Explicit and implicit homophobia: similarities and discrepancies between self-categorization and discourse in Venezuelan university students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55560/arete.2026.23.12.9Keywords:
homophobia, critical discourse analysis, self-categorization, heteronormativity, higher educationAbstract
This article analyzes the coincidences and discrepancies between discourse and self-categorization in a sample of fifty (50) students from a public university in Venezuela, aiming to identify explicit and implicit expressions of homophobia and connect the findings with higher education. The Index of Attitudes toward Homosexuality by Hudson and Ricketts (1980) was used to organize score ranges, understood as analytical groupings rather than absolute definitions of the participants. Subsequently, four focus groups were conducted in June 2017 on same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples, and everyday relationships with homosexual people. The analysis drew on van Dijk’s (2003) categories of ideological discourse. Quantitative results indicate that 70% of the sample was located in the high range of non-homophobic attitudes; however, several participants expressed rejection, moral reservations, conditional tolerance, and protection-based discourse. The article concludes that homophobia may appear explicitly and also as a subtle discursive practice in university contexts.
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