Who's afraid of the big, bad moffie?

What is it about homosexuality that inspires such hatred in others — and most frequently on the part of men? I mean often the degree of hatred, and the violence it often inspires, seems completely out of proportion to whatever threat homosexuality seemingly poses. Recent events in Malawi are a case in point, though such incidents of homophobia are certainly not isolated to that one African country.

Homophobia is frequently explained in terms of homosexuality being “un-African”, in contravention of a particular culture, or being in some way “unnatural” — as was the case in Malawi. For me these explanations all seem rather weak. Part of the reason is because they don’t seem capable of accounting for the extreme levels of violence and hatred that often accompany anti-gay sentiments. Why does homosexuality in particular provoke such a desire for violence when there are numerous other “practices” that can also be classified as “un-African”, “unnatural”, or “irreligious”, but which don’t warrant such sentiments? If the problem is simply that being gay is “un-African”, then I still don’t understand why that in itself merits such violence, or calls for punishment.

So, for now I propose we set aside those explanations, and instead look at homophobia from a different point of view. Let’s start with the fear which is at the root of the word homophobia, and trace how fear could be playing a role in motivating hatred and violence.

The most obvious fear, and perhaps one all the more pervasive in homophobic environments, must be the actual fear of being labelled “gay”. In a country like Malawi, for example, where society is so openly homophobic, the prospect of being called gay must be terrifying, not least because of homosexuality’s illegality. In this way, homosexuality becomes something of a social contagion, something to be avoided as far as possible. In such a context it seems fair to assume that people would put a lot of effort into not being gay. And what better way to prove how not gay you are, than by violently denouncing gays and homosexuality?

In this model it’s easy to see how homophobia would begin to sustain (and reinforce) itself. As more and more are co-opted into the homophobia, so the “costs” of being caught out become all the more dire, and as such the system escalates. We can also see how the “costs” or dangers of even being associated with homosexuality would dissuade people from speaking out against the system. Indeed if one had the courage to challenge such homophobia, one would run a serious risk of simply being called gay, and as such one’s efforts would be discredited.

What results, then, is a vicious cycle wherein homosexuality is demonised, and homophobia is naturalised; people actually come to see homophobia as “unnatural” and “uncultural’. And in this light their violence against homosexuals takes on a new guise of legitimacy and righteousness.

What I find interesting is how, from this point of view, homophobia has its roots in fear and not in culture, religion or ethnicity. It’s as if these explanations for homophobia are more like excuses; a way of legitimising violent sentiments, but not of actually explaining them. Perhaps then we can understand these other explanations for homophobia as convenient ways of accounting for the hatred without having to acknowledge its true origins — because doing so is potentially very dangerous as you could easily be labelled gay yourself.

The power of this system, as I’ve argued above, is its ability to reinforce and sustain itself. Left unchallenged the system will continue to manufacture scapegoats and lead to human-rights abuses. Trying to stop the system by challenging cultural or ethnic explanations is an impotent course of action. How can we ever come to any consensus on what is really African, and what is not? Who are the cultural custodians of culture, able of making a definitive decision on what acts are culturally acceptable, and which aren’t? No, challenging homophobia on these grounds is a dead-end.

Ending homophobia requires us to face up to our own insecurities and fears regarding homosexuality. Until being called gay is no longer taken as an insult, we will continue to create boundaries between ourselves and what is considered gay — and these boundaries are the very constructs that ultimately make homophobia a possibility, and keep it alive.