There are many instances when homophobia discourages intimacy. Many of the gay people that I know are very self-conscious about displaying any type of physical intimacy in public. When I walk around in public, if I see two girls or two guys holding hands, it is much more of a shock to me than if it is a girl and a guy. I'm not against it, it's just not something that you I see as often. Also, in our society it is considered okay for a man and woman to be kissing, maybe even more in public. However, when most people see a same-sex couple kissing in public, the first emotion is usually disgust. This is an awful double-standard because these people are doing the exact same thing and get completely opposite reactions from others: one being positive, and the other being negative.
I have played soccer since I was six years old and have been on many different teams throughout my life. Soccer players are sometimes stereotyped as being lesbians or butch. I'm sure there were some lesbians who I played soccer with, but no more than on any other team or group. We would have soccer sleepovers sometimes and I remember all of my other friends would say that we were all lesbians with each other, which wasn't the case at all. It was just like any other all-girl sleepover. This never stopped me from becoming close to my teammates but it made me think twice about how I interacted with them in front of others. Usually when girls are good friends it is not uncommon for them to hug and show other displays of affection like that, but I was also self-conscious about doing things like that in public.
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