I don’t know, sometimes the though of “what if all my leftist ideas are false? What if trans people are just mentally ill? What if gay people are just deviants?”
I honestly really don’t like it…
It’s good to question your beliefs I guess, it’s how you grow, but it sometimes makes me really uncomfortable. Why does this happen? Can I stop it? Should I?
No way, that’s just science, baby! (Edit: OK, and philosophy)
I think those questions need to be followed through with a chain of reasoning and questions, not denial. There’s usually lots of options.
So for that “gay people are deviants” question, a “no they aren’t” answer isn’t helpful, because it’s faith based, which leads to a shutdown of thinking and curiosity.
Another line might be: if they are, then does that mean that the tens or hundreds of other animal species with documented existence of homosexuality are also deviants? Can an animal be a deviant? Seems unlikely… Does that mean that maybe deviance is a dodgy concept? What does it actually mean? Does it mean a thing is fundamentally bad, or does it just mean that it doesn’t fit with a particular value system? If that’s the case, and I personally know a bunch of gay people who are really lovely people, is it possible that it’s the value system that’s the problem, not the gay people?
There’s usually plenty of other chains of thought that will get you to a place like this. Doing this kind of thought exploration also means that when you come up against someone making that argument in public, then you have a better idea where you stand, and you can potentially engage constructively with them, if they seem open to it.
EDIT: Fixed grammar with AI.
The word deviant doesn’t have a concrete meaning in scientific terms.
So, no—objectively speaking, gay people are not “deviant,” since morality is a human construct. (And even if it weren’t, that would be a philosophical question.)
The best way I could reframe this question is:
A. Are we evolutionarily predisposed to find people with alternative* sexual preferences distasteful or unpleasant?
B. Are alternative* sexual preferences evolutionarily harmful to society?
C. Are alternative* sexual preferences harmful to an individual’s own evolutionary success?
D. If any of the above are true, is the psychological or societal damage so detrimental—either to the individual or to society—that it would still be preferable to engage in alternative* sexual desires?
In this context, “alternative” refers to anything outside of a heterosexual relationship. However, these questions can be narrowed down to whatever specific sexual preferences you are inquiring about.
I won’t offer my own opinion on this, nor will I present any scientific evidence. But I will say this: I don’t think the issue is as black and white as some might assume.