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Gay Marriage and the Political Psychology of Disgust
National Journal ^ | July 28, 2014 | Brian Resnick

Posted on 07/28/2014 9:47:42 AM PDT by reaganaut1

When Michael Sam kissed his boyfriend on television to celebrate his successful draft into the NFL, some viewers were disgusted. The charged comments that followed demonstrated that when it comes to public displays of gay affection, some people have a gut reaction to recoil. But why?

The answer to that question is not fully known, but scientists are beginning to establish an understanding of how biology and the environment may interact to form such reactions.

First, it's important to understand that disgust in humans can be good. We should recoil from the truly gross things that can harm us—festering wounds, rancid meat, and feces, to name a few examples, are dangerous incubators of infection. "Disgust is a part of what is referred to as the behavioral immune system, which protects us from dealing with items and individuals that might make us sick, that might kill us," says Patrick Stewart, a political scientist at the University of Arkansas (and not of X-Men, Star Trek fame).

But it's not adaptive when healthy groups of people are reacted to in the exact same way as if they were pathogens.

Here's the state of the science of disgust right now. Conservatives are thought to have a greater propensity to be disgusted than liberals do. Many studies corroborate this idea (see here, here, and here). One illustrative study in 2011 found that people who were more physiologically disgusted, a reaction that was measured by skin reactions, by this photo of a man eating a mouthful of worms were also more likely to self-identify as conservative. They were also more likely to have a negative response to gay marriage.

Disgust reactions against gays are then correlated with negative attitudes toward same-sex marriage.

(Excerpt) Read more at nationaljournal.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: disgust; homosexualagenda; moralabsolutes
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"We should recoil from the truly gross things that can harm us—festering wounds, rancid meat, and feces, to name a few examples, are dangerous incubators of infection."

Is the author a closeted opponent of gay marriage and homosexuality?

1 posted on 07/28/2014 9:47:42 AM PDT by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1

Tab P was not meant for Slot A.


2 posted on 07/28/2014 9:50:31 AM PDT by NonValueAdded ("Kerry, as Obama's plenipotentiary, is a paradox - the physical presence of a geopolitical absence")
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To: reaganaut1

RE: but scientists are beginning to establish an understanding of how biology and the environment may interact to form such reactions.

If (as liberals argue ), gays are “born that way” and they can’t help it, therefore they should be given all consideration for their lifestyle, why aren’t straights who are also “born that way” being given consideration for the way they react?

Why is one biology favored over the other?


3 posted on 07/28/2014 9:51:15 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
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To: reaganaut1

nope, they’re just laying the groundwork for conservatives to be reeducated because of “their mental defect”.


4 posted on 07/28/2014 9:55:06 AM PDT by Axeslinger (Where has my country gone?)
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To: reaganaut1

Oh, I get it now. We Conservatives are all just a bunch of dumbass troglodytes who haven’t evolved far enough. That’s why the sight of two f*gg*ts kissing makes us want to retch. It’s our tiny reptilian brains. Gee, the more you know, huh?


5 posted on 07/28/2014 9:57:13 AM PDT by servo1969
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To: reaganaut1
when it comes to public displays of gay affection, some people have a gut reaction to recoil. But why?

We're hardwired to procreate to preserve the species.

6 posted on 07/28/2014 9:58:24 AM PDT by AU72
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To: reaganaut1

It’s disgusting because it’s unnatural (just check thousands of years of history), and anti-Biblical. God gave us consciences. Not that people don’t have freedom. Just don’t expect me to celebrate their life choices.


7 posted on 07/28/2014 9:58:35 AM PDT by JSDude1
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To: reaganaut1

MOST people where disgusted. It was the wankers that are all the rage for Homo displays of affection. MOST people where disgusted when Al Gore tried to swallow his now estranged wife on national TV as well.


8 posted on 07/28/2014 9:58:59 AM PDT by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: reaganaut1
It is not the kissing, but the knowledge of what else they do to each other which usually involves feces.

And they want all our little boys to learn it in school and at scout camp.

There is no "Homo-Phobia."

It is disgust at what they do to each other.

9 posted on 07/28/2014 10:01:30 AM PDT by Slyfox (Satan's goal is to rub out the image of God he sees in the face of every human.)
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To: Axeslinger

Exactly. Note the ‘it can be manipulated’ part. Yeah, that’s called brainwashing.


10 posted on 07/28/2014 10:02:33 AM PDT by Viennacon (Barry Obama? No... Barack Hussein Soebarkah.)
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To: servo1969

So liberals enjoy watching people eat worms? Liberals are mentally ill.


11 posted on 07/28/2014 10:02:39 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
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To: servo1969

we on the right must be too dumb to think a man and a woman are meant to be together, and it’s best for a family and raising children.


12 posted on 07/28/2014 10:05:42 AM PDT by manc (Marriage =1 man + 1 woman,when they say marriage equality then they should support polygamy)
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To: reaganaut1

Disgust at gross immorality is a function of the God-given conscience each of us was born with.

Liberals have seared their consciences.

End of story.


13 posted on 07/28/2014 10:08:41 AM PDT by EternalVigilance (Up is up, down is down, marriage is marriage, no matter how silly your redefinitions might be.)
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To: reaganaut1

“...when it comes to public displays of gay affection, some people have a gut reaction to recoil. But why?”

Because it’s against the laws of Man and Nature?

Just throwin’ that out there...


14 posted on 07/28/2014 10:10:13 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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To: reaganaut1
"...The charged comments that followed demonstrated that when it comes to public displays of gay affection, some people have a gut reaction to recoil. But why?"

Oh, good God.

15 posted on 07/28/2014 10:10:21 AM PDT by rlmorel ("A nation, despicable by it"s weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral." A. Hamilton)
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To: reaganaut1

And, by the way, what they are striving for is “HOMOSEXUAL” marriage, not “Gay” marriage.


16 posted on 07/28/2014 10:13:04 AM PDT by rlmorel ("A nation, despicable by it"s weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral." A. Hamilton)
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To: Axeslinger

I saw an article on twitter the other day on something called thedailydot.com entitled “10 myths about anal sex”. It was written by a gay activist and the CLEAR intent of that story and this, is to mitigate the disgust factor that people feel towards the mechanics of gay sex. They feel they’ve won on the PR front bc it’s everywhere, now, they are attempting to finetune it and overcome the feelings of revulsion with explanations about how it’s REALLY not bad/dirty/disgusting. It is appalling how successful they have been.


17 posted on 07/28/2014 10:16:14 AM PDT by xsmommy
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To: reaganaut1; 185JHP; 230FMJ; AKA Elena; APatientMan; Albion Wilde; Aleighanne; Alexander Rubin; ...
A scientific look at why homosexuality is disgusting.

Disgust amongst yourselves...

Moral Absolutes Ping!

Freepmail Responsibility2nd or wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list. FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search [ Add keyword moral absolutes to flag FR articles to this ping list ]


18 posted on 07/28/2014 10:41:21 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
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To: reaganaut1
I think it's far more interesting that those they identify as being conservative have a stronger disgust reaction to things like a guy with a mouthful of earthworms than liberals do.

If the disgust response is innate and presumed to be part of our defense and protection, which the biologist and the evolutionary psychologist would say helped us to evolve and evolved with us, and those they identify as conservatives have a stronger response, then what does that say about the liberal's mind in the evolutionary meritocracy known as "the survival of the fittest"?

The liberal mind's disgust response to disgusting should be stronger, but isn't. Why?

Or is this the attempted re-writing of yet another definition, so as to accommodate their behavior and ease their cognitive dissonance, by minimizing scientific evolution in their attempt to "evolve" society in a gay way?

Kinda hard to keep up with this rapid societally transforming evolutionary path we've been set on. Lots of things evolve, like diseases, for example.

Should another disease like HIV AIDS come along and be bad ass deadly enough to scare everyone like it did, my guess is natural evolution will win in the court of freaked out public opinion once again and societal evolution will stall out and fall back a bit.

That or fire and brimstone rain down from the sky...

19 posted on 07/28/2014 10:42:39 AM PDT by GBA (Here in the Matrix, life is but a dream.)
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To: reaganaut1
We should recoil from the truly gross things that can harm us—festering wounds, rancid meat, and feces, to name a few examples, are dangerous incubators of infection.

A couple queers doing what queers do are "dangerous incubators of infection," too.

20 posted on 07/28/2014 10:56:38 AM PDT by RobinOfKingston (Democrats--the party of Evil. Republicans--the party of Stupid.)
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