Do you feel guilty? Think again!
It is generally thought that homophobia is a key contributor to HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Moreover, internalised homophobia almost certainly puts people at risk for HIV because it creates mixed messages, conflicting feelings and it interferes with an individual’s ability to take control over their sexual safety and with their capacity to establish durable, loving relationships.
Homophobia is a fascinating puzzle. In a region where diversity is embraced, emancipation is celebrated and the elimination of prejudice is accepted without question, it is extremely curious that resentment of gay men and women should be so deep-seated in the culture. After all gays and lesbians are a small minority of the population and according to popular stereotypes, young gay men are typically soft and well behaved. So where is the threat? And why be so biased?
The usual justification society uses is religion. And it is true that prominent conservatives regularly quote a handful of stock paragraphs from the Bible to justify their prejudice. However, when examined more closely, this justification is hard to understand. For example, while there are some debateable euphemisms, the word ‘homosexual’ never appears in the Bible; the issue is not touched on in the Ten Commandments; nor did Jesus of Nazareth condemn homosexuals. On the contrary, by all accounts Jesus’ approach was inclusive: he embraced marginalised groups and he extolled the value of love.
In contrast, the religious justification used by homophobes generally relies on more obscure passages in the Bible, most notably the Old Testament Book of Leviticus. But the use of these more obscure passages is also difficult to account for: the depth of people’s reaction (often amounting to murderous hate) is way out of proportion to the attention the Bible allegedly pays to the issue and to say the least it is completely inconsistent with basic Christian ideals of love and fellowship.
Moreover, there are many things in Leviticus that are considered ‘abominable’ including things that we Caribbean people do all the time: eat crab, shark and conch, wear clothes made from mixed fibres and so on. All of these are condemned in Leviticus, yet few people seem to be aware, let alone care. It is only that one short line of Leviticus that people seem to be fixated on, the rest is easily dismissed.
Of course none of this dilemma is helped because the Bible is so open to interpretation. History is littered with cases where verses from the Bible were used to support of all sorts of hateful agendas. For example, for centuries the scriptures were used to justify slavery; Adolf Hitler claimed that God was on his side during World War 2; and for most of recorded history, the Bible was used to justify the subordinate status of women, including when that amounted to physical abuse.
On the other hand (and to make the issue even more complicated) many Christians are not homophobic nor do they see the Bible as a prescription for homophobia. There are churches that welcome gay members; that conduct marriages and appoint gay clergy. And these are not strange cults; the Anglican Church has appointed at least one openly gay bishop and there are many other churches that have senior clergy who are openly gay and for whom there appears to be no conflict with the way those churches see the scriptures. No lesser authority than Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa is prominent in his unequivocal condemnation of homophobia.
So what are we to make of all this confusion? Our investigations have raised the possibility that the real explanation for deep homophobia in the Caribbean and elsewhere lies outside of the domain of religion. Instead, religion is being exploited as a mask for conservative political agendas. Religion is also being used by anti-social elements to entrench their own power and authority using the classical approach of scapegoating a vulnerable minority group.
What evidence do we have for this conclusion? First, not all religious folk are homophobic. Left leaning and liberal religious people are much more accepting of diversity, including sexual diversity. Second, homophobia is not consistent with core religious values of love and fellowship. Third, people who commit homophobic assaults and murder often justify their attacks along religious lines even though they have no problem breaking the Ten Commandments in the process and many don’t attend church.
The unfortunate consequence of the homophobia of some religious folk is that it puts them on the same side as the thugs and gangsters who want to murder homosexuals. Moreover, whether through silence or outright homophobia, the support that some religious folk give to homophobia can be taken as a license to commit violence and can sometimes amount to a death sentence.
So what do I believe? I believe that loving relationships are always sacred, no matter what gender is involved. I also believe that prejudice is evil, including homophobic prejudice. I am continually shocked and disappointed at the hateful agendas being pursued in the name of religion. I am convinced that this glaring hypocrisy is both the source of great pain and injury for gays and lesbians; it promotes the spread of HIV; and it is also a key factor that undermines the credibility of religion for young people today.
Do you feel guilty? Think again!
Professor David Plummer
Commonwealth / UNESCO Regional Chair in Education
(HIV/AIDS Health Promotion)
Faculty of Humanities and Education
The University of the West Indies
St Augustine Campus
Trinidad & Tobago
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