Homophobia is used to describe heterosexuals' fear of being in contact of homosexuals as well as internalized homophobia, meaning the negative feelings that homosexuals have towards themselves of their sexuality. Sexual prejudice is used to define the fear, hate and disgust that people show towards anyone's sexual orientation. Like other types of prejudice, there are three main principles that surround sexual prejudice it is an attitude, it is directed at social groups and it is negative as involving discrimination.
Sexual Prejudice the Understanding of Homophobia and Heterosexism.
Sexual prejudice is the negative attitude towards sexual orientation, which remains widespread in the United States; although it has decreased, it is still common (Homophobia, 2014). It is directed towards those who engage in homosexual behavior. Homophobia and heterosexism are two common prejudices group today. In the 1960s the term homophobia was introduced to describe the fear towards homosexuals (Homophobia, 2014). Heterosexism was introduced around the same time to describe the discrimination, mistreatment and harassment as a society towards homosexuals (Heterosexism, 2014). .
What is Homophobia?.
Homophobia incudes negative attitudes and feelings towards homosexuality or homosexuals. Signs of homophobia can be described as antipathy, prejudice or unreasonable fear. There are four types of homophobia, personal, interpersonal, institutional and culture (Homophobia, 2014). Personal homophobia is the personal belief that homosexuals are sinful, immoral or unequal to heterosexuals and viewed as imperfect people. They may feel uncomfortable, hated, afraid or disgusted by the sexual attraction between people of the same sex. Regardless of sexual orientation, anyone can experience personal homophobia. Personal homophobia may also occur within homosexuals' internalized homophobia. Where self-acceptance is difficult and some have tried to change or deny their sexual orientation (Revel and Riot, 2014).