Gay bashing

Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+). It includes both violence against LGBTQ people and LGBTQ bullying. The term covers violence against and bullying of people who are LGBTQ, as well as non-LGBTQ people whom the attacker perceives to be LGBTQ.

Physical gay bashings sometimes involve extreme violence or murder, the perpetrators’ actions being based on their perceptions or assumptions of the victim's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

LGBTQ youth are more likely to report bullying than non-LGBTQ youth, particularly in schools. Victims of LGBTQ bullying may feel unsafe, resulting in depression and anxiety, including increased rates of suicide and attempted suicide. LGBTQ students may try to pass as heterosexual to escape the chance of being bullied, leading to further stress and isolation from available supports. Support organizations exist in many countries to prevent LGBTQ bullying and support victims. Some jurisdictions have passed legislation against LGBTQ bullying and harassment.

Attack on a LGBTQ activist in Moscow, Russia

Violence

LGBTQ people frequently experience violence directed toward their sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression. This violence may be enacted by the state, as in laws prescribing punishment for homosexual acts, or by individuals. It may be motivated by biphobia, gayphobia, homophobia, lesbophobia, and transphobia. Influencing factors may be cultural, religious, or political mores and biases.

Bullying

Bullying of LGBTQ people, particularly LGBTQ youth, involves intentional actions toward the victim, repeated negative actions by one or more people against another person, and an imbalance of physical or psychological power.

LGBTQ youth are more likely to report bullying than non-LGBTQ youth. In one study, boys who were bullied with taunts of being gay suffered more bullying and more negative effects compared with boys who were bullied with other categories of taunting. Some researchers suggest including youth questioning their sexuality in any research on LGBTQ bullying because they may be as susceptible to its effects as LGBTQ students.

See also

• Abuse
• Anti-LGBT slogans
• Bash Back!
• Bullying
• Corrective rape
• Cyberbullying
• Day of Silence
• Hate crime
• School bullying
• Significant acts of violence against LGBT people
• Trans bashing
• Trust and safety issues in online dating services

Further reading

• Meyer, Doug (2015). Violence against Queer People: Race, Class, Gender, and the Persistence of Anti-LGBT Discrimination. Rutgers University Press.
• Boswell, John (1980). Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-06711-7.
• Cuordileone, K. A. (2000). "'Politics in an Age of Anxiety': Cold War Political Culture and the Crisis in American Masculinity". Journal of American History. 87 (2): 515–45. doi:10.2307/2568762. JSTOR 2568762.
• D'Emilio, John (1989). "The Homosexual Menace: The Politics of Sexuality in Cold War America". In Peiss, Kathy; Simmons, Christina (eds.). Passion and Power: Sexuality in History. Temple University Press. pp. 226–40.
• Edsall, Nicholas C. (2003). Toward Stonewall: Homosexuality and Society in the Modern Western World. U. of Virginia Press. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-8139-2543-1.
• D'Emilio, John; Freedman, Estelle B. (1997). Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America, Second Edition. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-14264-7.
• Fone, Byrne (2001). Homophobia: A History. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-42030-7.
• Hatheway, Jay (2003). The Gilded Age Construction of Modern American Homophobia. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-23492-8.
• Jenness, Valerie; Richman, Kimberly D. (2002). "Anti-Gay and Lesbian Violence and Its Discontents". In Richardson, Diane; Seidman, Steven (eds.). Handbook of Lesbian and Gay Studies. pp. 403+.
• Jenness, Valerie; Grattet, Ryken (2001). Making Hate a Crime: From Social Movement to Law Enforcement. Russell Sage Foundation. ISBN 978-0-87154-409-4.
• Johnson, David K. (2004). The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-40190-4.
• Kantor, Martin (1998). Homophobia: Description, Development, and Dynamics of Gay Bashing. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-95530-4.
• Minton, Henry L. (2002). Departing from Deviance: A History of Homosexual Rights and Emancipatory Science in America. U. of Chicago Press. pp. 344. ISBN 978-0-226-53044-4.
• Padva, Gilad (2007). "Media and Popular Culture Representations of LGBT Bullying". Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services. 19 (3–4): 105–118. doi:10.1080/10538720802161615. S2CID 145065140.
• Downs, Alan (2005). The Velvet Rage, Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World. Da Capo Press.