HOMOPHOBIC BULLYING: CHARACTERISTICS AND CAUSES - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The homophobic bullying is any kind of physical or verbal abuse made with the intent to harm, where there is an imbalance of power between the aggressor and the victim, and caused because the victim has a sexual orientation different from the socially expected.

The person who practices homophobic bullying usually tries to assert themselves by causing harm to the other person, in this case to the victim in their own sexuality. The expression of this aggression implies the desire to partially destroy the other, eliminating all kinds of compassion and limits. In these cases, the abuse carried out by the aggressor is aimed at attacking the victim because of their sexual orientation.

Peers, that is, their peers, are usually aware of this situation and still allow it to happen. Sometimes it occurs behind the back of an adult who is completely unaware of it or even minimizes the action and ignores it.

All these agents are collaborating with the aggressors and promoting the action by omission of action. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness in the educational community and the environment of young people as we will see later.

characteristics

Some characteristics that differentiate this type of bullying from the other forms of harassment that exist are:

• Its invisibility in formal education in the educational system.
• The lack of support coupled with the family rejection that these people may have.
• The possible contagion of stigma not only for these people but also for those who support them.
• The normalization of homophobia is the trigger for it to be internalized as something negative.
• It is characterized by having a silent environment, that is, the people around the victim do not usually give away the aggressor or aggressors.

In addition to the above, we can also find other important common elements with other types of gender violence against women or workplace harassment.

Normally, this type of violence is usually carried out by people who feel they have a lot of power or are superior to their victims, who usually have no possibility of defending themselves.

Causes

During the history of mankind, different ways of understanding our body as well as sex and sexuality have prevailed and highlighted. This concept has been transformed to this day, thus prevailing heterosexuality over homosexuality.

The main cause of homophobic bullying is found in the way society interprets heterosexuality as the only accepted form of sexuality, and all sexual manifestations other than this as something not allowed.

The school, being the institution for the reproduction of culture par excellence, has an important role in the construction of the values ​​of tolerance and respect, but also precisely because of its socializing role, it has to reproduce stereotypes and stigmas in the face of those considered different.

Social factors that promote it

The factors that promote homophobic bullying are the following:

-Gender stereotypes. These are tasks that society and culture usually assign to women and men because they are of that sex.

-The prejudices are to be opinions that are elaborated before judging the evidence. If a person affirms that homosexuals are perverse and promiscuous, without knowledge on the subject, she will be incurring a prejudice and reproducing a stereotype.

-Discrimination and homophobia. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is the condition of exclusion that, based on ideas, myths and misinformation about sexual options other than heterosexuality, places people in a vulnerable situation.

How can you intervene in the face of homophobic bullying?

In order to intervene in the face of homophobic bullying, it is important that sexual education be addressed both at home and at school, focusing on three aspects: content, attitudes and skills.

One may think that this would be enough, however, it is not so, since it has already been seen with other important issues such as sexually transmitted infections, where informative talks in schools do not work.

It is vital that information is provided about homosexuality, lesbianism and transsexuality as possible forms of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is also important that they are done in order to change the negative attitudes that may be had towards these groups.

In schools, we didn't find information or references to sexuality. Lesbianism, homosexuality, bisexuality or transsexuality are not usually discussed.

This could cause it to be thought that it is a topic that cannot be discussed, that is, a taboo topic, thus triggering negative thoughts and therefore that heterosexual values ​​are the dominant ones. So from the schools without being aware, it is helping to maintain the discrimination that allows this type of bullying.

If schools want to reduce homophobic bullying, it should be addressed in a real way, with active policies that introduce a diverse sexual education in the curriculum, where everyone regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation is reflected.

Reasons to intervene

Some reasons to work in that direction are the following:

• In society in general, there is misinformation on issues of gender and sexual orientation and sexuality. Therefore, they can generate myths, prejudices and misconceptions.
• On many occasions, we can find attitudes in schools that are not positive towards the diversity of both students and teachers.
• From school, they must fight to change the negative feeling that exists towards homosexual, bisexual, transsexual people… Therefore, positive values ​​must be promoted towards these groups as well as egalitarian and freedom to trigger a coexistence without harassment or derived problems of this.
• To point out that from school, one of the main agents of socialization should promote tolerant thinking that fosters positive values ​​towards gender diversity in order to reduce this type of negative actions.

Finally, we have to say that not only the school should be in charge of fighting this type of bullying, but that the family also has an active role and we are responsible as parents.

Talking at home with young people since they are small is one of the first steps to contribute to a more tolerant society and as well as transmit values ​​of respect towards this and other groups.

conclusion

Society has a responsibility against bullying and homophobic bullying. We must reflect with ourselves on how we act and what we usually say about sexuality in order to analyze if we are also unconsciously collaborating in homophobic attitudes.

On the other hand, young people find themselves in a society with a lot of information thanks to new technologies, but they still do not have the capacity to be critical of them and they do not know who to ask for help since they are not receiving sex education from schools, issue that at home they will not address because of the fear or shame they feel.

From what we find that young people continue to have the problems they have always had, they do not know who to turn to to find out more about a specific topic in a world full of references to sexuality, consumption and sex.

As educational and family professionals we are responsible for providing the necessary information to young people, providing them with skills and resources so that they can face school bullying and homophobic bullying in order to reduce or alleviate it.

References

1. De la Fuente Rocha, E. (2014). School bullying in youth. Ibero-American Journal of Academic Production and Educational Management.
2. Molinuevo, Belen (2007). Specificity of School Bullying for Homophobia. Course Sex and Love are not of one color, CCOO, Madrid.
3. Morales, Cleric. (2007) Brief history of affirmative action in the world. Mexico. Conapred.
4. Naphy, W., (2006) Born to be gay. History of homosexuality. Mexico.
5. Platero, Raquel and Gómez, Emilio (2007). Tools to combat homophobic bullying. Madrid: Talasa.
6. Winkler, Kathleen (2005). Bullying: How To Deal With Taunting, Teasing, And Tormenting, Enslow Publishers. U.S.