Teenagers face far less homophobia among their peers than ever before because the stigma of being gay is melting away in secondaryschools, according to a new book.
The anti-gay prejudices of the 80s and early 90s are disappearing, claims Mark McCormack, a sociologist at Brunel University. McCormack spent six months in each of three schools in the same UK town to study attitudes of 16- to 18-year-olds. In his book, The Declining Significance of Homophobia: How Teenage Boys are Redefining Masculinity and Heterosexuality, he says that, for this age group, pro-gay attitudes are held in high esteem and homophobia is as unacceptable as racism. He also suggests that the phrase "so gay", used to rubbish things, is unrecognisable to teens as homophobic.
"A lot of prejudice is based on stigma," he added, "and actually the stigma around being gay has dropped off. The coming-out narrative is changing too, with parents being OK." The internet had helped to dispel the isolation young gay people have felt in the past, he said.
"Twenty years ago, there were few openly gay people in the media; today, you can turn on Radio 2 and there's Graham Norton, Alan Carr, Paul O'Grady, all of whom now are mainstream. There is a fundamental change in the cultural discourse. » | Tracy McVeigh | Saturday, March 03, 2012
