The times of the Inquisition are over

Lyudmila Ulitskaya - about why the “deviation from the norm” is also the norm

The famous writer and editor of a series of books on cultural anthropology for children - about homosexuality in the animal world, about why scientists believe that there are not two sexes, but four, and why the “deviation from the norm” is also the norm

"Marsh of equality" against discrimination of sexual minorities. Moscow, Gogolevsky Boulevard, May 2011

There are several different reactions to the phenomenon of homosexuality in the world: from purely negative to indifferent and completely tolerant. Such a spectrum of relations did not always exist, not in different cultural communities, and it is with this that should begin.

How to relate to the problem of homosexuality? The first thing that needs to be understood that the phenomenon is biologically quite widespread.

Homosexuality in the animal world

The evolution of both animals and plants did not go straight, it was very interesting, at the same time existing different directions. In some species, as in peacocks, for example, males differ from modest females with a bright coloring, a luxurious tail, which, although attracting females, is more likely a minus: it is more difficult to escape from the predator. In other cases, we see the reverse picture - the females are large and strong, and the males are very inferior in size and strength. Everyone knows that females of some types of spiders begin to eat their spouse as soon as he finishes their natural and non -izable business. Moreover, his body contains some substances that are necessary for future offspring. Both of these cases demonstrate sexual dimorphism. And, finally, the last example, so as not to tire: there are species where females differ very little from males. These are the penguins. The male from the female can be distinguished only at an autopsy. They have no secondary sexual characteristics, so at the beginning of the wedding season there are more than a third of marriages between penguins - homosexual. For some, the wedding season ends with this, but more smart manage to find a partner of the opposite sex and safely withdraw the chicks. Read more about nature - a lot of food for thought.

Four sex

Now a little about people, or rather, about the mechanisms of determining the floor in people. Everyone knows from the school textbook (who studied at school, and did not look out the window) that the primary determination of the floor occurs at the level of chromosomes. There are 23 pairs of them in total, and one of these pairs, the 23rd, is sexual. In the genome of men, this pair is represented by X- and U-chromosomes, and in women-two x chromosomes. This follows, by the way, that the gender of the offspring depends on a man: only he has this very “male”, by the way, the smallest in the genome, u-chromosome. But then I will tell you that it has not yet been written in textbooks, but scientists are perfectly aware of this. Mikhail Golubovsky, a professor of biology from California, a former Leningrad, told me about this mechanism. There is another level of floor determination, let's call it secondary. When the embryo has already grown a little, its organs and a hormonal system were laid, all this begins to function in the mother’s body. It is at this place that the development of the hormonal system can occur by the type of male, while the embryo has two x chromosomes, that is, the floor is defined as female. And accordingly, on the contrary: according to chromosomes - a boy, and by hormones - a girl. The born child, strictly speaking, is a creature with some deviation from the norm. One could say that there are not two sexes, but four. We can say that this is a “rejection rate”, because the percentage of such individuals, although it is small, is constant. But this is not all: they recently discovered that there is another level of floor determination, the third order, so to speak - at the brain level. This mechanism begins to work even later, when a complex behavioral canvas begins to form.

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We can say that there are not two sexes, but four. And this is the “rejection rate”, because the percentage of such individuals is small, but constant

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At the household level, it looks like this: one of my friends from my friend from five years old was most interested in his mother’s handbag-there was no better entertainment for him than to turn his hairpins, cosmetics, scissors-knuckles ... and always played with girls. Guess who he became when he grew up? And I must say that the awareness of his belonging to a special floor was a very difficult process for both himself and his mother. If we take into account this third level of floor determination, then sexes, in a biological sense, not two, not four, but, imagine, eight. This is the biological side of the matter. And she is not exhausted. I do not know special research on this subject, but probably they exist. I assume that “female” additives in the original male genotype give some special, “feminizing” features to their carriers. The subtlety of the organization, a special view of the world, is possibly a certain mental fragility. I do not want to give a long row of names, but everyone knows that the homosexuals were Tchaikovsky, Oscar Wilde, Caravaggio ... A row can be continued to infinity. In the area of ​​the artistic number of homosexuals, it clearly goes beyond the limits of the average distribution.

Is sin sin?

Now let's move on to the social sphere. In different periods, in different cultures, homosexuality was different. The framework of the magazine does not allow me to delve into cultural anthropology - those who wish can find interesting information on the Internet. Most often, homosexuality in our time is found in closed male communities: in the army, in prisons, in monasteries, in special schools, where boys and girls are brought up separately. This environment provokes hidden homosexuality. In the case of prisons, homosexuality sometimes acquires a special character - it is associated with violence.

In the modern world, in our civilization, built in Judeo-Christian traditions, homosexuality is considered as a sin. In the Gospel, we do not find any statements about this. Christ, at least, does not mention homosexuality anywhere. The biblical texts contain a direct condemnation of sodomia, which is considered as an abomination before the Lord, and the convicted in sodistiness are subject to death.

A church attitude to homosexuality comes from these biblical attitudes. The times when there was a church court, those who were suspected of connecting with Satan were sent to the fire. Homosexuals were not beaten with stones. Non -traditional orientation was usually hidden.

Today, the time of the Inquisition has ended, modern society has a civil court, the Civil Criminal Code. This is understandable: today the rights of believers and unbelievers are equalized, and no one will be sent to a fire for atheism. Faith became voluntary, and this only strengthens and cleanses it.

Of course, a believer can consider homosexuality as a sin, this is his right. But only its members can punish for this “crime”, and this is the internal problem of the Church. For this, the church has its own punishment tools. Sometimes scandals occurring on this basis in a church environment are conveyed to civil society. The last, the most loud, was associated with the name of the homosexual bishop of the Yekaterinburg and Verkhotursky Nikon (Oleg Mironov). In the old days, for such a sin, the priest was excommunicated from the church for 15 years. They treated Nikon softer - he had to leave “for the state”, which did not prevent him from receiving Panagia from Patriarch Kirill in 2010 as a reward for the fiftieth anniversary.

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Of course, a believer can consider homosexuality as a sin, this is his right. But only its members can punish the “crime” for this “crime”, and this is the internal problem of the church

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Thus, intra -church scandals are allowed. In relation to the “external” church, the Church shows much greater intolerance. It is from the church that we hear the most angry protests to the sexual minorities.

In Russia from 1934 to 1993, it existed in the Criminal Code of Art. 121, according to which homosexuals could be sent to prison for a period of three to five years. According to various estimates, from 250 to 60 thousand people were attracted during the action of this article on it. This article, of course, violated human rights and was canceled.

The right to be

I do not belong to the gay community, I have never experienced any attraction to women, I am a married woman and mother of two children. I emphasize this to point out my personal disinterest in this sensitive issue. Among my friends there are homosexuals. There are even one pair of friends who registered their marriage ten years ago in Amsterdam.

Homosexuals have their own problems related to marriage, with the adoption of children. But today in our country we are not talking about this. The State Duma discusses the law on the introduction of criminal liability for the promotion of homosexuality.

I must admit that I do not like gay culture. I saw in my life at least three gay parade-in New York, Berlin and London. The first two made a rather repulsive impression on me - platforms with half -naked people, erected dildos, firecrackers and orgiastic fun are not in my taste. Although I must say that this, judging by the descriptions, is quite close to those holidays and carnivals that were held in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. This culture is quite aggressive and not attractive to me. But the gay parade in London struck me: in addition to ordinary platforms with mummers, singing and dancing, in the very conclusion of the parade, columns of the first sailors, then land, and at the end-police officers belonging to sexual minorities. All of them had the need to get out of the underground - to declare the world about their sexual affiliation. Remember the scandal with a picture of kissing police officers? How the police were offended! But London police announced that they did not want to hide their inclinations anymore ... No, I hardly love gay culture, no matter how much it is promoted. But to leave her the right to exist is necessary. You never know in culture such that I personally do not like: vulgar television, wretched glossy magazines, nightmare musical pops ...

When I was twelve years old, they secretly told me that a couple of young people living in a neighboring communal apartment are homosexuals. I, meeting them on the stairs, shied like a cat. Homosexuality is something terrible, criminal, dangerous, terrible ... That was our upbringing. Generally speaking, everything unknown causes fear ...

An foreign food, someone else's clothing, even someone else's tongue causes irritation. And even more so in our latitudes an exotic thing as a homosexual partnership, even a marriage

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The sixth year I have been editing a series of books on cultural anthropology for children that experts write, and I only organize this process. 14 books have already been written on various topics: food, clothing, birth and death, language, communication, education, punishment in different cultures. Strictly speaking, these books would have to stand in every school library so that the children had ideas about different cultures, so that it was easier for them to understand the variety of the world. Knowledge is the best medicine for xenophobia. The book that caused a scandal is “The family and others” Timenchik. Vera, I note, a young anthropologist, candidate of sciences. There are several lines in the book that there are except for the usual, to which we are used to, families are also homosexual. They sometimes meet - and nothing more about them is said in this book. And these lines are written precisely for the reason that such families really exist, there are already children in schools who are brought up in such families. And these children often become targets for ridicule and bullying from peers. Because all people are so educated that any phenomenon that is unusual for them causes a protest, and often aggression. An foreign food, someone else's clothing, even someone else's tongue causes irritation. And even more so in our latitudes an exotic thing as a homosexual partnership, even a marriage.

But what propaganda of homosexuality can we talk about: a homosexual and without any propaganda will find a partner for myself, but I, no matter how promoted to become a lesbian, will not become her, because my nature is different. But I also will not become a communist, fascist, a football fan. It will not allow, excuse me, a cultural level.

Most likely, homosexuals do not become any less or more in the world: they left the underground, they want to recognize their rights to be the same as they are. This is their nature, and it is unlikely that you can do it. In any case, not those clumsy laws that are composed by low -cultural people, clothed with very great powers. And these writers of laws, without suspecting it themselves, also belong to a kind of “minority” - to the deputy minority, which is not distinguished by a high cultural level, but has a privilege to write laws.

Photo: RIA Novosti