Abstract
This essay takes up Madureira’s exploration (Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 2007, doi:10.1007/s12124-007-9024-9) of the relationship between homophobia and sexism, and more broadly, also examines other domains of prejudice, exclusion, and oppression. I identify important questions raised by Madureira, and suggest some additional concepts and frameworks that yield further insights into these issues. I focus primarily upon gender and sexuality theories, but also examine some additional studies of other constructions of difference and variants of prejudice, scapegoating, and boundarism: namely, racism, religious bigotry, and “witch-cleansing,” I show how, despite their apparently disparate ideologies, these latter exclusionary practices are on some levels similar to homophobia and sexism, though these phenomena are neither identical nor exactly analogous. I also explore the uses and limitations of psychological, social and cultural analyses of these diverse forms of oppression, with particular emphasis upon homophobia and sexism.
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Rasmussen, S.J. Boundaries, Exclusion, and Oppression in “The Psychological Basis of Homophobia: Cultural Construction of a Barrier”. Integr. psych. behav. 41, 308–318 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-007-9023-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-007-9023-x