These are the Psychological Problems due to the Aftermath of Homophobia

Sometimes it is believed that homophobia, as discrimination against people due to their emotional-sexual orientation, is a debt settled. Under certain discourses, the fact that currently many Western countries teach comprehensive sexual education programs in schools for the purpose of informing and preventing homophobia; that progress has been made in recent decades towards the decriminalization of relationships between people of the same sex; or that there are 35 countries that allow same-sex couples to marry (a number that, by the way, continues being relatively low if we consider the number of nations that violate LGBT+ rights day after day day).

Nevertheless, The reality is that homophobia resides beyond the reach of the legislative sphere. It is a series of practices and behaviors that promote aggression towards homosexual people for the mere fact of being so. This aggression can be explicit, but it can also manifest itself in subtle ways. So much so that some authors even use the construct of internalized homophobia to refer to the prevalence of these hate speeches in homosexual people, who end up replicating them.

With this panorama, it is logical that violence linked to homophobia causes lesbians, gays and bisexuals to be exposed to a greater risk of suffering from mental health problems. This has been studied empirically. Therefore, in this article we will explain what they are the main psychological problems caused by homophobia.

• Related article: "The 16 types of discrimination (and their causes)"

A look at the core of homophobia

When we talk about homophobia we are referring to a form of discrimination that generates particular stress in people for the simple fact of belonging to a sexual minority. Added to this are other situations that people from the LGBT+ community usually face, such as the acceptance and integration of their own desire to their romantic and sexual practices or, if they wish, share their sexual orientation with their close social network: friends and family. family. This process is complex and highly personal; It varies from subject to subject, from their individual characteristics and from the culture that surrounds them.

Considering a sociocultural dimension of this problem, homophobia results from the contradiction between practices, values ​​or ways of being of a person with respect to the heteronormative social values ​​that are assigned to them they allocate. This implies that homophobia is not necessarily imparted when a person explicitly expresses romantic affection towards another of the same sex as him or her. Homophobia punishes those gestures, words, beliefs, clothing, tastes... that do not agree with what is expected of a person according to these values.

Contextualizing the phenomena is key to understanding and at the same time questioning these forms of hatred that still persist, that are knotted in the social relations that the individuals of a society establish on a daily basis and that escape from what can be written down in laws. Legislation is essential, but so is asking what obsolete values ​​homophobia responds to. Thinking about a couple of two people of the same sex undoubtedly strains the notion of the modern nuclear family and marriage as an institution.. It also does so with certain social constructions such as the “maternal instinct” and the reproductive place to which women were relegated, that of caring for children and the home; but it also points against the commands towards man and the must-be of virility. Homosexuality questions the foundations of the hegemonic family model, and although that is perhaps what raises a gaze disapproval by some social sectors, can never justify the discrimination and hatred that is put into play even in the present.

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The psychological problems resulting from homophobia

Homophobia has negative consequences on the psychological well-being of people who suffer from it. Based on the contributions of various scientific research, below are the mental health problems that arise as consequences of homophobia.

1. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress

One of the contexts where most experiences of violence and discrimination due to homophobia occur is at school. For having been victims of bullying or bullying, some of the LGBT+ people who suffered homophobia during adolescence continue to have symptoms of posttraumatic stress, as avoidance of situations that have been learned to be dangerous, hyperarousal, reexperiencing, among others.

2. Low self-esteem

The low self-esteem It involves the negative evaluation of constituent aspects of oneself, such as one's own abilities, individual characteristics or physical appearance. The scientific literature regarding the study of this variable is very vast and the majority of studies agree that low self-esteem is a common sequelae among people who suffered homophobia.

3. Increased anxiety and depression

For their part, people who have been stigmatized for being or being perceived as lesbian, gay or bisexual They present higher levels of anxiety and depression, even when the time in which they were discriminated against was distant from present.

4. Social isolation

Acceptance and social support from family and friends when a person shares their orientation Affective-sexual behavior different from the regulations is key to psychological well-being, and has a positive impact on health mental. It's known that Close ties can be psychological buffers against social stress, depression, anxiety, and the negative effects of stressful life events.. However, when a person is rejected by their inner circle, they tend to perceive the lack of support and acceptance in others and decrease their trust in them. Unfortunately, this factor could explain one of the reasons why the suicide risk figures in LGBT+ people are much higher than those of the heterosexual population.

5. Substance abuse

Ultimately, the increased risk of substance abuse is another of the most common consequences of homophobia. In fact, along with social stress, discrimination is the risk factor that has been most proven to influence substance abuse in the LGBT population. Addictions provide relief in the short term for people who are suffering from a difficult situation; It is a way to avoid the painful emotional states they experience. However, in the long term, the person can become extremely dependent on the substance, negatively affecting all areas of life, including their physical and mental health.