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In the most recent NYT Magazine, Martha Nussbaum — philosopher at the University of Chicago and author of “From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law,” — in a Q&A chats about the opposition to same-sex marriage and how it appears to be, at least in part, biologically rooted:

image: BBC

Your inquiries have lately revolved around the politics of physical revulsion, which you see as the subtext for opposition to same-sex marriage.
What is it that makes people think that a same-sex couple living next door would defile or taint their own marriage when they don’t think that, let’s say, some flaky heterosexual living next door would taint their marriage? At some level, disgust is still operating.

In your book “From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law,” which will be out in February, you draw a distinction between primary disgust and projective disgust.
What becomes really bad is the projective kind, meaning projecting smelliness, sliminess and stickiness onto a group of people who are then stigmatized and regarded as inferior.

. . . Do you think you will marry again?
If I thought of getting married, I would worry that I was taking advantage of a privilege that I have that a same-sex couple wouldn’t have.

Projective disgust occurs over and over again, and not just with gay people. Remember when those non-white children were recently kicked out of the white swim club, with the manager stating that he didn’t want the children to change the “complexion” of the club?

Read the full Q&A.