What is homophobia? Homophobia is a negative attitude or feeling, a discomfort or an aversion towards gays and lesbians or towards homosexuality in general. It is also the rejection of gay and lesbian people or people considered as such, and of all things associated with them, such as gender non-conformity.
The following are variants of homophobia:
Both on a conscious or sub-conscious level, homophobia surfaces in various ways and can even be internalised.
What is transphobia? Transphobia is a negative attitude or feeling, a discomfort or an aversion towards transgender people, transsexuals or people who are transitioning.
What is the International Day Against Homophobia? The International Day Against Homophobia is an annual thematic event occurring every May 17. This is a unifying moment during which a great number of activities are taking place. It also represents an opportunity to organize educational and awareness activities. Citizens from all walks of life are invited to reflect on homophobia and its devastating effects.
Why is the International Day Against Homophobia so important? Homophobia is an insidious process that channels its effects through subtle, even disguised, ways. No one is safe from hostile manifestations of homophobia. Like other forms of discrimination and intolerance such as racism, sexism or antisemitism, homophobia has important, sometimes devastating, repercussions for its victims.
Because of it, certain people have difficulty accepting and living a sexual orientation that is different from that of the majority, the suicide rate among young gays is much higher than with their heterosexual peers, a great number of gays and lesbians live in secret and in fear of rejection, and transgendered and transsexual persons still live on the fringe of society.
If progressive laws such as the Civil Marriage Act legalizing same-sex marriage are today a reality, social equality among all citizens regardless of the sexual orientation or sexual identity remains to be achieved.
Why 17 May? 17 May is symbolic due to its significance in improving the status of gays and lesbians. In removing homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses on a 17th of May, the World Health Organisation (WHO) put an end to over a century of homophobia in the medical field. IDAHO organization proposed this date for annually holding a day set aside to fight homophobia. The Declaration of Montréal (29 July 2006), borne out of the International Conference on LGBT Rights that preceded the first World Outgames, recommended the worldwide recognition of an International Day Against Homophobia on 17 May of each year.
Why the name IDAHO? IDAHO has got nothing to do with Idaho, or with potatoes ;-) It's the abbreviation that we've been using for the International Day Against Homophobia.
Are you guys serious? Will a video like this change the world? This video will not stop wars or end poverty, but it will change the world for young LGBT individuals who have a hard time coming out and who hear for the very first time in their own language that they are not alone.
I am in a country where coming out would mean either imprisonment or capital punishment. Are you really suggesting I do this? If you are present in such a country, please do not take part in this project. But if you are originally from such a country and are now living and in another part of the world, then do know that by sending your message to us, you are sending a message of hope to your people back home – that they are not alone.
Do I have to be a member of Gays.com to submit a video? No, you don't have to be a Gays.com member and you don't have to sign up for anything to submit a video.
What file formats are acceptable for video uploads? You can upload your video in avi, mov, mp4, mpg, wmv, 3gp, flv file formats.
What is the maximum size for video uploads? Please keep the file size of videos you upload to 100Mb, not more.
When is the deadline? Please take note. Our deadline is on May 10, not May 17 itself! Act fast!
Still don't have your question answered? Get in touch with us at idaho@gays.com