Breaking the Spell of Disgust: Finding Humanity in Diversity
Disgust is a deeply human emotion. At its core, it has helped us survive—steering our ancestors away from rotting food, diseased bodies, and potential threats. But as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio program IDEAS recently explored, disgust is more than a survival mechanism. It is also a double-edged sword, wielded by cultures, religions, and politics to define morality, enforce social norms, and exclude those deemed “other.”
The IDEAS episode titled Disgust: The Good and Evil shed light on the complexity of disgust and its troubling potential to drive prejudice. Experts discussed how this visceral emotion, while rooted in evolutionary necessity, often misfires, turning instinct into irrationality. As a trans woman, I have experienced firsthand how disgust can be weaponized—how it fuels transphobia and justifies the dehumanization of people like me. This is not just a personal reflection but a societal challenge: to confront the ways disgust shapes our biases and learn to transcend it.
Link to the IDEAS episode: CLICK
Disgust's Evolutionary Roots and Cultural Hijacking
Disgust evolved as a survival tool, guiding early humans to avoid pathogens and poisons. Daniel Kelly, a philosopher and author of Yuck! The Nature and Moral Significance of Disgust explained in the IDEAS episode how this emotion functions as a “frontline defence” for the immune system. We recoil from sneezes, spoiled food, and even certain textures because they signal potential danger. But as Kelly noted, disgust is a “blunt instrument,” prone to overreaction and false positives.
Paul Rozin, a psychologist and pioneer of disgust studies, elaborated on this irrationality with his famous experiments. When participants were offered juice that had briefly come into contact with a sterilized cockroach, most refused to drink it, even knowing it posed no risk. Rozin called this the “law of contagion,” where disgust clings to objects or people even in the absence of logic. Similarly, his “law of similarity” showed how something as benign as chocolate fudge, if shaped like feces, becomes repulsive. These findings reveal how disgust often operates on intuition rather than reason—a phenomenon with far-reaching implications for how we treat one another.
This is where culture enters the equation. What begins as a biological instinct is co-opted by societies to enforce norms and hierarchies. Nowhere is this more evident than in the purity codes of major religions. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all prescribe behaviours and categorize people as “clean” or “unclean,” holy or sinful. These codes, while rooted in their historical contexts, have long outlived their original purposes. Instead, they now serve as tools for judgment, casting certain groups—whether defined by their sexuality, gender identity, or ethnicity—as inherently impure.
Enter the Politics of Disgust and the Dehumanization of Trans People
Senthorun Raj, a human rights lawyer featured on the IDEAS episode, described how disgust has been “governed” to police marginalized communities. From the criminalization of homosexuality in the U.K. to today’s scapegoating of immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, disgust has become a weapon for excluding those who do not conform to dominant norms. Its moral veneer—disguised as righteousness—allows society to ostracize without reflection.
I am concerned about how disgust-based rhetoric perpetuates transphobia. Trans people are often framed as “unnatural” or “monstrous,” and their bodies and identities are painted as violations of purity. These narratives are not just hurtful; they are dangerous. Disgust is a potent emotion, and when directed at a group, it fosters fear, hatred, and violence. Worse, it often goes unquestioned because it feels so visceral, so “true.”
Rozin’s work on the law of contagion provides a haunting parallel. Just as a sterilized cockroach can render juice undrinkable, mere association with transness can provoke disgust in those conditioned to see it as “wrong.” This is not an innate reaction but a learned one, reinforced by cultural and religious teachings that equate purity with sameness and deviance with danger.
Transcending Disgust; A Call to Compassion
Disgust may be unavoidable, but it is not immutable. As Kelly argued, it is “not a guide to moral reality.” To overcome its harmful effects, we must critically examine its roots and challenge its role in shaping our biases. This begins with awareness: recognizing that disgust is often irrational and that it says more about the person feeling it than about its object.
Education and exposure are powerful antidotes. Studies have shown that increased contact with marginalized groups reduces prejudice. Sharing stories of trans resilience, creativity, and humanity can shift perceptions, replacing revulsion with empathy. By confronting our own disgust, we open the door to understanding and connection.
Finally, we must reframe the conversation around purity. Instead of clinging to outdated codes that divide, we can embrace a broader vision of holiness—one that honours diversity as an expression of the sacred. Disgust thrives in ignorance and fear, but compassion flourishes in curiosity and openness.
Finding Humanity in Diversity
The IDEAS episode concluded with a question: What can we do about disgust? The answer is both simple and profound: think critically about what our emotions are doing and the politics they organize. Disgust is not a moral truth—it’s a gut reaction, often wrong, and always worth interrogating. We can choose to see it not as a verdict but as an opportunity for growth.
For those of us who have been labelled as disgusting, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Disgust doesn’t just dehumanize its target—it erodes the humanity of those who wield it. Breaking its spell is not only liberating; it’s a step toward creating a world where differences are celebrated instead of feared, where dignity becomes the default setting.
So, here’s the challenge: let go of disgust as a tool of exclusion and embrace compassion. Or, to put it more bluntly, how about trying on our damn shoes for size? How would you like it if people found you repulsive based on nothing more than who you are?
As the famous Galilean once said, “Treat others how you wish to be treated.” Revolutionary, right? That golden rule is a straightforward solution for rediscovering our shared humanity. Just imagine—really imagine—what it would feel like if people actually lived by it. Would you feel more accepted if people overlooked your warts? Diversity, after all, is a two-way street.
And one last thing: I know what my next audiobook will be for my morning walks—Daniel Kelly’s Yuck! The Nature and Moral Significance of Disgust. Because if there’s one thing worth untangling, it’s this emotion that shapes so much of our world, for better or worse.
Edit: I just discovered that Kelly's book is not available as an audiobook. 😕 But I did find one by Rachel Herz, which might be interesting, "That's Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion." 😊 I guess I can try the library for Kelly, which will be more on point philosophically.
