Homosexuality provides clues to the meaning and purpose of human life.
In this companion volume to his critically acclaimed, Lambda Literary Awardwinning Gay Spirituality, Toby Johnson further explicates his visionary stance that gay people's nature as outsiders gives them a uniquely powerful perspective on the nature of God and religion. By living outside gender norms, gay people are more open to seeing across boundaries of gender and gain access to a less dualistic outlook on the nature of life. Once again, Johnson approaches this potentially controversial subject matter with -erudition, empathy and visionary speculation and gives meaning to gay consciousness beyond superficial issues of sexual behavior.
Excerpt
The lesbian and gay rights movement is popularly portrayed as an extremist faction of the Sexual Revolution. It is that, of course, but it's also far more than just that. The recognition of homosexuality as a psychological phenomenon, the rise of openly gay cultures, and the emergence of a distinctive gay consciousness in the last hundred years prompt fresh questions about the purpose of human life, the function of sex in consciousness, the role of authority in society, the meaning of religion and mythology, and even the nature of God.
We have to ask whether an even larger truth about life and God emerges from the personal experience of us actual homosexuals because of our uniquely gay perspective.
Uniquely Gay Perspective?
Many people, gay and straight, prefer to emphasize how much gay people are like other people. Don't we want to seem as normal and non-threatening as possible?
Of course, but we're not normal and non-threatening. Traditional culture heaps opprobrium upon us, especially in the name of religion. That gay people live positive and productive lives, that we are wonderful people and have important contributions to make to the development of human consciousness, shows us very positively abnormal and threatens the assumptions of traditional culture and religion.
As David Nimmons shows with statistics, hard facts, and anecdotal evidence in his remarkable book The Soul Beneath the Skin (a great companion to this present book), modern gay men have produced one of the most consistently non-violent associations of males that has ever existed. For all the problems in the gay world, we're remarkably generous, cooperative, supportive, friendly, harmonious, and peaceful. And what problems do exist-and they are legion, especially in the area of sexual relations-they are almost all products of erroneous ideas about what homosexuality is and who gay men are. Nimmons-who has created a New York-based movement of gay friendliness called Manifest Love to address these problems-argues convincingly that, for our own sake and for that of the larger society struggling to cope with the pressures and strife of modern life, the truth about our common gay virtue needs proclaiming because it's helpful to everybody.
If some other voluntary organization of males, Nimmons writes, demonstrated the virtual absence of public violence, high levels of service and volunteerism, novel forms of caretaking with strangers and friends, and uncommon amity across gender lines that modern gay men display, those unusual males would be lauded and lionized and held up as models for coping with modernization. But because the truth about our lives is distorted, misrepresented, and tarred with the brush of gender role nonconformity and wanton sexuality, our common goodness fails to be recognized as just such a model.
Our liberation from gender roles and our embrace of the inherent goodness of sexuality make us different from other human beings-and worth paying attention to. Besides, somebody needs to identify and prize alternative views of human life and the nature of the universe because the current views aren't making this world into heaven on earth. Perhaps we have special insights and special contributions that can help. It doesn't make us superior-or straight people inferior-to proclaim our place in the World Soul. And we must do this because no one else is going to do it for us.
Indeed, advances in biotechnology may soon make it possible for parents to test for and eliminate gay traits in their offspring. Science may make it possible to delete genetic tendencies toward homosexuality either by aborting future gay children or by "correcting" these tendencies through gene manipulation. If it's true-as so many of us know-that being gay is a blessing, a source of creativity, and a contribution to the evolution of humankind, then we need to argue why homosexuality should not be eliminated from the gene pool. We need to understand why our homosexual viewpoint is something to be protected and nurtured. And we need to tell future generations of homosexuals-which there will be in the near term, at least-how to value their experience positively and productively.
Beyond its place in the Sexual Revolution, the development of lesbian and gay consciousness is also a manifestation of that dramatic change in culture and consciousness loosely (and sometimes ridiculously) referred to as "New Age" or "new paradigm." This change has been wrought by modernization, increasing psychological sophistication, expanding ecological awareness, the liberation of scientific thinking from the constraints of religious dogma, the ongoing expansion of the human population, and the mingling of cultures and religions worldwide.
Professional Reviews
Every gay man needs to read this positive book about gay spirituality and identity...
I have just finished Toby Johnson's "Gay Perspective' and I enjoyed it immensely. I think it would appeal to anyone who has an interest in sexuality, spirituality, religion and identity. In particular I enjoyed Toby's positive perspectives on gay sexuality. Gay people need to hear positive affirmations about gay identity and experience: Toby's book has them in spades. Thoroughly good read from a very knowledgeable, insightful and wise author, and a book every gay person (particularly gay men) should read. Highly recommended.
Thoughtful, Clear, Positive, Life-Affirming
don't tend to read a lot of non-fiction, and that which I do read I choose carefully. I am thankful I chose to read GAY PERSPECTIVE. This is a book full of hope and heart, and every person-gay or straight-would benefit from reading it. Toby Johnson, the author of the previous groundbreaking book, GAY SPIRITUALITY, takes his points from that earlier book one step further and delineates a careful examination of all the ways that an "outsider" perspective - such as a non-heterosexual point of view - allows for a unique and life-giving take on true spirituality, as opposed to old-time religion of superstition, fear, and exclusion. He includes chapters on how our homosexuality tells us things about: Life, Sex, Religion, the Church, God, and the World, and in so doing, weaves together a wonderful narrative about all the ways gay people can help society transcend ignorance and embrace true love and compassion.
In thoughtful, clear language, Johnson presents positive affirmation that the spiritual consciousness that gay people-indeed, all GLBTQ people-are now expressing is a vital and evolutionary step forward for everyone on the planet. No longer need we be trapped in meaningless, dogmatic, fear-based, or male-dominated religious practices. He writes, "It is not a negative, fatalistic, or materialistic secularism our homosexuality reveals to us, but a universe full of mystery, wonder, beauty, and magic" (p. 203). We "outsiders" have the opportunity to rise above that and lead the way for all people to a more loving, accepting, and spiritually fulfilling place.
Early on, Johnson says that gay men may find the book to be more about them than lesbians will. He indicates that since he is writing from the experience of a gay man, he doesn't assume to speak for women; however, as a lesbian reading this book, I found that the author accorded respect toward all women and advocated for a holistic and feminist view of relationships for all.
Author, psychotherapist, activist, and community organizer Toby Johnson is also a religious scholar and former Catholic monk. His experience and insight shine in this fantastic new book. I highly recommend it to anyone-gay or otherwise. ~Lori L. Lake, author of Different Dress, Stepping Out, Gun Shy, Under The Gun, and Ricochet In Time, and reviewer for Midwest Book Review, The Independent Gay Writer, The Gay Read, and Just About Write.
Not a bad handling of a difficult subject
Within today's world of gay assimilationist theory, Toby Johnson offers some radical thoughts to the mix. He asserts that, due to our outsider status within the current culture, we are more aware of the stereotypes and rigid gender lines that everyone else takes for granted, putting us in a unique position to reform the world. Surrounded by books proclaiming "We're no different from you", Mr. Johnson asserts that yes in fact gay people are different and in doing so makes some very logical assertions towards that point.
He speaks from an unapologetic bias towards "New Age" thought, spirituality, and politics, which may make some prejudge everything he has to say and can weigh down some otherwise very solid chapters. However, tossing the book aside because of such points would be a mistake because there are worthwhile observations in this book which should be given a fair assessment on their own. You may not agree with everything he says, a point he flat out concedes in the beginning, but I would recommend you give this book a shot.
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