Gay Marriage and the Political Psychology of Disgust

Why is it that some react to the LGBT community with the same emotions we use for rotting food? Scientists are starting to figure it out.

By Brian Resnick

July 28, 2014 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).