The gift of being gay

[kweerwolf]

(Interesting column from The Advocate)

<snip>

The course led me to further investigation via the Internet, which turned up some interesting supporting ideas. Canadian neuroscientist Todd Murphy builds on previous research revealing a larger anterior commissure in the brains of gay men than in those of straight men and women. Since this structure connects the two sides of the amygdala—strong emotional centers in the brain—Murphy postulates that gay men thus have a stronger ability to recognize other people and how they feel, and that gay men are better able to perceive emotional meaning.

Murphy speculates, “Gay men were probably our first spiritual leaders.... Gay men may once have healed their people, led them spiritually, soothed interpersonal conflicts, and helped them anticipate and avoid threats to survival.” He goes on, “A 100% heterosexual population might well have gone extinct.”

<snip>

Is there really a gift in being gay? Is there something special we have to offer society as gay men? One could argue that the psyche of the traditional straight male has focused on outer action, getting things done and protecting the home. Meanwhile, the traditional female psyche is associated with nurturing and relationships. Both orientations are needed for societies to flourish. Some psychologists and spiritual teachers argue that the mature human psyche of either gender demonstrates a creative balance of “masculine” and “feminine” energies in the individual. Similarly, a gay orientation may represent a creative mix of the two, with its own special gifts.

http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid19948.asp

[murray hill farm]

1. Wow! That is great .

But...if we think about it for just a second..we have always known that to be true..it is always good to read of research that comes when we have the technology and tools to show us what we have always known to be the case. i love such research reports.

[cssmall]

2. Shamen.

In Native American tribes here in the United States, shaman were not exclusively male or female. Rather, they were either eunichs, hermaphrodites, or transgendered (those this is the most common) people, their mates could be male or female and status was given to whomever they married.

You have to understand the dualistic nature of male/female, penis/vagina, and the ability to understand both sides of the reproductive chain, which is something the Western culture loses. Southeastern Asian cultures also have this type of spiritual leader. In fact, there is evidence, as Murphy postulates, that this is a cultural universal.

[glarius]

3. I hope Pat Robertson doesn't hear of this...he'll put a contract out on

Murphy, who is Canadian...As it is, old chuckling Pat would probably like to nuke Canada...because of our new law allowing gays to marry!....Poor old Pat....his world is just falling apart...hahahaha

[sui generis]

4. I don't know about "energies" used in the same sentence

and what comes first, the chicken or the egg?

Do we overwire that part of our brains in response to developmental and environmental stressors, and why would having that extra bit of brain tissue mean a tradeoff of reduced offspring? Wouldn't it be more advantageous for a population to evolve other mediating factors?

I like the idea theoretically, but I'm skeptical - anyway, it kind of presupposes that one is polar gay or hetero and we know there are all kinds of variations in reality.

I especially don't like using phrases like "masculine" and "feminine" "energies" because they have such a contemporary new age ring, and they're really subjective. As a gay guy, I never feel or have felt anything remotely like I think of as feminine - I LIKE being a guy and doing guy things. I am mostly made of tungsten and carbon steel and those are just my soft parts.

(heh heh, that's our gift - scare 'em silly. If they can't tell us apart by looking or by our "girlish feminine" behavior it REALLY creeps them out. But after a while they discover they really don't care about it.)