Why do homophobes think the way they do? Sometimes it’s difficult to get your head round some of the arguments they make, and it’s easy to just dismiss them as assholes, but is there more to it than that and where does it stem from?

For example many blame religion for homophobia, but is that just a crutch homophobes lean on so they don’t have to challenge their attitudes to something that makes them uncomfortable (after all, most are more than willing to ignore other bits of the bible that don’t fit with modern life)? Is homophobia innate in some people, or is it solely learned behaviour?

This is the subject the feature documentary The World According to Homophobes hopes to look at – as long as it can raise the cash it needs through an IndieGoGo campaign where it’s seeking $19,950 (and no, we don’t know why they didn’t round it up another $50).

Director Emanuelle Schick Garcia says, “WATH is filmed in four countries, exploring the perceived gender roles, superstitions, and sexual experiences of a variety of homophobes seeking to uncover the role shame plays in shaping a homophobic view of sex. For example, we sit in on a sex education lesson in Bogota, Columbia where pupils can be expelled for displaying ‘homosexual behavior’. We’ll speak to Columbian paramilitaries who are a part of the government’s reinsertion program (where they receive reduced sentences if they apologize for their crimes). No paramilitary has ever asked for forgiveness for a homophobic crime, including those involved in the case of the three soldiers who raped a 14 year old girl and then cut off her breasts and left a sign on her body that read ‘I am a lesbian’.

“With the help of one of our advisors, Harvard Medical School Psychology Professor James Gilligan who specializes in the psychology of violent offenders, my hope is to educate people around the world by allowing them to see how their homophobic culture was created and just how dangerous it can be.”

I can already imagine that some may not agree with the film’s ideas about where homophobia stem from, but it’s certainly an interesting subject and a thesis that’s worth putting forward.

Take a look at the trailer below, and if you want to help out, head over to IndieGoGo. [Read more…]