Homophile
（重定向自Homophilia）
![The October 1957 edition of The Ladder, mailed to hundreds of women in the San Francisco area, urged women to take off their masks. The motif of masks and unmasking was prevalent in the homophile era, prefiguring the political strategy of coming out and giving the Mattachine Society its name.](/Images/godic/202501/18/The_Ladder,_October_19571545.jpg")
1545.jpg")
The word homophile or homophilia refers to a range of positive attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or towards homosexual individuals and their orientation. It is an exact opposite term for homophobia. People who advocate for or are supporters of the interests, civil rights, and welfare of homosexuals are also at times referred as homophilic, a term which is not in current-use in the 21st century. Later the usage of the term also came to refer to an individual who accepts homosexuals, a supporter of certain rights of homosexuals, one who has positive thoughts about homosexuality, or an advocate of its social acceptance.