Healing [II, 28]

A hundred years ago the English gay theorist Edward Carpenter posited two primordial types of homosexual males. In this polarity the first type is the warrior, as seen in ancient Greece, medieval Japan of the Samurai, and many other cultures. The second is the healer.

The tradition of the shaman has flourished among tribal groups in Siberia and other parts of Asia. Shamans are eccentric individuals with magical powers, among them healing. Some shamans are of indeterminate sexuality; others seem to be gay. A similar distribution of attributes is found among some versions of the North American native berdache or two-spirit person. Since the indigenous peoples of the Americas came from northwest Asia, there may be a prehistoric connection between the shaman and the berdache.

In our own society the profession of male nurse seems to be significantly gay. Doctors seem not to be, though there are gay and lesbian physicians.

The AIDS crisis brought out nurturing capacities in many gay people. Many individuals, male and female, have selflessly volunteered to help those who are ill.

In the standard interpretation of the Rainbow Flag the color orange is identified as “for healing.”