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...