UK

Self-proclaimed defender of gay rights Baroness Nicholson doesn’t know what homophobia means

Baroness Nicholson: 'Very dangerous' for BBC to tell kids about pronouns

Baroness Nicholson. (UK Parliament, cropped. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)

Unelected peer Baroness Nicholson, who in recent years has claimed to be a defender of the gays, doesn’t seem to know what homophobia means.

Nicholson has a long anti-LGBT+ history, having been the subject of hundreds of complaints to the House of Lords for sharing “racist and transphobic” abuse about Munroe Bergdorf, claimed it is “very dangerous” to explain pronouns to children, repeatedly declared her opposition to same-sex marriage, and once said that a for a child to “grow up with two lesbian mothers was neither normal nor natural”.

But recently Nicholson, who has been a life peer since 1997, has become a confusing supporter of anti-trans lobby group LGB Alliance.

Nicholson has used social media to argue against trans rights, supposedly in defence of gays and lesbians, but on Monday (25 April), she revealed that she doesn’t even know what homophobia means.

When Nicholson took to social media to attempt to define a lesbian, trans activist and researcher Mallory Moore was quick to point out that a group of lesbian activists once protested in Nicholson’s own front garden over her support of Section 28, which banned the “promotion” of homosexuality in UK schools.

Nicholson’s response was truly baffling.

“Mallory,’Homo’ means ‘Man’,” she tweeted.

“Are you sure you’ve got your facts right? Homophobia means ‘fear of man’, while I declare that lesbians are indisputably Women.

“I’m perfectly happy with either Men or Women. I don’t have the deep concerns that you seem to on their private and family life.”

While Nicholson was right in thinking that the word “homo” can mean “man” in Latin (although it also means “human”), in the English language when used as a prefix, it comes from the Greek word “homos” meaning “same”.

Therefore “homosexual” means a sexual attraction to people of the same sex, just as “homophone” means something that sounds the same.

The Baroness’ confusion was relentlessly mocked on Twitter, with one user tweeting: “The dictionary according to Baroness Nicholson, bigot extraordinaire…

“Homophobia (n): Fear of men. Homosexual (adj): Attraction to men. Homophone (n): Sounds like men. Homogenous (adj): Men everywhere.”

“This lady thinks straight women are homosexuals,” pointed out another.

A third person wrote: “The history of British cuisine and fashion has been dominated by the aristocracy shedding things as soon as they are also reachable by the poor, like certain spices, fabrics, vegetables, and styles.

“By the 21st century, they had even chosen to forgo education.”

PinkNews has contacted Baroness Nicholson for comment.

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