Thursday, May 17, 2012

Hop Against Homophobia: What is Homophobia?

Recently there was a blog post discovered where the author of said blog post flat out called the Hop Against Homophobia blog hop a means to sell more books. Anyone who joins in on this hop, reader and writer alike, knows that isn't the real reason behind the hop. It's to raise awareness in others at how much prejudice, hatred and homophobia still exist. Although many who join in on the hop know this to be true, there is hope by participating in the blog hop that it will impact others who may not realize what homophobia truly is and what it represents in the gay community.
"Homophobia is a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards homosexuality or people who are identified as or perceived as being LGBT. Definitions refer variably to antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, and irrational fear. In a 1998 address, author, activist, and civil rights leader Coretta Scott King stated that "Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood."" ~ Wikipedia
It has never been said better. There is no difference between being prejudiced against someone for their sexual preference and someone for their race or religion. We are all born equal. We are all born beautiful. Who is anyone to sit in judgment of someone else for being who they are?
But what some may not know is that in a lot of cases it goes beyond using words to hurt someone. It goes to the depth of physical violence and can often lead to the victim being brutalized until their life is taken from them by someone who's intolerant. How can such hatred exist and how can the people who feel that level of contempt actually take an innocent person's life?
Stop Homophobia... Live and let live. Stop worrying about things which don't affect your life or your happiness. Discrimination is discrimination no matter how you twist it or speak it or think it.
I'm going to post links to my books, M/M Romance because I love seeing two men together, and if anyone is interested in reading an excerpt or looking at my books please do so. If not, thank you for stopping by to join our Hop Against Homophobia and make sure to spread the love, not the hate.
Dreamspinner Press Releases:
Chasing Seth
Touch Me Gently
Silver Publishing Releases:
Fragments of a Unicorn's Soul
White Rain
Swift's Temptation
**************CONTEST************
2 bundles to win!!
Here is a chance to win a couple of my newest swag/promo items! (See previous post).
Feather (Chasing Seth) or Unicorn (Fragments) Charm - They are cell phone/purse/jeans charms or zipper pulls. Hang them from your rear view mirror even! Always have a reminder around of your favorite J.R. Loveless novel. Your choice of color and charm! I have every color of the rainbow and even crystal. So just tell me your favorite color if you win. :D
I'm also going to be making some with snowflakes for White Rain and cowboy hats for Touch Me Gently but the charms haven't come in yet so unless you want to wait for one of those, I can only offer the feather or unicorn at this time.
I will also be including one of my new posters! Your choice of color, Blue or White.

You'll also be receiving one of my previous book marks, signed by yours truly :D
All you have to do to participate is leave a comment about my post and include the name of at least one other participant in the Hop Against Homophobia. (Please be sure to leave your email address in the post so I know who to contact if you win!) I'll be putting all the names in a hat and drawing out the two lucky winners who will be notified May 21st and I'll be posting the winners of the contest on my blog.

***Side contest***
If you leave me a really awesome and inspirational quote against Homophobia I'll throw in a third bundle for the quote I like the most!
Kisses,
J.R.

31 comments:

  1. i agree with you J.R. My brother works in the entertainment field and a number of his friends (whom i have personally met) are the NICEST ppl i have ever known. i have also been self employed and have had a number of clients from the GBLT field who turned out to be the most loyal clients i ever had. so it makes me cry for those i know to see such hatred towards them. i also have often wondered if those who espouse hate have some insecurities about themselves to NOT see how wonderful ppl from the GBLT community can be

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  2. Good morning, I wanted to say how much I admire you for banding together with so many authors for such a worthy cause. I've read many M/M books over the past several years thanks to my friend Stormy Glenn. Hers was the first M/M book I ever read. Good luck in your endeavors.

    Missy Martine
    missymartine@comcast.net
    www.missymartine.com

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  3. Thank you for sharing and being part of this great cause.

    musings-of-a-bookworm@hotmail.co.uk

    I am part of this HOP too

    www.musings-of-a-bookworm.org

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  4. What a wonderful post. I have read many different blogs this morning all with different perspectives. But I must say that Mary Calmes's blog made me cry as did a few others. Thank you for your comments.

    I must tell you that Touch Me Gently is one of my all time favorite re-reads/re-listen to books. I can never get through it without crying.

    Tiffany
    bubbliemom@gmail.com

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  5. Thank you for the wonderful books and being a part of this great clause. I started with Stormy Glenn's website and am happily wondering through the links. So many touching stories.

    nlerickson@aol.com

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  6. Love should always triumph over hate and I believe it always will!

    Thank you for taking part in the hop :)

    kimberlyFDR@yahoo.com

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  7. Wonderful post. Hopefully there will come a day when equality for all is more a reality than a dream.

    It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality. It's like disapproving of rain.
    ~Francis Maude

    Tami (tb-kindle@hotmail.com)

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  8. Thank you for the wonderful post. I have said it before but hate takes so much work! I am at a lost as to why people care who we love as long as we are loved.
    Yvette
    yratpatrol@aol.com

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  9. Not here for the swag! Just stopped to say thank you for such a direct and upfront post! Love it!

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  10. Hello J.R.
    For being who he is my gay friend has endured and endured and endured. No one deserves that and I wanna say it's wonderful to take a stand against the destruction of homophobia. Thanks for your post.
    vonalogan@gmail.com

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  11. Great post! Thanks for sharing.

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  12. I wanted to say how much I admire you for banding together with so many authors for such a worthy cause. I have read many different blogs and they all are with many different perspectives. But I must say that Mary Calmes's blog was my favorite. I really loved reading Touch Me Genlty and Chasing Seth.
    My best friend and I loves collecting quotes and giving them to one another, this is one of my favorite homophobia quotes "There's this illusion that homosexuals have sex and heterosexuals fall in love. That's completely untrue. Everybody wants to be loved" by Boy George

    Bulgeundal89@aol.com

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  13. This is my first Hop and I'm glad that I have found it, it's very inspirational to know we can band together and show the world we can work together no matter our preferences. This world needs for loving and less Hating.

    s.ramirez8621@gmail.com

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  14. Greetings, and thank you for participating! I'm hopping around, actually posting comments for a change, and not just for a chance to win fun stuff. I truly want to thank as many as I can for standing up and having something to say on these serious issues we are facing in the world. This is what I posted on Kaje Harper's blog: Love and acceptance begin at home, unfortunately so do hate and intolerance. I had a nephew who would by now be 21 if these particular intolerance’s were not still so prevalent. On a brighter note, I like to think (hope) that for every horrible story, enough people learn a lesson so as to make a difference.

    sylvan65@hotmail(dot)com

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  15. I was raised in a very homophobic home. Thankfully in my heart I knew that was wrong even at an early age. I am now a mother of 2 grown sons and one who will be 18 next month. While they are all straight, some of their best friends aren't. They stand up for their friends and I couldn't be more proud. I started this with Zathyn Priest's blog because he is my favorite author in all genres. His and the others I have read are heartbreaking. It shames me to see the ignorance that is still in society. I would die for my children and to think that some parents care more about the gender of their child's partner than their own child is shocking and unbelievable. I am glad to have found this but sad to know it's necessary.

    cklynn123@gmail.com

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  16. Wonderful post! My favorite quote:
    "It's insane that civil rights are being denied people in this day and age. It's embarrassing, and it's heartbreaking. It goes with out saying that I'm completely in support of gay marriage. In 10 years we'll be ashamed that this was an issue."-Chris Evans (Captain America)
    Tabatha Hansen
    mmparanormalromance@gmail.com
    www.mmparanormalromance.wordpress.com

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  17. I don't have any quotes and the first name that pops up in my head is Erica Pike. Great points that you made.

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  18. I showed a bunch of these post to the teens in my family to show them how hurt some "innocent" remarks are to many others. I get so annoyed when my nephew says "you're so gay". ERRRR drove me crazy. I know he didn't mean anything by it but it is so wrong to use that as a saying. I think that these post have helped. Thank you all for sharing with us!
    forettarose@yahoo.com

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  19. Thanks so much for sharing. I did a speech fighting for gay rights and one of my facts was the poster about the species of animals. In fact, scientists found that about 10% of rams have been observed to display only homosexual urges. They mate with a male and never touch an ewe. So are haters going to say that the rams choose to be gay?? Really? It's natural and can't be changed. And there's no need to change, everyone's perfect the way they are.

    And a quote that I really like, seeing as I am a Christian, is by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. "If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn't worship that God." Thanks so much for participating and sharing!

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  20. Live and let live. That's the phrase homophobic people should stop and think on. What exactly is wrong with letting someone else love who they want? Not a damned thing!

    I don't personally know any quotes, but google found one I seriously like.

    "You could move."
    ~Abigail Van Buren, "DEAR ABBY" In response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood.

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  21. What I really don't understand about homophobes is why, the moment someone says, "I'm Gay", They think of how that person has sex. Really? WHY? I don't think about how Heterosexual people have sex when they introduce themselves as a couple. Why they hell are they thinking of someone else's, a complete strangers, sex life? That's sick. THEY are the ones that need help. Every single person in this world are PEOPLE. There is no, "them", "us", we're all people. I just can't wrap my head around this hate that has spread like wild fire these recent months/years(god has it been years since this explosion of hate started?) I have no Idea what the hell has happened these recent years that suddenly other people think they can vote for whether other citizens, solders, sisters, brothers, whether just... PEOPLE can marry!! When did we become a different species that suddenly they think they can take away their rights?! I will NEVER understand why someone can't just LOVE whomever they want... Marry whomever...
    Mary Calmes' and Lynn Hagen's blog post are two of the most touching posts I have seen for this blog hop event. I won't be forgetting them any times soon.

    One of my favorite quotes that I found during this whole "vote against gay marriage" shit... has been this:
    Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law.
    -Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, A.D. 524

    Heh, and also ;)
    Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people.
    ~Martina Navratilova

    Thanks for being a part of this blog hop.

    Judi
    arella3173_loveless(at)yahoo.com

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  22. I was shocked when I heard about the blog post saying that the hop was a marketing ploy. I have seen nothing but generosity while hopping through the blogs - I am determined to visit them all - whether it be donations to organisations (like I am doing) or giving of themselves by sharing personal and heartbreaking stories, I have not seen a single post that is merely a marketing promo.

    The most inspiring quote I have seen is probably the most simple one and in response to the various "God hates..." signs. It simply reads "Got hates no one". A simple truth that too many people seem to forget.

    Oh and another participant - I assume I can't say myself - Stormy Glenn.

    lmbrownauthor at gmail dot com

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  23. That never ever crossed my mind as a reader that you guys were trying to sell books. That doesn't apply to me anyways because I already buy a lot of your books. What's important is to stop all of the hate our there. There's just so much out there for people who just want to love.
    melita332002@yahoo.com

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  24. It never crossed my mind that there could be an alterior motive in the hop- how would givin things away and asking for love for everyone be a bad thing? Anyway- another participant would be MA Church and my email is lillywriting(at)gmail(dot)com

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  25. Hi JR! That person must be crazy, I don't even see how he or she thinks we're selling books. In fact, we're giving them away. Does he call up the Jerry Lewis Telethon and accuse them of selling anything? Seriously!

    Okay, I could take the easy way out and say me, but I won't, so I'll mention a few others, such as Sui Lynn, MA Church, Vastine Bondurant who are all participating.

    Now for my quote. I used it in my blog post today, but it's a good one - it's definitely anti-homophobia, at least I think it is.

    Toulouse Lautrex (Moulin Rouge): The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

    Julie
    shelley_runyon@yahoo.com

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  26. So many wonderful comments. :D Thanks for stopping by and reading and commenting. There's still a few more hours left before the hop is over (for me anyway since its still the 20th here), but I will be putting everyone who participated into a hat and pulling two names. Then I'll choose the winner of the best quote package.

    I haven't had the chance to do any hopping myself but I'm glad to know so many people have participated and that it has touched so many people to see these stories and posts being shared.

    I have several friends who are gay and I pray every day that someone with hate in their heart doesn't find them, doesn't decide at that moment to hurt them out of ignorance and blind stupidity. A friend of mine came out a couple of years ago in a small town and I couldn't help but fear he would get hurt because small towns are notorious for small minds, not all but most.

    Let's hope this blog hop raises further awareness. I do believe we have come a long way from where it used to be, especially when they dissolved the Don't Ask Don't Tell rule. It gives me hope we aren't too far off from a future where our children can grow up and be who they are without fear of persecution.

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  27. Thanks for participating!!

    annawelch23456@hotmail.com

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  28. Thank you for the post on such a great cause. I hope that one day things like this will no longer be necessary. Our younger children will be the generation of change so I instill acceptance in mine everyday. The hop was great.

    peggy1984@live.com

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  29. Thanks so much for participating JR, I, too, was honored to be part of this hop.

    Please enter me in your contest

    yinyang1062 at yahoo dot com

    thanks

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  30. I didn't manage to stop by during the hop - I seriously tried to visit everyone! But I'm making up for it now.

    I saw your entry this morning as an article on Friendzstop.com :) http://friendzstop.com/magazine/item/6823-hop-against-homophobia-what-is-homophobia?-by-jr-loveless

    Anyway, thanks for taking part! I'm gathering everyone's direct links to put up on the HAH page.

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