ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on psychosocial research outside the psychoanalytic field that demonstrates the shame-inducing impact of homophobia on the development of a boy who grows up with an awareness of a gay identity. The author explores the psychoanalytic literature on shame and, drawing on clinical and cultural examples, demonstrates the defensive behaviour that underlying shame can produce, which can include a paradoxical hyper-masculinity. It is suggested that it is the aspects of a gay man’s identity that are associated with social constructions of vulnerability and weakness that are particularly shame-inducing, as they evoke a misogynistic fear of becoming “like a woman”. These feelings and their link with internalized homophobia can be difficult to address in therapy but should not be avoided, as they have inevitable consequences for the patient’s self-esteem.
