gaywrites:

The results of a recent study show that, among other factors, a person’s inner turmoil about their own non-heterosexuality could play a huge role in that person being homophobic.

In the April Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the study uses “modern methods” to explore a well-established Freudian concept that people block unconscious desires by adapting an opposite view of them (i.e. acting like you hate something you really love).

People who came from “controlling homes” where bias against LGBT people was rampant were more likely to suppress same-sex attraction, which therefore was more likely to manifest itself in outward homophobia. More on the methods:

Among those methods: studies that measure discrepancies between what people say about their sexual orientation and how they react during split-second timed tasks. Study subjects — four groups of about 160 college students each, in the USA and Germany — also rated the attractiveness of people in same-sex or opposite-sex photos and answered questions about the type of parenting they experienced growing up, from authoritarian to democratic, as well as homophobia at home.

Researchers also measured homophobia — both overt, as expressed in questionnaires on social policy and beliefs, and unconscious, as revealed in word-completion tasks.

Other experts have said this is hardly a way to measure sexual orientation, also saying it gives too much power to an individual’s parents and doesn’t pay attention to how they think about themselves. Still, this is fascinating and not at all shocking. What say you?