Disparate Extremist Groups Agree On One Thing: Queers Are Icky

March 27, 2025
HANK ORSO

Well, this should come as a shock to no one. Extremist groups, no matter their disparity, geopolitical position, or religious views, all seem to have a commonality. Gays are gross and should be targeted. The recent research by PS: Political Science and Politics explains it a lot more academically, of course, but the idea is the same. A study by extremism expert Dr. Jared Dmello of the University of Adelaide’s School of Social Sciences, as reported by Cosmos Magazine, states that "a wide variety of extremist groups, which on the surface have nothing in common, are actually engaging in similar attacks on the same marginalized communities."

Those groups include Islamic extremism, far-right terrorism groups, Jihadis, and QAnon to Incels (involuntary celibates). While their inherent belief systems and general focus might branch off into different areas and even clash in spirit, the LGBTQ+ community seems to be at the center of their terrorist Venn Diagram.

The researchers recognize the vulnerability of the queer community due to "enhanced political rhetoric" and thus their research hopes to "link queer issues to current debates in the study of terrorism and political violence." Their research is a call for, well, further research into just how focused such groups' hatred and targeting of the queer community is, to gain a better understanding of how to combat them as they target any community.

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Dmello said he and his fellow researchers, Professor Mia Bloom and Dr Sophia Moskalenko, both from Georgia State University, anticipated anti-gay bias overlap. But:

It was quite surprising to me just how much the far right and Islamic extremists are engaging in similar tactics, messaging, and propaganda to justify their attacks against the LGBTQ+ community. Sadly, this reflects broader political movements around the world that also target the human rights of this increasingly vulnerable population.

I guess white guys sitting in their parents' basements ranting about the latest Snow White remake and ISIS extremists can find common ground after all? I make a joke, but according to the research paper, "From a counterterrorism perspective, research has shown that groups coalescing around shared values or beliefs such as a common enemy can lead to 'fused extremism', which can further complicate prevention efforts."

Analyzing extremist rhetoric and real-life actions "in detail," the researchers looked at the obvious, to the ridiculous in propaganda. For instance, as reported in Cosmos:

'The article even features propaganda created by the Russian government claiming that NATO-trained mosquitoes in Ukrainian labs were designed to spread a ‘gay virus’ that would selectively infect only ethnic Russians,' Dr Dmello said. 'In response, some Russian supermarkets now sell a specialized mosquito repellent designed to protect against this so-called ‘gay virus’.

While this may seem silly at first, such anti-Ukrainian rhetoric used to justify Putin's war against that country serves a greater purpose.

The Russian propaganda would be laughable if it was not so dangerous. In an online survey of Russians in Russia, beliefs in Russian propaganda conspiratorial narratives correlated with a greater willingness to engage in radical violent action.

Ya know, it's always amazing to yer boy Hank here that the fear we as a community generate in the ignorant many seems to make us out to be a pretty powerful force. Gay virus-spreading trained mosquitoes? Sure, why not? I mean, we are responsible for events such as hurricanes in the South, earthquakes in Haiti, and the coronavirus. Apparently who we stick our dicks into is a very powerful thing indeed! Hey, unironically, I've always thought so.

While we've known of the steady uptick in aggression against Jews, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community in general in the last several years, little research has been done focusing on extremist rhetoric and violence. Usually, research focuses on one targeted group by a specific group. This research argues for the need for casting a wider research net, because "there remains a dearth of empirical research evaluating the extent of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric or how extremist groups leverage (that rhetoric). " And with another Pride month just around the corner, such rhetoric and violence, especially now, is sure to rise. The Anti-Defamation League has previously reported on anti-LGBTQ+ violence during Pride months.

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About the need for his research, Dmello said, “This research is a case study to get the conversation started. Given the increased vulnerability of LGBTQ+ populations, fuelled by politically charged rhetoric, these findings highlight the need for more research into extremist narratives. A lot more is needed to understand how other groups are being targeted across the ideological spectrum.”

Now, here's a pic of two girls kissing in front of an anti-gay protest.