Quote:

the G-man said:
There is an oft-stated theory that young men who very homophobic are possibly closeted homosexuals themselves.

Under this theory, for example, a young man who constantly calls other men "gay", who incessantly talks about--sometimes in great detail--how other men engage in homosexual acts, and who even fantasize about other men having on makeup and lipstick, might be closet homosexuals.



Freud advanced a theory of defense mechanisms wherein the various workings of the mind try to protect the Ego from various anxieties. Chief among those is Reactin Formation.

Reaction Formation occurs when a person feels an urge to do or say something and then actually does or says something that is effectively the opposite of what they really want. It also appears as a defense against a feared social punishment. If I fear that I will be criticized for something, I very visibly act in a way that shows I am personally a long way from the feared position.

Constant homophobic remarks and consistently homosexual obsessions and remarks ADVANCED IN HUMOR (to suggest the gay behavior is really wrong or bad) can be seen as manifestations of reaction formation.

For this specific example, being gay is providing such anxiety for the person that he protects himself by taking the dimetrically oposing viewpoint.

But deep down, he's really queer.

So, yes, your thinking is on the mark.

We all wear a green carnation.