Ex-Gay Sheep?

Michael discusses a post about efforts to ‘cure’ gay sheep, and discusses the implications it could have on humans (Read the original post , which treats the whole subject as a bad joke).

Michael takes issue with the comparison of curing gayness with curing deafness or blindness. The difference, which the original poster missed, is that – while there is assuredly some social stigma attached with being deaf or blind, the primary issue is with the actual deafness or blindness. On the other hand, the ‘problem’ of being gay is 100% the problem of societal attitude towards it. There is no disadvantage to being gay that isn’t created by the narrow-mindedness of others – be that neighbor, government, or church. (I challenge anyone to come up with a non-societal induced disadvantage to being gay).

While one might struggle to find an ‘upside’ to being gay (Laugh at more jokes while watching Will and Grace?) – once again requiring gays to do offer proof not required of straights (As Michael points out, and I paraphrase, ‘what’s the upside of being straight other than it means your not gay’?)

The original poster also brings up the specter of the question -asked on all National Coming Out panels ever held: If you could, today, take a pill that would ‘cure’ your being gay, would you? Having been on many gay-issues panels during college, I have been asked that question many times, and my answer is still the same: No. Being gay is part of who I am, and I wouldn’t kill off part of me simply to avoid the disapproving stares I sometimes get. Otherwise, being gay has not been a disadvantage to me (with the possible exception of taxes). I’m in a 10 year relationship, I have good relationship with my family, and I have a beautiful daughter. What would change if I suddenly weren’t gay? Now, others might choose to take the pill, obviously. My view on that is simple: If we ever get to a point where people can be gay free of societal disapproval – where being gay or straight is as meaningless as being blue eyed or green eyed, and someone still wanted to take a pill to be straight – then more power to them. The fact that, today, there are people unhappy with being gay is, again, more a symptom of societal silliness than a valid dissatisfaction due to limitations inherent in homosexuality.

And, speaking of silliness, comparing the curing of gay sheep to the curing of gay people is even less applicable than comparing curing gayness to curing deafness. With few exceptions, sheep are far less complex beings than people. While the whole ‘nature vs nurture’ argument still goes on, I think most people instinctually understand that being gay is both. It is biological, sociological, and ingrained into our species. Sheep work almost purely on instinct, people don’t.

Also, if you assume gayness is – at least in part – biological, then you’re talking about altering the brain chemistry of your child. Who knows what else would be altered. You would be, in effect, destroying a child’s personality, a child’s being, and replacing it with one you felt was more appropriate. That’s a far cry from getting two male sheep to stop humping one another.

Update: Not unsurprisingly, some people don’t get the point.