Talk:Objectivism and homosexuality

Reversions

I can understand (don't necessarily agree) if someone wants to restore some of the material I cut in earlier edits, but I'm not clear on the objection to moving a statement made after Rand's death to the section titled, "After Rand's death". And pointing a wikilink for the article Objectivism (Ayn Rand) directly to that article instead of to a redirect seems to be the sort of thing that is entirely non-controversial. But for some reason it is being reverted. Some explanation would be appreciated. _{unsigned by User:RL0919}

RL, I tried to separate the deletions from the other changes—I kept the improvements to the citations, for example—but I missed that move. I'm going to look for it now and put it back. Phil Spectre (talk) 03:43, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

I haven't re-done any of the deletions I made previously, so I'm not sure I follow this explanation. --RL0919 (talk) 03:52, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

To clarify, I was trying to undo only your reversion, not the other changes. I succeeded in preserving your improved citations but missed the move of the Branden paragraph. You're completely right that it doesn't deserve its own section and instead belongs in the "After Rand's death" section, so I moved it. Phil Spectre (talk) 04:01, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

Ok, I think I figured it out. I saw that the Branden paragraph had gone away and misread your comment, thinking you'd combined a few positive changes with a wholesale reversion. Pardon the confusion. Phil Spectre (talk) 04:03, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

Which "statement"?

In the first section of this article (Ayn Rand), there are around a dozen statements made by Rand regarding the morality, the aesthetics, and the role of the government regarding homosexuality.

And then the second section (After Rand's death) begins with this sentence:

After Rand's death in 1982, her heir, Leonard Peikoff, went on record disagreeing with Rand's statement.

That's ambiguous about twelve times over! Which of the dozen statements in the first section did Peikoff "go on record" disagreeing with? Did he disagree with some of them and agree with others? If he disagreed with all of them, that would mean he thought that the government should make homosexual activities illegal, but should prevent corporations from discriminating against gay people. I find this very unlikely.

I'd like to see something much more specific. For example, Ayn Rand is quoted as saying that she found homosexuality disgusting. If this is the statement that Peikoff disagreed with, does that mean that Peikoff publicly stated that Ayn Rand did not really find homosexuality disgusting? Or, if he disagreed with her view that gay people have no "right to be protected from discrimination in the private sector", did he specify any limitations on what the government may do to prevent such discrimination? — Lawrence King ^(talk) 05:39, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Okay, I followed the edit trail and found that this comment was added on 27 December 2006 by an editor who hasn't made any Wikipedia contributions since March 2009. [1] So I have rephrased the sentence to make it into a simple introduction to the paragraph. I have also removed the footnote, since it points to a web site where I can spend $12 to buy a 99-minute audio tape. Perhaps if I spent this money and played the tape, I might be able to learn exactly which "statement" of Rand's was disputed by Peikoff. But I just don't feel like doing that. (And btw, I don't think that this is a valid Wikipedia reference anyway.) — Lawrence King ^(talk) 01:04, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

Saying what sources support

There is currently a statement in the article about Ayn Rand's political views that says the following: "She endorsed rights that protect gays from discrimination by the government (such as apartheid), but rejected the right to be protected from discrimination in the private sector (such as employment discrimination)." There are three sources now attached to this sentence. The first one does not mention gay rights or homosexuality at all. The second one rejects "the notion that homosexuals should be prohibited from experiencing the joy of sex", but doesn't say anything about other types of discrimination, public or private. The third one is a 1998 essay on the subject by an Objectivist, so it may be relevant for the "After Rand's death" section, but doesn't attribute anything to Rand herself other than a general quote about the morality of altruism. Basically this sentence has no source. I've been marking these as "failed verification" in the hope that someone would come up with something, but at this point I think it just needs to be rewritten to say something that can be documented. --RL0919 (talk) 15:35, 26 July 2013 (UTC)

You're as free to rewrite it as I am to put it right back to the way it is. MilesMoney (talk) 01:45, 27 July 2013 (UTC)

Leonard Peikoff claims that Rand had homosexual friends whom she considered Objectivists

Leonard Peikoff, Rands chosen intellectual and legal heir, argued in his podcast that there was nothing against homosexuality included in the philosophy Objectivism. He also claimed that Rand had a number of friends which she knew were homosexual and that she "certainly considered some of them objectivists"

Hopefully this information and the source, a link to the actual podcast, will not be removed from the article.

78.69.217.113 (talk) 09:46, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

I am re-inserting the source, this time editing the text more to fit what was actually being said in the source. This text is not in the wrong context or irrelevant to the article. :This is a clear improvement on the article. Please do not remove it without giving your reasons on this page.

QUOTE

"Further, intellectual heir Leonard Peikoff stated that there were people with whom Rand was "close, knowing full well that they were homosexual" and that "she certainly regarded some of them as Objectivists."According to Peikoff himself, he once asked Rand "What does philosophy have to say about sex?" to which he states that she answered "Only one thing: That it's good."

END QUOTE

78.69.217.113 (talk) 11:47, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

What was the real abomination; "Spiritual Sisterhood" or "Homosexuality" itself?

I think there are some questions that go unanswered here. Considering statements (please refer to the podcast in question) made by Leonard Peikoff, a - sometimes even described as "rabid" - original objectivist and who was made the intellectual and legal heir by Ayn Rand herself, is it really accurate to suggest that we know what Rands position was on differing sexualities as such?

I think we might need to be a little more carefull not to use too wide a brush when describing her views in the article.

78.69.217.113 (talk) 09:57, 26 July 2016 (UTC)