Paul Varnell: Ayn Rand and Homosexuality
Ayn Rand and Homosexuality, by Paul Varnell is a brief, excellent summary of Ayn Rand’s irrational beliefs about homosexuality.
In the article, Varnell makes the following reference to Barbara Branden, author of The Passion of Ayn Rand:
More than most others, Rand’s candid biographer Barbara Branden retained her independence in the face of Rand’s strong personality. “I never agreed with her about homosexuality,??? Branden told [Chris Matthew] Sciabarra. “I considered her profoundly negative judgment to be rash and unreasonable.???
Branden recounted that once she observed a Rand-influenced psychiatrist start to try to “cure??? a young gay man unhappy about his gay feelings rather than help him achieve self-acceptance.
“I listened seething inside,??? Branden said. “Afterwards I said to him ‘Please give me your proof that homosexuality is psychologically unhealthy and should be cured.’ The psychiatrist seemed astonished by the question. Then he suddenly was silent for what seemed an endless time, apparently thinking, and finally he replied, very quietly, ‘It’s something I’ve always assumed to be true. … I can’t prove it. I don’t know it to be true.’ ???
He says of Rand’s attitude about homosexuality:
Rand’s one explicit statement about homosexuality, however, came in 1971 after a public lecture in Boston. She made it clear that her philosophy of personal rights and limited government required that homosexuality be decriminalized, an enlightened view for the time, but then went on to say, “It involves psychological flaws, corruptions, errors, or unfortunate premises …. Therefore I regard it as immoral … And more than that, if you want my really sincere opinion. It’s disgusting.???
None of this paints as complete a picture of Rand and her attitude about homosexuals as her relationship with Nick O’Conner, the brother of her husband Frank O’Conner. Branden’s biography has numerous references to Rand’s relationship with Nick; she had a very high regard for his opinion and turned to him often for the intellectual stimulation and fashion advice that she did not get from her husband.
Branden writes:
Nick was an interesting and complex man, warm, outgoing, highly intelligent, with gaiety and style and great charm. “He made everything exciting and exotic,” his neice Mimi Sutton once said. “He brought gaiety to everything and everyone he touched. He’d tell thrilling stories, and one knew they weren’t quiet true but it didn’t matter: it was his way of making life interesting.
[…]
“For a while, he lived with a young man, who I suppose was his lover. In those days, it was not something one could talk about; Ayn suspected that he was a homosexual, and Frank did too, but it was never discussed. Nick would talk as if he were a ladies’ man, and one sensed the pain he felt at having to pretend.” [pg. 101]
There are too many passages referring to Nick to quote here; this is just a sample:
Frank read very little, but with Nick, Ayn could discuss the books she was reading, which she obtained from a rental library in her neighborhood. [pg. 101]
“I’d be dozing on and off, late at night,” Mimi [Sutton] recalled, “and Nick would come in. She’d read to him, and they would talk for hours…Nick could be angry and annoyed with her [Rand], he could be terrified and intimidated–but he came as close to loving her as he could with any woman. He was proud of her–and proud that she valued his opinion.” Both Nick–whom some of his friends called “a small-town Oscar Wilde”–and Frank, whose wit was wonderfully dry and unexpected, were especially helpful to Ayn with regard to the rare touches of humor in her work. [pg. 172]
Had Nick been alive today, he would have been a one-man Fab Five on Bravo’s Queer Eye For the Straight Guy:
It was from Nick that both Ayn and Frank, oblivious to social conventions, learned how to entertain their guests, what food to serve, what wine or liquor was appropriate. It was Nick who urged Ayn not to wear the too feminine, fluffy clothes she occasionally bought. . .She began to wear the dramatic flowing capes that became her trademark; for a few years she jauntily carried a slim black cane with a silver head. It was Nick who made her aware that she had pretty legs; with her indifference to her physical person, Ayn had not been aware of it, but she was delighted to be convinced. [pg. 137]
In a culture that regards homosexuals as perverts, not only must homosexuals deny their homosexuality, but those who love them must deny it also. The only thing worse than being a pervert is to love, admire, seek advice from or be close friends with a pervert. Those of us who are old enough to have experienced the pressures to remain closeted, know this phenomenon all too well.
While Rand may have voiced disgust at homosexuality, she trusted, loved and consulted with Nick whom she suspected was a homosexual. Her actions speak louder than her words, especially in the context of her time.
==============================
For more information on Ayn Rand and Homosexuality, check out Chris Matthew Sciabarra’s HOMOnograph: Ayn Rand, Homosexuality, and Human Liberation.
==============================
All the above citations are from the hardcover version of Branden’s excellent biography, Doubleday and Co., New York, 1986.
A paperback version is available from Amazon.com. Using this link helps to support my blog.
| Go to Home - Most Recent Posts
January 21st, 2004 at 5:39 am
Chip, that’s a wonderful post, and very insightful. I agree that Rand’s actions speak louder than her words—if only she could have checked her own premises . . .
June 8th, 2005 at 11:20 pm
I had never known what her views were on the subject, though it would make sense she would advocate self-determination over criminality.
THX!!!
Scott
June 29th, 2005 at 11:05 pm
This was an excellent post. It has been my suspicion that Ayn Rand’s intimate association with Nathaniel Branden had much to do with her failure to “check her own premises” on the homosexual issue. Branden was ostensibly aligned with his contemporaries in the APA, touting the “maladaptation” argument in the ‘Virtue of Slefishness’: “Or the adolescent who flees into homosexuality because he has been taught that sex is evil and that women are to be worshiped, but not desired?”
Yet, it is difficult to blame others for Rand’s positions; her intellectual independence does not seem to defualt on issues of moral significance. Nonetheless, If Branden had never arrived, I think it is likely that Rand’s position on homosexuality would have been mitigated.
June 29th, 2005 at 11:14 pm
I should add, however, that Nathaniel changed his opinions in the mid-80’s. This might go to invalidate my suspicion.