should homophobia be labeled a mental illness?

Bugarally said:
Rigged poll.

There is no option to simply say "no" but instead forces the voter into taking a much more radical stance if they disagree with the OP.

Romaki26 said:
Nah, it's just bigotry which stems from ignorance and lack of knowledge/experience.

It's definitely not a mental illness (i.e. something wrong with the brain), but it's also not really a phobia.

deg said:


there i added a neutral option instead

_Maneki-Neko_ said:
Of course not, that's ridiculous and it especially would shit on real mental illnesses.
These people are just assholes or they grew up in really conservative environments and don't know it any better.

deg said:


the phobia part of it is usually tied with disgust though and can you control disgust?

Megatronsmurf said:


you can overcome disgust but it takes a lot of work and it cant be forced, it has to come from a place of independent personal growth.

deg said:


or a mental health expert can do that better hence the suggestion

Megatronsmurf said:


no, they can't. especially if you think they can. lol imagining some psycho from MAL in a white jacket thinking they can fix anyone ...ha . worse would be being stupid enough to think that.

it only works if it comes from you, and you're willing to look inside yourself face your fears and change. nobody can climb a mountain for you.

_Maneki-Neko_ said:

yes they can, but imagine someone, who attacks lgbt people because of their homophobia and then their lawyer says at the court "sorry, they are mentally ill, you have to consider that." That's why you can't label it as a real phobia.

deg said:


other phobias are treated by mental experts though

AngryAkko said:
@deg what have you done with my boy @deg? Who are you? What is this poll? I want to tick the box that says, ‘I do not know’. I can’t believe they doxxed my boy @deg. F

Kosmonaut said:
It doesn't cause them constant distress, it doesn't impair their social functioning, it doesn't diminish their quality of life and it doesn't produce any other symptoms, be it physical or psychological. So, no, it shouldn't.

deg said:


ok that seems to be the best counter so far

although isnt psychopaths that same? they are high functioning too but prone to criminality? so how about when homophobic levels become violent? like Maneki Neko said earlier

Kosmonaut said:
Homophobia is a social and cultural phenomenon and, as others like it such as racism and xenophobia, it resorts to physical violence to either scare people into conformity/punish non-conformity or to assert social dominance when other means have already failed - such as social shunning or verbal violence. Meaning, violence here isn't an impulse out of one's control, but rather a social, cultural and political tool used to make others comply or to silence them.

deg said:


looks like a lot of people on this thread do not know disgust drives most homophobia like for example https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6562335/

Kosmonaut said:
Disgust is mostly a physical reaction to violations of what is deemed pure, either it be something that poses a perceived health risk (such as vomit or feces; 'traditional' disgust) or it be a social phenomenon (such as casual sex or cheating; socio-moral disgust). In the case of 'traditional' disgust, purity is being healthy and safe. In the case of socio-moral disgust, purity is what is sanctified and considered hegemonic by a culture, eg the 'sanctity' of marriage.

Disgust directed towards homosexuals can either be traditional disgust due to the association of homosexuality to higher chance of disease transmission, or it can be socio-moral due to being a transgression on said culture's idea of purity (usually heteronormative unions). The first one is based on an erroneous feeling perpetuated by social and cultural structures, the second one is a direct product of social and cultural structures (if you want to learn more, you can look deeper into the sacred-profane dichotomy). Both don't conflict with what I said before, which was pointing out that violence is a tool used by hegemonic groups meant to force transgressors into conformity or silence, not an impulse out of one's control.

Admittedly I haven't read the whole study in your link, just the abstract and the introduction, but it also doesn't contradict me. In fact, it seems to partially corroborate my point: even if it proposes there are universal moral foundations that dictate moral judgments, it explicitly says not all disgust or attacks on sanctity are correct, because they might be sprung from wrong perceptions and influenced by one's environment. In other words, reactions of (socio-moral) disgust can be encouraged by or born from one's culture or one's beliefs.

Also, disgust would make one want to be as far away as possible from what is producing that disgust, not beat it up to intimidate it.

deg said:


this is classic nature vs nurture looks like

whats different to actual psychotherapy (nurture) than just simple social education of the subject? isnt the psychotherapy much better especially if the disgust level is higher (nature)?

and from what you said i guess religion for example triggers the latent disgust/homophobia on a lot of homophobic people for example so ye the environmental factors is involved

also ye morals came from feelings (moral emotions) and its further shape by religion for example

disgust can turn to anger though or they are link together too https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5426557/

Kosmonaut said:
On the subject of whether psychotherapy could beneficial to more extremes levels of 'disgust', yes, I don't have any strong opinions opposing it. After all, psychotherapy aren't just for mentally ill people, which is a stereotype perpetuated by some. Helping people with unhealthy habits and personal struggles is also one of its uses. If a person recognizes their disgust as something they want to deal with better and in a more healthy manner, or maybe they identify a point in life in which it turned into an immature defense mechanism, sure, why not? It still doesn't make homophobia a mental illness, nor does it change that this would be a micro-level solution for a macro-level issue.

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are present for more than six months. Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, which are often found in agoraphobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.

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