding money so that the 'gay plague' would wipe them out. The Times 12 Oct. 1985, p. 8 Each Wednesday night they attended the Gay Homeowners' Association meeting at the Unitarian church, and the pastor...asked, 'Has anyone experienced any homophobia this week?' Don Leavitt Equal Affections (1989), p. 24 'What part of your life would you recycle into another life?' 'Most of it, but not rottweilers, winebars, racists or homophobes.' George Melly in Marxism Today June 1990, p. 56