One would hope that homophobia is less prevalent now than it has ever been, yet instances are still all too common, especially on social media.  Recent research set out to explore whether the prevalence of homophobic comments on social media accurately reflects sentiment in wider society.

The research examined the use of “no homo” on Twitter, which is shorthand for “I’m not a homosexual”.  It’s a phrase that has been posted 14 million times or so since 2012, and through analyzing a smaller subset of these, it emerged that the phrase was rarely used to convey a dislike of homosexual people, but rather by men attempted to defend their masculinity.

“The vast majority of people are using ‘no homo’ to talk about happy things or things that they like,” the researcher explains. “Or, they’re using the phrase as an expression of friendship or fondness for another individual.”

Masculinity online

For instance, a surprisingly common example was a man expressing enjoyment of a song from the movie Frozen, with ‘NoHomo’ then used to deflect from their enjoyment of something not stereotypically masculine.

Another common usage of the phrase was associated with displays of deep affection, especially towards a male friend.  The research hypothesizes that in both instances, the phrase is used to defend or protect their masculinity.  The ‘NoHomo’ phrase acts as a kind of shield behind which they can express various positive feelings and emotions that society conditions us to regard as not masculine.

“We socialize boys and young men to think it’s unacceptable to have these positive emotions,” they explain. “The phrase ‘no homo’ carves out a space for them to express positive emotions without threatening their masculinity.”

As such, they believe that comments such as ‘NoHomo’ are less an expression of anti-gay sentiment as they are a reflection of the way boys, and men, are conditioned by society to express certain kinds of behaviors and emotions, with anything outside of that norm considered feminine.

The research has been expanded upon in a recently published book, Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality, which explores the issue in more depth, especially among younger men who are struggling with their masculinity and sexuality as they navigate puberty and adolescence.

Whilst there is little doubt that homophobia does exist, it’s important to understand the nuances involved in apparent hate speech online, and to therefore allow us to target those who do actively seek to harm other people.  Suffice to say, the author neither condones or celebrates the use of homophobic language online, but rather attempts to shed light on the factors underpinning it.

“On the one hand, it’s great that men want to express positive sentiments,” they say. “On the other hand, it’s really sad we’ve given young men the message that they can’t express love, friendship and positive emotions without using a homophobic epithet to make it acceptably masculine.”