The Tohu va-bohu around LGBTQ

Light and form, aided by the Holy Spirit, are needed

Tohu va-bohu (תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ) is the biblical Hebrew phrase in Genesis 1:2 that describes the condition of the Earth before the creation of Light: “And the Earth was formless and void…” Tohu means formless, chaos or confusion, and bohu means void and emptiness. By extension, Tohu va-bohu symbolizes the mental “confusion (storm) and lack of information (darkness),” which also describes what is around LGBTQ issues. Misconceptions contribute to the “tohu” while “bohu” is widespread. In this article, a few misconceptions are pointed out, and some unknowns are introduced.

The Misconceptions

# 1 – It is chosen. Having non-heterosexuality is never chosen. Just as a young person one day finds out his/her attraction to the opposite sex, some people also one day realise they are attracted to the same sex. This can lead to the next misconception…

#2 – It is somehow genetic. There are many identical twin studies done over decades. These studies show that when one twin is gay, the chances of the other twin being gay are only 11 to 14%. If the cause was genetic, the percentage should be close to 100% for identical twins since they share the same genome.

The latest and most thorough study, led by Dr. Andrea Ganna and published in August 2019, concluded that “there is no gay gene.” They performed a GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Study) on almost half a million individuals and found that even though many genes contribute to same-sex attractions, their combined effect accounts for only 8 to 25% of heritability. Dr. Melinda Mills, Director of Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science in Oxford, said, “This is a solid study.” Dr. Eric Vilain, a geneticist at Children’s National Health System of Washinton DC, said the study marks the end of “the simplistic concept of the ‘gay gene.’ ”

# 3 – People with homosexuality experience trauma or bad childhood experiences. Not all who have same-sex attractions have trauma and adverse childhood experiences. There are other factors – like relationship with the opposite gender is dominant, perfectionism, fear of being disliked, poor role models around – to name a few.

Even trauma and adverse experiences depend on who inflicts them and who—if any—is supporting them for recovery, healing, and prevention of re-occurrence. Each person with same-sex attraction has a unique set of underlying factors. To hold a narrow view that “trauma and adverse childhood experiences are the cause” excludes everyone else who struggles with homosexuality but does not have these experiences.

The Unknowns

#1 – Homosexuality exists in animals. There is a long list of animals that exhibit homosexual behaviour. Just Google it. Dr. Bruce Bagemihl’s 1999 book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity is a very detailed scientific book. In it is written, “homosexual behaviour in animals is greeted with nonchalance from nearby animals…” In other words, no creature is incensed or outraged at the sight of homosexual behaviour. So, should humans learn from animals?

The human brain has a highly developed Neocortex where morality, religion, and abstract thought exist. Animals do not have a developed Neocortex and therefore have no cognitive dissonance with homosexuality. On the other hand, humans can reduce cognitive dissonance by giving up their moral-religious beliefs or modifying their moral-religious beliefs.

# 2 – Homosexuality exists in the unconscious part of human memory.  Human brain function is 95% unconscious. Much of conscious human memory is Explicit. It is the “software” we can learn through Episodic events and experiences, and Semantic concepts and facts through learning. We can “declare” these memories. That’s why it is “explicit.”

Emotional conditioning and Priming exist in the Mammalian Brain. Emotional conditioning is also the “software” that conditions a boy or girl to respond accordingly to relational experiences. A boy who feels “not as good as other boys” and is bullied by other boys does not receive enough positive conditioning as a male. A girl who is unable to fit in with other girls and constantly sees females being treated poorly with disrespect may have difficulty feeling emotionally conditioned as a female.

Such experiences can be grouped in a category called Same-Sex Disaffiliation. Other categories* that affect emotional conditioning include Same-Sex incongruence; relationships with the opposite sex are dominant; unhealthy relationships with the opposite sex; gender concept distortion; sexual conditioning; sexual abuse; certain physical attributes; insufficient occupation with reality; and certain neurological conditions such as high-functioning autism and OCD.

These mean that there are many situations where Priming and Emotional Conditioning are affected in ways not congruent to the biological sex. And much of these occur below consciousness. That is why the feelings are not chosen, are felt deeper than consciousness, and are felt as innate.


# 3 – Those who have non-heterosexuality but do not identify as LGBT are the majority. Once we understand that it is not chosen and anybody can be affected, then even those who are conservative and religious can have it. However, misconceptions, bad regard and taboo in their social-familial environment can be frightening and even dangerous to them. And so many are hidden, often very deeply. The table below shows that regions with more conservative-religious communities have high percentages of the hidden.

(Extracted from a study by Pachankis & Bränström, 2019).

With this knowledge, some important implications include:

  1. Not regarding all with non-heterosexuality as the same.
  2. Having detailed and differentiated language to describe who they are and what they need.
  3. Knowing detailed and differentiated approaches to help those who are hidden and those who are not.
  4. Having detailed information to educate the important people around them, including mental health professionals, religious leaders, governments, educators, parents, relatives, and friends.

For Pentecost, let us ask the Holy Spirit to provide us with more light to fill the void, and a framework to emerge as more information builds up our understanding – to “guide us into all truth” (John 16:13). Let us remember that nothing happens without God’s permission and that the greater good in us can sometimes only arise when we face problems. May these light and understanding help us to reduce abuses, prejudice, and negative regard around those with non-heterosexuality, especially in conservative religious communities.

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Reference: Pachankis, J. E., & Bränström, R. (2019). How many sexual minorities are hidden? Projecting the size of the global closet with implications for policy and public health. PloS One, 14(6), e0218084-e0218084.

*These categories are explained in detail in Bryan’s book “The Un-affirmed Core: Understanding the Factors Behind and Around Homosexuality”

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Posted in Bryan Shen, Gender.

Bryan Shen is a registered professional counsellor and supervisor. He is sought after by many conservative religious communities about non-heterosexuality

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