ABSTRACT
The term homophobia is relatively new, but antipathy to persons of homosexual leanings or behavior is not. Feminism did not invent lesbianism, and lesbianism is not coextensive with feminism. Feminism and lesbianism eventually came to accept that they had one common goal: the eradication of sexism in all its manifestations. The recasting of lesbianism as a political choice actually convinced some otherwise heterosexual women to become "gay," at least during the heady start of the women's movement. The political Right, however, usurped the family issue as its own. Twenty-five states still have sodomy laws on the books, which, although they were intended to criminalize male homosexual acts, are also used to prosecute lesbians. Even when unenforced, they legitimize homophobia and the criminality of private consensual sex. These laws are constantly being challenged, most recently in Michigan and Texas. While antigay local ordinances come and go, little or no counseling is available for gay children or adolescents in schools.
