Short Program Abstract:
The term heterophobia is, perhaps, only less than two decades old-a much shorter period than its more familiar sibling, homophobia, which dates to 1958. Still, the value of heterophobia as a concept appears to be largely unrecognized among many, if not most, sexologists today as we prepare to bring sexual science and philosophy into the new millennium. Is heterophobia just another example of the me-too victimology that continues to grow and flourish in contemporary America? Or is there more to it that can help us work better with our students and clients and help society deal with sexuality more effectively? This workshop, which will combine lecture and small group discussions, will trace the history of the idea, as well as the ways in which heterophobia may intrude on our work. We will also focus on ways to minimize its negative impact on our selves, clients, and society.
Long Abstract:
The term heterophobia is, perhaps, only less than two decades old—a much shorter period than its more familiar sibling, homophobia, which Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary dates to 1958. Still, the value of heterophobia as a concept appears to be largely unrecognized among many, if not most, sexologists today as we prepare to bring sexual science and philosophy into the new millennium. Is heterophobia just another example of the me-too victimology that continues to grow and flourish in contemporary America? Or is there more to it that can help us work better with our students and clients and help all of us in society deal with our sexuality more effectively?
Webster’s defines homophobia simply as the irrational fear of homosexuality or homosexuals; the term heterophobia, however, does not appear at all. It does appear in Francoeur’s 1995 Dictionary of Sexuality, where he defines it similarly as a fear of heterosexuals, although he does not use the "irrational" component. Heterophobia also appears among the myriad other terms for various phobias in some of the comprehensive lists of phobias published on the World Wide Web.
In the sexological literature, heterophobia first seems to have appeared in print in the controversial 1990 book by Eichel, Kinsey, Sex and Fraud, in which he devoted a chapter to the "new" concept of "heterophobia," although I recall having heard and thought about it in the early 1980s. Eichel defined it similarly to Francoeur’s definition in his Dictionary. In 1996, Noonan referred to the term in his book, Does Anyone Still Remember When Sex Was Fun?, in which he equated it more with the generalized sex-negativity that exists in American society. In that book, he also introduced the concept of internalized heterophobia. In a chapter in a later book, he suggested that homophobia was, in fact, partially enabled and empowered by heterophobia, as noted above, and he argued that a systems approach was needed in sexology to help us elucidate the factors that influence our sexual attitudes and behavior.
In late 1998, however, heterophobia appeared for the first time in the title of a book- the first comprehensive treatment of the subject by anyone inside or outside of sexology. In Heterophobia: Sexual Harassment and the Future of Feminism, Daphne Patai tied the concept to what she called the Sexual Harassment Industry (SHI), which was being used, she argued, to separate men and women for often personal or political gain or self-interest.
The term is confusing for some people for several reasons. On the one hand, some look at it as just another of the many me-too social constructions that have arisen in the pseudoscience of victimology in recent decades. (Many of us recall John Money’s 1995 criticism of the ascendancy of victimology and its negative impact on sexual science.) Others look at the parallelism between heterophobia and homophobia, and suggest that the former trivializes the latter. Yet heterophobia may be one of the root contributors in the etiology of homophobia, as Noonan argued in 1998. For others, it is merely a curiosity or parallel-construction word game. But for others still, it is part of both the recognition and politicization of heterosexuals’ cultural interests in contrast to those of gays—particularly where those interests are perceived to clash.
This workshop, which will combine lecture and small group discussions, will trace the history of the idea, as well as brainstorm about the ways in which heterophobia may intrude in our work. We will also focus on ways to minimize its negative impact on our selves, clients, and society.
To protect everyone from harm or embarrassment, no participants will be required to reveal personal information about themselves, or to participate in anything in which they feel uncomfortable.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
- Describe heterophobia and the differences and similarities between it and related phobias, such as homophobia, biphobia, sexophobia, and erotophobia.
- Recognize the impact of heterophobia on our individual and collective sexual health and the role it may play in the etiology of homophobia and other sex-negative attitudes.
- Understand the concept of internalized heterophobia and the impact it has on sexual attitudes and behavior.
- Identify potential actions that may begin to resolve the problems associated with heterophobia.
Volume 4 of the 
