Homophobia
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, had a thing or two to say about humor.
Freud believed that the purpose of laughter was to release excess nervous energy. In addition to this laughter theory (which he borrowed from Herbert Spencer), he categorized laughter-related phenomena into three types; wit/jokes, humor, and comic. For now, I will only focus on one of these categories, wit/jokes.
Like many others at the time, Freud differentiated “humor” and “wit.” Humor, which he called the “highest of the defense mechanisms,” used laughter to avoid negative emotions in stressful situations. By laughing at oneself, one could release these emotions. In short, humor was sympathetic and good natured. Its use as a coping mechanism allowed the more unfortunate events in life to be perceived as funny.
By contrast, wit/jokes were less healthy. When using wit/jokes, laughter was deemed the release of energy from repressed desires. Wit/jokes allowed aggressive and sexual impulses from the id to be momentarily expressed, impulses which were repressed or unconscious. Basically, jokes were seen as effective if they involved “clever use of jokework” and expressed some sort of repressed impulse.
But how does this relate to homophobia? I believe that Freud’s theory on wit/jokes are related to the reasons behind the hostile humor present in homophobia.
Homophobic Jokes
It is obvious to say that homophobic jokes (and jokes towards other minorities) can harm said minority group. In fact, a study showed that straight people increased negative attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people when hearing gay slurs. Even unintended jokes can affect minorities.
So why are these kinds of jokes made? It has been indicated that homophobic jokes were made by men to impress other men. A study was conducted using male participants to send messages to computer generated people. One “person” was male, while the other was female. The number of sexist messages sent based on the reactions of these “people” were then measured. Throughout the study, it was shown that men were more sensitive to how other men would react, not other women. Overall, offensive jokes increased straight male bonding, with LGBTQ+ people and other minorities becoming the “other,” or “out groups.”
By excluding others into an outside group, the bonds shared in the “in group” intensified. What I found interesting was that this sort of situation often occurred when the group was under threat. Therefore, it could be inferred that this form of male bonding was an attempt to quell the perceived threat of LGBTQ+ people and other minorities; especially as the status and power of these minorities had been rising.
Whether this is true or not, the concept of aggressive humor catering to unconscious fears feels somewhat reminiscent of aggressive impulse. Or maybe not.
But how does this affect LGBTQ+ people?
Microaggressions and Minority Stress
Microaggressions like homophobic jokes increase the likeliness of poor mental/physical health among minorities. Broadly characterized as “brief, daily assaults on minority individuals,” microaggressions are not just spoken or intentional. They can occur in a variety of ways in various situations. Especially in the case of LGBTQ+ POC, their “dual minority status” could incite more microaggressions. Racism can be found within the LGBTQ+ community, with reports of POC facing exclusion from community events, LGBTQ+ spaces, gay bars, etc. Depending on the cultural group a queer POC is in, homophobia may be more prevalent. For example, African American and Latino men have reported more prejudice from their families. Asian American families also have stricter gender roles/sexual limitations, and consider concepts such as lesbianism to be Western. Therefore, these concepts are seen as unrelated to their culture.
Coping Methods
LGBTQ+ youth are shown to have more social anxiety and increased sexual risk. In Gross’s process model of emotional regulation, 5 categories are present; situation selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, and cognitive change. The first 4 categories refer to emotional regulation before said emotion occurs, while the 5th refers to regulation after the occurrence. Here is brief summary of all categories:
Situational selection- “approaching or avoiding situations on the basis of their anticipated emotional impact.” This includes seeking communities/friends who accept LGBTQ+ people.
Situation modification- an “individual’s attempts to actively alter a situation.” This is used in situations where homophobia is unavoidable. Some people use “passing” by avoiding topics about their orientation, telling half-truths, or simply covering their identity. Attempts can be made to try educating others about their orientation, in an attempt to lessen homophobic comments.
Attentional deployment- “shifting one’s focus to non-emotional aspects of the situation, or moving attention away from the immediate situation altogether.” This is commonly used when avoiding/modifying isn’t available. Ignoring homophobic messages and prejudice are used.
Cognitive change- “efforts to reinterpret the meaning of the situation in ways that lead to more desirable emotions.” Examples include reframing homophobic comments, and trying to understand where the person is coming from. Critical evaluation is used to deconstruct and reject homophobic messages. An attitude of self reliance may form. Feelings are validated when the person sees themself represented in the media (TV shows, for example).
Response modulation- an “attempt to alter the qualities of an emotion after the emotion has already been generated.” Various strategies are used, including venting, suppression, and substance use.
I apologize for the lack of focus in this post, as it is a bit difficult to find sources related to the LGBTQ+ community and humor psychology. In an attempt to add more specifically humor psychology-related information, I wrote the initial section about Freud. Regardless of whether Freud’s humor theories are actually related to homophobic jokes or not, I hope you learned more about homophobia and minority experiences. Happy pride month, and remember to stay tuned for next month!
BONUS HIGHLY INFORMAL SEGMENT: As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I like to watch cartoons that feature LGBTQ+ representation. We’ve come a long way in terms of LGBTQ+ rights, and I feel lucky to be living in this day and age. I’m especially glad to see more asexual characters/characters in the gender minority, and that’s just counting the ones shown in animated series. We’ve still got a long ways to go, but in the meantime, here are some shows with LGBTQ+ characters that I recommend:
The Owl House
Amphibia
Gravity Falls
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Bojack Horseman
Moral Orel
Madoka Magica
Adventure Time
Works Cited
“'It's just a joke': the subtle effects of offensive language.” The University of Sydney, 20 July 2016, https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/07/20/_it_s-just-a-joke--the-subtle-effects-of-offensive-language.html. Accessed 30 June 2022.
Martin, Rod A. The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach. Elsevier Science, 2007.
“Measuring Multiple Minority Stress: The LGBT People of Color Microaggressions Scale.” NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4059824/. Accessed 30 June 2022.
“Strategies Used by Gay and Bisexual Young Men to Cope with Heterosexism.” NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2957017/. Accessed 30 June 2022.
