Describing hatred/fear of asexuals in one word poll

[aro_elise]

On ‎2016‎-‎06‎-‎19 at 6:40 AM, Baam said:

I don't really use any of them. I don't like how someone with a hatred of asexuals is passed of as mentally ill (by use of the suffix phobia). But I guess if any, I'd use acephobia.

As others have said, 'aphobia' would mean a lack of a phobia. Which I mean, 99% are aphobic. Since the majority of people don't have that mental illness (a specific phobia). Because the prefix 'a' means a lack of.

Thank you!  As someone with an actual phobia--a chronic fear--I find it insulting, not to mention completely inaccurate, when people use it to indicate prejudice/discrimination.  

[Baam]

On 14/06/2017 at 3:10 PM, aro_elise said:

Thank you!  As someone with an actual phobia--a chronic fear--I find it insulting, not to mention completely inaccurate, when people use it to indicate prejudice/discrimination.  

me too. I find it insulting as well. My body reacts to something I logically don't perceive as a threat. That is not the same as hating gay people, for example. But the majority of people do not understand this at all when I've tried to bring it up, so I've just shut up about it, tbh. I was fighting a losing battle. I understand that words can have multiple meanings, and that the suffix -phobia means 'aversion to'. However this overusage of it lately (homophobia, biphobia, acephobia, etc.) is really just contributing to people treating specific phobia as a joke. I tell someone I have a specific phobia, and they laugh, or say 'me too', and then go on to describe a perfectly rational fear or something. Or then try and test it out and find it hilarious when I have a panic attack or something.

[Zendalis]

pho·bi·a

ˈfōbēə/

noun

 

1. an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something.

   "he had a phobia about being under water"

   synonyms:

   fear, irrational fear, obsessive fear, dread, horror, terror, hatred, loathing, detestation, aversion, antipathy, revulsion;

     

   If one goes strictly by the above, using the ending "phobia" does fit in with the kind of aversion that is often felt and displayed towards other races, ethnicities, sexual orientations etc.. so that is probably why it is used as a describer in these instances as well as for other phobias.

    

   As to the topic at hand, since I had to choose one, I chose "Acephobia", simply because phonically it makes more sense, as it would be less likely to be mistaken for several words with a different end meaning. EX: "A sex phobia", or "A phobia".

[iff]

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