The Atheist Blogger

John Barrowman, the popular Scottish-American actor from Doctor Who, Torchwood, and various TV Quiz shows has tried to figure out why he is gay. The BBC filmed a documentary about his journey back to America where he visits various scientific institutes trying to prove that homosexuality is something you are born with, not a lifestyle choice.

Barrowmans journey, which is available on the BBC iplayer (non-UK residents may have to use a proxy to view it) first goes to Chicagos Northwestern University, where he went through a Penile plethysmograph, and also a FMRI. Both tests conclusively came up with a “gay” verdict.

He then visited his parents to question them about his growing up and whether there was any influence in his childhood that could have caused his homosexuality. Ranging from playing with dolls to having a best friend who was a girl, to dressing up in a bikini for a fancy dress competition, Johns childhood was anything but normal for a boy.

However, John travels back to Chicago to meet an expert in early childhood behaviour. The expert looks at various videos of children from their childhood, and compares their actions with their sexual orientation today. One film is of a young girl playing with a toy truck, smashing it off a table, and generally breaking things. Another shows a boy who has dressed up and is dancing. Both children grew up and are openly homosexual today. The studies show that 75% of boys who exhibit female behaviour traits whilst very young tend to be homosexual.

John also meets some young twin boys, one of whom loves action figures and guns, the other preferring pink clothes and dolls. The intriguing thing about all this is the mother is not very feminine at all. She never wears dresses or makeup, and her hair is cut short rather than long. She confirmed to John that her son made it very clear from an early age that he liked wearing pink clothes, and playing with girls toys.

Wanting to explore all the possible paths, John finds an “ex-gay” man who is now happily married. The term “ex-gay” seemed pretty laughable in the interview though, since the man told John that he “denies himself things because they aren’t good for me”. He is of course, a Christian who is convinced that his feelings are sinful. In my honest opinion, this man is still gay. He would still get attracted to naked men even if he tried to control it, and it is shameful of any religion to try and thwart that.

Some of the final parts of the documentary cover other attributes of gay men, including hand and finger size. Studies have shown that gay mean tend to have similar sized index and ring fingers (like women), whilst straight men have much longer ring fingers. This is due to the amounts of testoterone the baby is subjected to in the womb. According to the studies, I have gay hands which I find very interesting considering I am bisexual.

The film is a very interesting watch, and a must see for anyone who really thinks there is “no evidence” that homosexuality is a natural thing. That said, if you just want to ogle over John Barrowman for an hour, it’s good for that. :D