MIND | As We Are
by Brad Larsen, PsyD
Population Control
What if we are part of the greater whole of humanity with a vital role to fulfill? Could we be responsible for the future of the planet?
I spent the majority of my childhood at a local theatre company
working on stage, behind stage and in the lighting and sound
booth. The Company Theatre, in addition to being a training
ground for the performing arts, was and is an oasis of acceptance
and love for queer youth where I grew up. The directors of the
company were my surrogate parents and the community they cre-
ated was my second family.
At 14-years-old, I had only come out to a few friends at the theatre when
they convinced me I had to tell Jordie, who was a founding director of the
theatre and a lesbian. During a rehearsal for a production of A Christmas
Carol I asked her if I could meet with her privately. I nervously stalled and
stuttered, but eventually said the words out loud, “I think I’m gay.” I later
learned that I was the latest in a long line of gay and lesbian youth who
came out to her over the years. She responded, of course, with a matter
of fact love and warmth that I would have expected if I weren’t so scared
about telling an adult for the first time. Jordie laughed and told me she
thought that my older sister would be the first one from my family to
come out. Then she told me her theory that being gay was a natural and
important response to prevent overpopulation of the planet.
Her theory has rolled around in my head for nearly twenty years. It always
seemed plausible to me, but I had never taken the time to research the idea.
A quick Google search tells me that this theory is in fact well considered
by many. In 2010, G. Roger Denson wrote for The Huffington Post about
homosexuality being a natural adjustment to control population and an
essential element to for keeping the balance of nature. Imagine that.
He recounted a discussion with his priest in which they debated the mer-
its of heterosexuality versus homosexuality. Denson made his point, “We
preserve the species. We are conservation realized. We provide nature’s
... restraint ... on procreative extravagance. We keep human production
from becoming ... overproduction ... pollution ... destruction unbridled.”
Denson went on to relate the work of genetic researchers in Korea who
claim to have identified a gene in rats that can be turned on or off to in-
fluence the rat’s preference for other male or female rats. The tentative
conjecture is that humans may also have this genetic light switch that gets
turned on when the rate of procreation needs to be curbed to maintain an
overall balance in nature.
The research behind these assertions remains inconclusive and I am sure
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there are holes in the theory, but the possibility leaves me envisioning the
positive impact on the mental health of LGBT individuals and communi-
ties. What if we lived as if we have a profound mission? Denson writes, “of
course population control also provides gays and lesbians, and in particu-
lar gay and lesbian youth, the purpose in life we seek.” In other words, we
are an integral part of the greater whole of humanity and we have a vital
role to fulfill. Is it possible for queer people to go from being considered
mentally ill to essential to the balance of nature in the span of a century?
Why not?
We are
conservation
realized.
We know that LGBT individuals experience higher rates of depression
and anxiety as well as suicide and substance abuse all related, in part, to
religious and societal marginalization. Just imagine if queer youth could
be raised with the belief that they are essential to the health and well-being
of the earth. Rather than fearing damnation and perpetration by haters,
youth could be truly free to blossom just as they are and contribute their
talents to the betterment of society. It seems to me it is a possibility worth
considering.
It turns out that Jordie was wise to many things, including my sister; she
did come out, fifteen years later. §
Dr. Brad Larsen is a clinical psychologist resident in private practice. Reach him at brad@
bradlarsenpsyd.com. Brad's clinical supervisor is Dr. Sharon Chatkupt Lee
(Oregon License Number 1599)
November 2012