Human Rights at Home and Abroad: Past, Present, and Future

Jessica Lohmann, Mansfield University
A Different Kind of Hate:
Internalized Homophobia and the Effects on Mental Health and Relationships
Abstract
This paper will present a brief overview of heterosexism as well as an explanation of internalized
homophobia. Looking at how sexual identities develop and the minority stress theory it can be seen how
social stigma can have a significant impact on a person‘s well-being. Past research supports the
hypothesis that internalized homophobia negatively affects the mental health and relationships of sexual
minority adults. The current paper will specifically examine the effects of internalized homophobia on
depression, suicide and substance abuse as well as self-disclosure and relationship quality. It has been
concluded from the research that internalized homophobia has led to decreases in self-disclosure and
relationship quality, in both romantic and non-romantic relationships, and an increase in depression,
suicide, and substance abuse.
In today‘s society everyone claims to cling to their individuality and take pride in the things that
set them apart from everyone else. Yet, whenever there is a difference in another person, we, as a society,
feel the need to label the difference. Then we attach negative attributes to those labels and thus
stereotypes are born. Of course the process of creating a stereotype is much more complicated and they
evolve over periods of time, but putting aside all of the pomp and circumstance it generally boils down to
this. What is most ironic about the labeling process is that the differences society generally labels and
assigns those negative attributes to, are the things that people cannot change about themselves.
With the seemingly countless –isms our society has created and intertwined out of hatred, it is
difficult to disentangle them and isolate one that specifically causes harm to a person. Each has a specific
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