Beyond the Vatican and Foucault

[superbbluewren]

My idea for a book arose from my experience as national spokesperson for the Christians4Equality campaign conducted by Australian Marriage Equality. I was disappointed with the level of support that we received from priests and ministers. There was too little time to make the contacts that needed to be made and too little time to build the

Comments

[sonofdatisi]

I think you are onto something immensely profound here. Like you I have thought this for some time.

My insight comes from my limited understanding of the biology of reproduction. It is no exagerration to say that the average human has a highly basic if not entirely limited understanding of their own reproductive biology. It therefore comes as no surprise that we fail to understand diversity, when its hard enough for most people to get their minds around the standard model.

I strongly suggest you read "Evolutions Rainbow" by Dr Joan Roughgarden (if you haven't already). It really opened my mind to just how much diversity there is out there and how truly "odd" we are as a species that insists there is only one way to skin a cat.

But otherwise I look forward to more of your analyses, and to conversations on this really fascinating topic which has so many dimensions.

All the best.

[leicesterstreet]

I'm not entirely convinced that your sexuality, in of itself somehow sets you a apart from heterosexuals. For instance, I don't think being gay for instance makes you a better dancer or something by default.

Well, I should say I haven't seen sufficient evidence to back such an assertion. If anything, homosexuals gravitate more towards the arts not necessarily because they are better at it, but because culturally they will be more accepted.

If I was to hazard a guess, I'd say being gay is like being left handed. It's an attribute that does not define you or shape your personality in any dramatic way.

But I could be wrong and I'd be open to seeing rigorous scientific that would demonstrate this.

[legolastn]

I agree to some extent if only because there couldn't be absolute differences given many people don't fit neatly into hetero/cis vs LGBT (that's part of the point, particularly of the B and the T). OTOH, well, if he's arguing that it's an interaction between nature and nurture then it wouldn't be "in and of itself" but rather there would be a range of possible outcomes (more or less different from the general population) given numerous interactive factors.

I'm also not sure your example of handedness is a good counterexample, since there is some evidence that at least some lefties are "wired differently" and that being a lefty does convey advantages in some situations. Even small advantages or differences can accumulate into differential outcomes, so I suppose it depends on your definition of "dramatic."

[superbbluewren]

Handedness is somewhat analogous. 'Sinister' derives from the Latin for left-handed, while the more positive 'dexterous' from the word for right-handed. I know left-handed people not much older than I am who were pressured, sometimes forced aggressively, to use their right hand.

There are two things here. There seems to be some evidence that our brains are, in general, wired differently but the same is probably true of left-handed people. I believe that there is some basis in the idea of 'two-spirit people' who are essentially different. However, the difference is not binary, gay vs straight (us and them). There are a range of outcomes based on possibly more than one gene as well as 'nurture' and wider cultural influences.

All of that remains to be substantiated.

I know men who are 'gayer' than I am in so many ways, and I also know straight men who are very similar to me. I think it is most likely multidimensional and complex.

[leicesterstreet]

At the end of the day what is the book setting out to prove, that LGBT are somehow unique or special in someway apart from their sexuality?

The thing with being gay is that as a rule, there is nothing binding you in a cultural sense to other gay people, in the same way as other minorities, say aborigines, african americans and so forth. These groups apart from sharing skin colour share many other traditions, language and other cultural things that bind them.

Gay people however are for all intensive purposes raised in isolation. There dominating culture is whatever they have been indoctrinated with by their parents, teachers and other authority figures.

This is why we are different as a minority. We are typically fragmented and really have nothing in common apart from the gender we like to have sex with/form relations with.

[legolastn]

There is a strong tradition (or perhaps more accurately several strong traditions) that emphasize the distinctive perspectives/contributions of LGBTI persons and I'm wondering how much of this you are already aware of or drawing from. The two that come to mind most strongly in terms of spiritual/religious influence are:
* Radical Faerie Spirituality (Harry Hay being one of the founders - I'm not as well read in this perspective as the one below, but RFD & White Crane journals reflect this perspective, I think the _Gay Soul_ reader has some relevant reflections in this regard, and the recent _Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen_ gives a social science perspective partially focused on this community of thought)
* Queer Liberation Theology (Books that as I recall reflect this viewpoint include _Know My Name: A Gay Liberation Theology_ and _Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Bible_ - perhaps a new book _Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology_ might be interesting in this regard though I haven't read it yet)

[superbbluewren]

Thank you for the book suggestions. I am aware of the Radical Faerie Spirituality which has certainly had an influence on me and I am intent on exploring it further. A friend has sent me a couple of back copies of RFD.

While I am aware of liberation theology I was not aware of Queer Liberation Theology. I look forward to dipping into those books.

While writing my own book (if the subject has not been adequately covered elsewhere) helps clarify my own thoughts, it is really to provide susbtantial arguments to potential supporters who haven't really thought much about it (usually because they are straight and haven't had to!)