Are homophobic men more likely to be gay?

Some years ago, a landmark study, "Parental Autonomy Support and Discrepancies between Implicit and Explicit Sexual Identities", published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology indicated that homophobia can result, at least in part, from the suppression of same-sex desire.

"Some who oppose homosexuality do tacitly harbour same-sex attraction," claimed the researchers, adding that the subgroup was "significantly more likely than other participants to favour anti-gay policies; to be willing to assign significantly harsher punishments to perpetrators of petty crimes if they were presumed to be homosexual; and to express greater implicit hostility toward gay subjects."

As Netta Weinstein, the study's lead author, observed, "They may be threatened by gays and lesbians because homosexuals remind them of similar tendencies within themselves."

The theory seems to be borne out of a series of incidents involving conservative US politicians and evangelical leaders.

Ted Haggard, a popular Christian figure who preached that homosexuality was a cardinal sin, resigned after it came to light that he was in the habit of soliciting male prostitutes.

Haggard seemed to agree with the findings of the study when, apologising after the scandal broke, he admitted, "I think I was partially so vehement because of my own war."

Former Ohio representative Wesley Goodman resigned in November 2017 after it came out that he had engaged in sexual intercourse with a man in his office. He was also accused of fondling an 18-year-old man at a conservative event, and of pursuing several young gay men while in office.

And in March, former Oklahoma senator Ralph Shortey stepped down after being charged for allegedly soliciting sex from a 17-year-old boy. Shortey later pleaded guilty to a child sex trafficking charge.

In the past, Shortey had routinely voted for anti-LGBT bills, and Goodman regularly advertised his faith and religiosity. His Twitter bio read: "Christian. American. Conservative. Republican."

It has been seen that the level of homophobia is directly proportional to the religious fervour in any society. There are currently 76 countries where homosexual acts remain illegal, and 14 (mainly Muslim) where they are a capital offence.

In January this year, India's Supreme Court declared that it would re-examine Section 377 of the Indian Penal code, which bans "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal" - an act currently punishable by life imprisonment.

The idea that same sex relations went "against the order of nature" came from a 16th century English law, passed down from when India was a colony of the British Empire.

The declaration may have pleased gay activists, long engaged in an uphill battle to deliver justice to the LGBTQ community, but representatives of India's Hindu nationalist government were quick to dash their hopes.

"As long as they don't celebrate it, don't flaunt it, don't create gay bars to select partners it's not a problem," said senior BJP minister Subramanian Swamy. "In their privacy what they do, nobody can invade but if you flaunt it, it has to be punished and therefore there has to be Section 377 of the IPC," he added.

That reasoning that a tolerant society somehow encourages homosexuality to flourish has been used to support anti-gay legislation in Uganda, Russia, and elsewhere.

Swamy had previously claimed that homosexuality was a "genetic flaw".

To be sure, Swamy is not the only bigot in Modi's menagerie. Yoga guru-cum-businessman, Swami Ramdev claims that his brand of yoga can "cure" homosexuality and Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, said that encouraging same sex relations would mean "there is no difference left between a man and an animal" and there should be no legal recourse to justify such behaviour as it went "against Indian culture".

Going by the many incidents that have come to light involving homophobes who turned out to have repressed homosexual tendencies, it could be that some of our political leaders and spiritual gurus are subconsciously externalising their inner conflict by scapegoating India's hapless LGBT community.

The research data also indicated that "participants who reported having supportive and accepting parents were more in touch with their implicit sexual orientation and less susceptible to homophobia" and furthermore,

"Individuals whose sexual identity was at odds with their implicit sexual attraction were much more frequently raised by parents perceived to be controlling, less accepting and more prejudiced against homosexuals."

Clearly, many Indian families would fit this description, especially in the social setting that gives rise to the typical Hindutva ideologue: deeply patriarchal, overtly traditional and conservative. The unrealistic expectations set by the archetypal heteronormative Hindu male or Maryada Purushottam, as embodied by Rama, and immortalised in Ramanand Sagar's kitschy television series, have percolated deep into the collective Indian male psyche. And Sita, as the epitome of Indian womanhood, who has to prove her chastity not only to her husband, but before the entire nation, has probably done more damage than we realise.

But as they say, hope springs eternal. Christian Picciolini, who spent his youth as a white supremacist, beating up blacks and spreading hate against Jews, homosexuals and people of colour, was later struck with remorse and tried to make amends by establishing a peace advocacy group called "Life After Hate".

So maybe there is still a chance for homophobes to redeem themselves in the eyes of Mother India.

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