synthesis
15th August 2013, 07:12
I conceive of institutional racism and sexism as fundamentally economic in origin, as I think most Marxists do. Modern capital demands that national minorities and immigrants must be viewed through the lens of racism in order to exploit their labor to a higher degree than the "indigenous" working class. It demands that women must be viewed through the lens of sexism in order to exploit their unpaid domestic labor and capacity for reproduction, and to exploit their wage-labor to a higher degree than that of men.
For the life of me, however, I cannot seem to ascertain how such a materialist analysis can be applied to institutional homophobia, which is almost universally recognized as the third point in the triad of the most salient forms of discrimination in capitalism. This is most certainly not to diminish the vast damage that homophobia does to LGBT workers, and of course it provides another angle for the "extra" exploitation of certain workers and the division of the working class - but these factors are not the cause of homophobia, in the way that they are the cause of institutional racism and sexism.
Institutional homophobia does not seem to be integral to the functioning of modern capitalism, or any other mode of production in history for that matter. I can't think of any way in which capital demands that LGBT folks must be viewed through the lens of homophobia in order to function "properly." Most of the Marxist-flavored arguments that I have encountered generally stress that homophobia serves to reinforce gender roles, masculinity and the nuclear family, cultural factors that are correlated with capitalism; this is certainly true, of course, but it seems to be qualitatively different from racism and sexism in the sense that it is not directly related to the exploitation of LGBT workers. It seems pretty clear to me that positing these cultural factors as the economic basis of institutional homophobia is an idealist, not materialist, analysis.
But the reason I'm putting this out there is because I'd like to be proven wrong. There is plenty of literature addressing the economic impact of homophobia, but are there any materialist analyses which deal with the economic origins of homophobia? I can't imagine that it is entirely detached from macroeconomic exploitation, but I have yet to encounter any data which suggest otherwise.
Here are some materials I checked out before deciding to admit my ignorance in this subject:
Homophobia and Labor Market: Some Social-Economic Aspects (http://www.davidpublishing.com/davidpublishing/Upfile/10/18/2012/2012101881459569.pdf) (PDF)
The Co$t of Homophobia: Literature Review on the Economic Impact of Homophobia on Canada (http://www.usask.ca/cuisr/sites/default/files/BanksEconImpact.pdf) (PDF)
Is there any economic basis to homophobia? (http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/09/is-there-any-economic-basis-to-homophobia.html) (NB: I can't seem to determine the politics of this blog; it's definitely not Marxist, but I can't tell if it leans left or right. A New York Times blog also recommended this article, in any case.)
Estimating the Global Cost of Homophobia and Transphobia (http://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/estimating-the-global-cost-of-homophobia-and-transphobia) (World Bank blog)
Understanding the drivers of homophobia in Ghana (http://www.irinnews.org/report/93387/analysis-understanding-the-drivers-of-homophobia-in-ghana)
Uganda and the Myth of African Homophobia (http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/23/07/2013/uganda-and-myth-african-homophobia)
The Connection Between Homophobia and Violence Against Women (http://www.sfwar.org/pdf/LGBTQ/LGBT_VAWnet_90.pdf)
The Declining Significance of Homophobia: How Teenage Boys are Redefining Masculinity and Heterosexuality; Chapter 6, "The Rise and Fall of Homophobia (http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199778249.001.0001/acprof-9780199778249-chapter-006) (requires subscription)
Deep Roots of Russian Homophobia (http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/deep-roots-of-russian-homophobia/482505.html) (Moscow Times blog)
The social situation concerning homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in Ireland (http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/378-FRA-hdgso-part2-NR_IE.pdf) (PDF)
Homophobia in Mexico (http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/homophobia-in-mexico)
The Impact of Homophobia on GLBTQ Youth of Color (http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/storage/advfy/documents/fsglbtq_yoc.pdf) (PDF)
Countries with more open economies are less homophobic, but not less racist (http://ideas.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/15/economic_freedom_makes_countries_less_homophobic_b ut_not_less_racist) (A report on a study which I wasn't sure about including because of the title, but I think it is still of interest once you replace "open economy" with "neoliberal economy.")
Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism (http://www.csusm.edu/sjs/documents/homophobiaaweaponofsexismcondensed.pdf) (PDF; the specific information that led me to include it here starts on page 9)
Homophobia in Eastern Europe (http://inequalityproject.wordpress.com/homophobia-in-eastern-europe/)
Where does homophobia come from? (http://www.workerspower.co.uk/2011/05/where-does-homophobia-come-from/) (Workers Power blog)
Marxism and the Struggle for Gay/Lesbian Rights: Capitalism & Homophobia (http://www.bolshevik.org/1917/no15gayq.pdf)(PDF)
The last three are the closest I've found which attempt to determine the economic bases of homophobia ("bases" being used here as the plural of "basis") in a Marxist fashion, but they still fall back on sociocultural justifications rather than a genuinely materialist analysis.
Am I just misinterpreting these arguments? Or is homophobia actually qualitatively different from racism and sexism in this respect? These aren't loaded questions; I'm genuinely curious as to whether I'm interpreting this issue correctly.
For the life of me, however, I cannot seem to ascertain how such a materialist analysis can be applied to institutional homophobia, which is almost universally recognized as the third point in the triad of the most salient forms of discrimination in capitalism. This is most certainly not to diminish the vast damage that homophobia does to LGBT workers, and of course it provides another angle for the "extra" exploitation of certain workers and the division of the working class - but these factors are not the cause of homophobia, in the way that they are the cause of institutional racism and sexism.
Institutional homophobia does not seem to be integral to the functioning of modern capitalism, or any other mode of production in history for that matter. I can't think of any way in which capital demands that LGBT folks must be viewed through the lens of homophobia in order to function "properly." Most of the Marxist-flavored arguments that I have encountered generally stress that homophobia serves to reinforce gender roles, masculinity and the nuclear family, cultural factors that are correlated with capitalism; this is certainly true, of course, but it seems to be qualitatively different from racism and sexism in the sense that it is not directly related to the exploitation of LGBT workers. It seems pretty clear to me that positing these cultural factors as the economic basis of institutional homophobia is an idealist, not materialist, analysis.
But the reason I'm putting this out there is because I'd like to be proven wrong. There is plenty of literature addressing the economic impact of homophobia, but are there any materialist analyses which deal with the economic origins of homophobia? I can't imagine that it is entirely detached from macroeconomic exploitation, but I have yet to encounter any data which suggest otherwise.
Here are some materials I checked out before deciding to admit my ignorance in this subject:
Homophobia and Labor Market: Some Social-Economic Aspects (http://www.davidpublishing.com/davidpublishing/Upfile/10/18/2012/2012101881459569.pdf) (PDF)
The Co$t of Homophobia: Literature Review on the Economic Impact of Homophobia on Canada (http://www.usask.ca/cuisr/sites/default/files/BanksEconImpact.pdf) (PDF)
Is there any economic basis to homophobia? (http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/09/is-there-any-economic-basis-to-homophobia.html) (NB: I can't seem to determine the politics of this blog; it's definitely not Marxist, but I can't tell if it leans left or right. A New York Times blog also recommended this article, in any case.)
Estimating the Global Cost of Homophobia and Transphobia (http://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/estimating-the-global-cost-of-homophobia-and-transphobia) (World Bank blog)
Understanding the drivers of homophobia in Ghana (http://www.irinnews.org/report/93387/analysis-understanding-the-drivers-of-homophobia-in-ghana)
Uganda and the Myth of African Homophobia (http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/23/07/2013/uganda-and-myth-african-homophobia)
The Connection Between Homophobia and Violence Against Women (http://www.sfwar.org/pdf/LGBTQ/LGBT_VAWnet_90.pdf)
The Declining Significance of Homophobia: How Teenage Boys are Redefining Masculinity and Heterosexuality; Chapter 6, "The Rise and Fall of Homophobia (http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199778249.001.0001/acprof-9780199778249-chapter-006) (requires subscription)
Deep Roots of Russian Homophobia (http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/deep-roots-of-russian-homophobia/482505.html) (Moscow Times blog)
The social situation concerning homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in Ireland (http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/378-FRA-hdgso-part2-NR_IE.pdf) (PDF)
Homophobia in Mexico (http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/homophobia-in-mexico)
The Impact of Homophobia on GLBTQ Youth of Color (http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/storage/advfy/documents/fsglbtq_yoc.pdf) (PDF)
Countries with more open economies are less homophobic, but not less racist (http://ideas.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/05/15/economic_freedom_makes_countries_less_homophobic_b ut_not_less_racist) (A report on a study which I wasn't sure about including because of the title, but I think it is still of interest once you replace "open economy" with "neoliberal economy.")
Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism (http://www.csusm.edu/sjs/documents/homophobiaaweaponofsexismcondensed.pdf) (PDF; the specific information that led me to include it here starts on page 9)
Homophobia in Eastern Europe (http://inequalityproject.wordpress.com/homophobia-in-eastern-europe/)
Where does homophobia come from? (http://www.workerspower.co.uk/2011/05/where-does-homophobia-come-from/) (Workers Power blog)
Marxism and the Struggle for Gay/Lesbian Rights: Capitalism & Homophobia (http://www.bolshevik.org/1917/no15gayq.pdf)(PDF)
The last three are the closest I've found which attempt to determine the economic bases of homophobia ("bases" being used here as the plural of "basis") in a Marxist fashion, but they still fall back on sociocultural justifications rather than a genuinely materialist analysis.
Am I just misinterpreting these arguments? Or is homophobia actually qualitatively different from racism and sexism in this respect? These aren't loaded questions; I'm genuinely curious as to whether I'm interpreting this issue correctly.