It occurred to me that a lot of male homophobia probably stems from sexism. Not major sexism. Not men-are-better-than-women sexism, but a more casual, you-throw-like-a-girl sexism. Most boys want to grow up to be men, which they are destined to do and can’t do much about. Growing up as a boy though, you are often compared to a girl when you come up short to what the regional and social expectations of a boy are. This of course is wrong to do, but it happens and probably will happen for a long, long time after my death. Due to poor parenting, poor teaching, and that poor parenting and poor teaching bleeding through from one kid to his peers.

It only takes one bully, or only one like-a-girl comment to make a boy think doing something like a girl must be a bad thing. That one comment will forever set a prejudice in that boys mind.

Doing something like a girl is wrong if you’re a boy and boys are better than girls because doing things like a girl is wrong.

So what does this type of causal sexism have to do with homophobia? Well, it’s impossible to say that male homosexuals are not more feminine than heterosexual males. Not necessarily in a stereotypical, non-butch way, but in a more obvious and by definition, sexual way. Calling a man a cock-sucker is calling him a homosexual and is also degrading a selfless sexual act that women do and is therefore degrading women too.

Being a male homosexual breaks one of the earliest social contract males usually learn: Being a boy is good and being anything else is being a girl. Girls are bad and have cooties. This makes men uncomfortable and being uncomfortable leads to things like homophobia.