Derivations on a Theme -- A "Queer" Embodiment of Tao

Trey Smith

In Scott's post this morning, he brought up the fact that he heard the word "queer" used in a proactive, not reactive, sense. After pondering this usage, he has decided to be an "aspiring queer."

One of the main points shared with us by Laozi and Zhuangzi is this idea that making distinctions separates us from our innate nature. We deem some distinctions to be good and moral, while others are deemed to be bad and immoral. As I often mull this ideation over in me noggin, it has spurred me to wonder if bisexuals embody Tao -- at least, in the realm of sexuality -- more readily than their heterosexual or homosexual brethren.

I write this as a self-identified heterosexual male. Though I believe the basic framework of an individual's sexual orientation is bio-chemical, in nature, I do think that environmental factors come into play as well. While someone like myself may be biologically predisposed to be attracted to the opposite gender, there are many things each of us may be predisposed to that we change or become changed throughout our lives. For example, a person might not favor a certain food, aroma or style of music when young, but then develops an affinity for the same thing when older.

Because I remain "turned on" by females and their anatomy, it concurrently means I am "turned off" by males and their anatomy. I have made a distinction between the two genders that is not that much different from those who are "turned on" by someone of their own gender and "turned off" by someone of the opposite gender. On the contrary, a bisexual individual doesn't appear to have this turned on/turned off switch which, in my mind, means they are able to love more freely and fully. They don't see these distinctions that the rest of us have created.

So, while the main of society views the bisexual as deviant, I am left to wonder if those of us who are heterosexual and homosexual are the actual deviants. It is we, not they, who have erected barriers and made distinctions where none may exist.