Homophobia is negative feelings, attitudes, actions or behaviors towards anyone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, etc. – or perceived to be any of these. Institutionalized homophobia refers to homophobic laws, policies, and positions taken by social and governmental institutions.
Transphobia and Biphobia refer to similar feelings, attitudes, and actions specifically directed towards transgender or bisexual people respectively.
Conversion Therapy
Conversion therapy is any intervention that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Conversion therapies work towards one goal, and that goal is to ‘cure’ someone from being lesbian, gay, bi, trans, intersex and/or queer. Conversion practices are one-directional and the intention is to get a person to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
LGBTQIA+ people don’t need to be cured, and interventions that seek to make a person straight or cisgender can and do cause significant long-term harm to victims.
