Re: Sam Butler’s column about ‘homophobia’ vs ‘homosexism’ (MCV #395, Thursday July 31). I’m surprised that someone can be so pedantic about a word, and not realise that the word itself, as well as its proposed replacement, do not make sense.

Now, ‘homo’ comes from the Greek ‘homos’, meaning ‘same’; and ‘phobia’ also comes from Greek - the word ‘phobos’, meaning ‘fear’. Therefore, homophobia literally means a fear of the same - i.e. a fear of things or people like yourself. What? Who in their right mind would be afraid of people like themself (unless, of course, you’re a murderer or a rapist or a thief...)?

And, then the replacement, ‘homoism’, is just as bad. Racism is a belief that one race is superior (and therefore, other races are inferior); sexism is the belief that one sex is better than the other; so, homoism: a belief that the same is better?

This is not a word specifically about gay people, it’s about xenophobia in general (a fear of something or someone different).

In Sam’s own article, he uses the word ‘heterosexism’ (which would be the belief that heterosexuality is superior to other forms of sexuality), and offers ‘homoism’ as an alternative: why not ‘homosexism’?

Or, why not simply ‘anti-gay’? That’s what I use. It’s plain, simple and clearly says what it means. Those people are against gays and the gay culture: they are anti-gay.

Simon, Caulfield South

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