Homophobia itself is a major obstacle that the LGBTQ+ community faces. Homophobia now can be seen in the government in the United States and can stem from religion. While homophobia is only one thing that affects the LGBTQ+ community, it effects the community in multiple ways. It can be done through the government, social media, and even religion. Another obstacle that the LGBTQ+ community faces is the lack of diversity. Although diversity is present in the community, it still lacks diversity. Having more diversity may also help fight some of the homophobia, but there is a possibility that having more or better diversity would cause more of an issue.

Looking at recent times, homophobia has been recently on an uprise. Although homophobia has always been around “Under intense media pressure, McCarthy began to modify his charges—205 communists became 57 “loyalty risks” and then 81 “bad risks.” When McCarthy finally detailed his alleged cases of subversion, several centered on homosexual employees.” (Weiss and Bosia, 2013 p. 56). In recent times many states, have had bills have been passed. For example, “Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed S.B. 104 on Nov. 27, 2024. Going into effect on Feb. 25, the bill requires transgender students, faculty and staff to use bathrooms that align with their assigned sex at birth and bans gender-neutral multi-stall bathrooms.” (The Observer). The homophobia we see now not only reaches political aspects but also “Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an Instagram post that this would make the guidelines more in line with the “mainstream discourse” on the issue of gender. Additionally, X, owned by Elon Musk, who will co-head Trump’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” changed its policies in 2023 to allow hate speech against trans people and classified “cisgender” as a slur.” (The Observer).

Some of this homophobia may stem from religion as some people use their religions book. “Worse still, political leaders defend these laws by alluding to traditional African beliefs and religions. Homosexuality is un-African, uncultural, un-Christian, and un-Islamic—thus illegal. In sum, these leaders claim that homosexuality violates God’s law and attest to the judgment God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18–19; Quran 26).”|(Weiss and Bosia, 2013 pg. 77). “The oft-repeated meme that LGBT persons are funded by American and European gays to practice homosexuality has been translated into a truism used by most African politicians and religious leaders who accuse Western countries of imposing homosexuality on the continent.” (Weiss and Bosia, 2013 pg. 77).