A cure, the road paved with good intentions

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I just watched the X Men movie and while a mostly depressing film, it also had a deep theme. For those unfamiliar with the story, in the X Men universe there are humans and mutants. Mutants are more or less human looking characters with special powers of one sort or another. Depending upon the power involved the mutant can look entirly human. In this film a father of a mutant, who in a heartbreaking scene tries to cut his wings off at what appears to be about age 12, finds a cure for his son and all mutants. His intentions are honorable. He deeply loves his son and wants to make his life better. But the cure becomes a weapon, and his son, refuses the cure.

This reminds me very much of the ex gay movement. Many people involved in that movement really have good intentions. They honestly believe they are helping their fellow man. They see a group of people literally headed for Hell and think they have the one true way out. They end up instead, butressing the religious right and others who don't have such good intentions. I find myself torn between blaming ex gays for helping cause and preying upon the misery of gays and lesbians and realizing that they are trying to help a people they honestly see in pain and peril.

The movie provides a variety of responses to the cure. It also indulges the darkest fears of many of us in the event a cure becomes a reality. But the movie also makes clear the honorable motives of the original discoverer of the cure which makes all the havoc that much more devastating.

I often wonder what would happen if a real cure, and not the snake oil being sold by ex gays were to be discovered. One hopes that our society would have advanced enough that no one would really care. But one only has to look at our current government to see that we can't count upon that. How many parents would take their gay sons or lesbian daughters to doctors to cure them so they could have grandkids? How may gays or lesbians would, in a moment of despair, decide to take the cure? Of course, both answers depend upon how advanced our attitudes will have become. We can't know that. The movie assumes major technilogical advance without an equivalent advance in attitudes. Real society often acts differently. I hope, if it comes to that, society does mature.

The road to Hell, it really is paved with those good intentions.

[Kutjara]

1. Calling a treatment that would change someone's...

...sexual preference a 'cure' implies that the previous alignment was a disease that needed curing. Homosexuality is not a disease, it doesn't require a cure. It is a legitimate expression of personhood and individuality. You may as well talk about 'curing' blue eyes or freckles. Any attempt to 'cure' homosexuality is, in my view, mutilation and should be treated as such by the law.

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2. I probably should have put cure in quotes

as that clearly is the case. But from the movies perspective and that of the ex gays cure wouldn't be in quotes.

[Kutjara]

3. I'm left-handed and still bear the scars...

...of my parents' and teachers' attempts to 'cure' me of my horrible defect. I hope a specially nasty level of Hell is waiting for all those who try to cure people of who they are.

This issue may become more urgent in the near future. I saw a report a couple of days ago pointing to the higher incidence of homosexuality among men with older brothers. The preliminary theory for why this might be is that, the more boy children a woman has, the more antibodies her body creates to the 'alien' maleness invading her body. By the time a woman gives birth to a third or later boy, her antibodies change something in the fetus to make it more compatible with the mother's system. This change apparently increases the liklihood that the child will be gay. Now, imagine for a minute that this explanation is true. It's not beyond the bounds of medical science that the mother's immune response can be suppressed. Hey presto! No more gays!

Unless treatments of this kind are made illegal, we could see the disappearance of male homosexuality within a generation. I, for one, would consider that a huge loss to the world (and I'm not even gay).

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4. The stats on that are underwhelming

It does increase the likelihood but not by nearly enough to be a way to eradicate gays. They measured the incidence of gay men at 3% and the increase took it to 5% or so in late children.

The left hand thing was very common sadly. My color blind dad got crap too. The word for left in Latin is sinister so prejudice against left handers is a very old one.

[Kutjara]

5. Well, that's a relief. Let's hope the 'cause' keeps eluding them. n/t

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6. I honestly doubt I will see this senario in my lifetime

but heck I didn't think I would see lots of things I have so go figure. Who would have known that those early pong games would lead to the x box for instance? I just hope society has matured by then.

[Kutjara]

7. I hope so too, but the current signs aren't all that promising.

Our technology is so far ahead of society's ability to manage it that we'd almost have to stop inventing stuff for the next two hundred years just to give people the chance to catch up.

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8. true it is amazing what technology we have come up with

lately.