Naming the "outsider within": homophobic pejoratives and the verbal abuse of lesbian, gay and bisexual high-school pupils

Abstract

Few studies have looked explicitly at the use of homophobic pejoratives among young high-schoolers and-not always an easy group to access, nor a comfortable subject to discuss. In this study, 377 14 and 15 year olds listed the pejoratives they heard at school and identified the ones they considered most taboo. As some of the most vitriolic items reported, homophobic pejoratives accounted for 10 per cent of the 6000 items generated. Significantly, however, homophobic verbal abuse was rated much less seriously than either racist abuse or other taboo slang. Boys reported more homophobic pejoratives than girls, but rated them more seriously. As further evidence of the increasingly well-documented daily assault on the psychological health of young homosexual people, this study confirms the prevalence of homophobic verbal abuse in high schools, its particularly aggressive nature, and the relative disregard with which it is used. As a contribution from Language and Communication Research, directions are offered for both sex(uality) education and language education.