“In [Nazi] Germany, they first came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me – and by that time no one was left to speak up” (Attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoeller). [1]

“Hate speech against gays and lesbians is less the exchange of ideas in a free culture, and more the expression of hatred and intolerance.” [2]

I like to think that we live in a world that is progressing socially in every quadrant of the world. The truth, however, is that same-sex relationships remain illegal in over 70 countries, and in some, offenders are punished by flogging or even death. [3] Even in countries like our own that are socially progressive, the sound of hate speech occasionally roars in my ears. Hate speech is defined as “a term commonly used in the legal community….to address speech that denigrates persons on the basis of their race or ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, physical condition, disability, sexual orientation, and so forth.” [4] More broadly, hate speech also includes words written as well as those spoken. The written word is often viewed less critically (and consequently believed more readily), not to mention that the written word can remain with us for a very long time.

What led to my decision to write about hate speech this month are two recent events. First, I was informed of a website that reports supposed “research evidence” that casts gay men in a very negative light. Second, I was asked a few months ago to act as an expert witness in an upcoming hearing. The hearing refers to a complaint of hate speech that originates a few years ago. The written piece in question refers to gay people as self-centred, wicked, perverse, and morally deprived. They are purportedly mentally-ill individuals who recruit both adults and children, they are pedophiles, and they have done horrendous atrocities. They are then compared to pedophiles, drug dealers, and pimps, and lastly they are referred to as “the enemy.” Hate speech like this is what necessitated the passing of Bill C-250, an Act that included sexual orientation into existing hate propaganda sections of the Criminal Code, in 2003. This particular hate speech occurred before this date.

The description of gay individuals is not unlike the rhetoric that has been used historically to deny us equal rights. The sad thing is that these negative stereotypes are completely false with no psychological evidence to support them. For example, psychological research established many years ago that the vast majority of pedophiles are heterosexual men who prey on girls. One study, for example, revealed that “82 percent of sexually abused children were molested by the heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child; less than 1 percent of abusers were gay or lesbian.” [5]

So what effect does hate speech have on people – including heterosexuals and queers? There are clearly some negative effects, and here is my compilation:

1.Increasing the Threat Level to the Physical Safety of Gays – The relationship between having negative attitudes toward queer individuals on the one hand, and hate crimes on the other, has been validated in a recent national and representative American study. The study involved three different sources of information and included 73 cities, each with a population over 100,000. [6] In particular, this study found that beliefs surrounding the morality of homosexuality is the strongest predictor of hate-crime victimization. Consequently, negative epithets targeting morality lead to the development of homonegative beliefs, which in turn increase the probability of antigay violence.

The association between hate speech and hate crimes has long been theorized, and one of the major theories along this line is Allport’s (1958). [7] In his five stages of prejudice, the first level he calls antilocutions, which are the verbal assaults launched at a targeted group. This stage is followed by avoidance of the disliked group, discriminatory treatment, physical attacks, and under certain circumstances, extermination. The Nazis, for example, “created stereotypes of Jews as dirty and disease-ridden and as dangerous child molesters as a way to tap into people’s already existing fears and to reinforce negative attitudes which then had currency.” [8]

The vast majority of gay males and lesbian females have been verbally abused at some point in their lives. [9] Sadly, estimates suggest that about 10 percent of lesbian women and 20 percent of gay men have also been physically assaulted. [10] When they are murdered, they usually die under brutal circumstances. [11] Sexual minorities are among the most frequently targeted victims of hate-motivated violence in Canada. [12] I will look further into queer hate crimes in a later issue of GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine.

2.Increasing Internalized Homophobia and Concomitant Compromised Mental Health – “Internalized homophobia, or, more broadly, internalized oppression, refers to the acceptance and internalization by members of oppressed groups of negative stereotypes and images of their groups, beliefs in their own inferiority, and concomitant beliefs in the superiority of the dominant group. Internalized homophobia…develops from the negative messages society puts forth about gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.” [13] It is linked to many mental health consequences for gays, including low self-esteem, depression, self-loathing, and other forms of psychological distress. A study conducted in Calgary, for example, found that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals were 13.9 times at greater risk of making a serious suicide attempt compared to heterosexuals. [14] It is also well-established that gay children and youth are especially at risk for mental-health problems, suicide ideation and attempts, running away, school absenteeism, and alcohol and drug abuse. It is hurtful for people of all ages to read that they are “wicked” and “morally deprived.” These are age-old arguments used against gays to continue the hate agenda.

3.Increase in homophobia within heterosexual individuals – Hate speech increases the dislike that people have for the targeted group. In the case of gays, this is called homophobia. Homophobia is the antithesis of love. People with a strong homosexual orientation are found in every society, every culture, and are members of every religion worldwide. They are generally born to heterosexual parents. Writing vilifications against gays increases homophobia and consequently delivers a grave disservice to every gay person in the world. They need the love and support of their family and friends to grow into loving people themselves. Unfortunately, this is not often initially the case when gays come out to their families.

4.Nullifying freedom of speech for gays and lesbians – One author from a Canadian legal journal wrote it best, I believe. Quoting from his work: “….A hate promoter need only plant doubts about the character or intentions of some identifiable group to impair its freedom of expression. Put differently, hate promotion need only convince people that an identifiable group is different from the majority of people in order to impair the maligned group’s freedom of expression. A member of a maligned group, speaking to an audience which doubts his character and intentions, will have a hard time generating the trust which is a prerequisite to persuasion. Hate promotion threatens the ability to persuade without which freedom of expression is worthless…. The problem is that the hate promoter’s claims have a surface plausibility. After all, there are real differences among different groups. Is it not reasonable to think that a specialist might know more about those differences than the ordinary person does?” [15]

In summary, hate speech does a grave disservice to promoting respect for diversity within the Canadian mosaic. Such messages convey a dangerous naiveté regarding gay and lesbian individuals, an ignorance that can only spread venom in a world that already has enough of it.

Dr. Alderson is an assistant professor of counselling psychology at the University of Calgary who specializes in gay and lesbian studies. He also maintains a private practice. He can be contacted by confidential email at alderson@ucalgary.ca, or by confidential voice mail at (403) 605-5234.

References:

1) Blumenfeld, W. J., & Raymond, D. (1993). Looking at gay and lesbian life (updated and expanded edition). Boston, MA: Beacon Press. [quote from p. 218].

2) Cowan, G., Heiple, B., Marquez, C., Khatchadourian, D., & McNevin, M. (2005). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward hate crimes and hate speech against gays and lesbians: Old fashioned and modern heterosexism. Journal of Homosexuality, 49(2), 67 82. [quote from p. 81].

3) Dworkin, S. H., & Yi, H. (2003). LGBT identity, violence, and social justice: The psychological is political. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 25(4), 269 279.

4) Leets, L. (2002). Experiencing hate speech: Perceptions and responses to anti Semitism and antigay speech. Journal of Social Issues, 58(2), 341 361. [quote from p. 342].

5) Bohan, J. S. (1996). Psychology and sexual orientation: Coming to terms. New York: Routledge. [quote from p. 202].

6) Alden, H. L., & Parker, K. F. (2005). Gender role ideology, homophobia and hate crime: Linking attitudes to macro level anti gay and lesbian hate crimes. Deviant Behavior, 26(4), 321 343.

7) Allport, G. W. (1958). The nature of prejudice. New York: Random House.

8) Blumenfeld & Raymond (1993). [quote from p. 232].

9) Hershberger, S. L., & D’Augelli, A. R. (1995). The impact of victimization on the mental health and suicidality of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. Developmental Psychology, 31, 65-74.

10) Ratner, E. F. (1993). Treatment issues for chemically dependent lesbians and gay men. In L. D. Garnets & D. C. Kimmel (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on lesbian and gay male experiences (pp. 567-578). New York: Columbia University Press.

11) Dunbar, E. (2006). Race, gender, and sexual orientation in hate crime victimization: Identity politics or identity risk? Violence and Victims, 21(3), 323 337.

12) Totten, M. (2005, June 10). Youth and violence fact sheet. Public Health Agency of Canada. Retrieved June 5, 2006 from http://www.phac aspc.gc.ca/ncfv cnivf/familyviolence/html/nfntsyjviolence_e.html

13) Dworkin, S. H. (2000). Individual therapy with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients. In R. M. Perez, K. A. Debord, & K. J. Bieschke (Eds.), Handbook of counseling and psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients (pp. 157-182). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [quote from p. 169].

14) Bagley, C., & Tremblay, P. (1997). Suicidal behaviors in homosexual and bisexual males. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 18(1), 24 34.

15) Fish, A. (1989). Hate promotion and freedom of expression: Truth and consequence. Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, 2, 111-137. [quote from p. 131].