A healthy love in a virtuous man or woman does not separate the heart from the head. As Ayn Rand explained, “Romantic love, in the full sense of the term, is an emotion possible only to the man (or woman) of unbreached self-esteem: it is his response to his own highest values in the person of another—an integrated response of mind and body, of love and sexual desire. Such a man (or woman) is incapable of experiencing a sexual desire divorced from spiritual values.”
A friend of mine, a gay Objectivist, explains it this way: romantic love involves a “mutual admiration society.”
Such a love doesn’t in itself differentiate between straight and gay, except as the lover’s natural desires come into play. A very straight man who has great admiration for another man but who has no sexual attraction for men will not desire to consummate his respect.
Procreation is no longer essential to the survival of the human species. Accept your love – or the love of others – whether gay, lesbian, or straight.
If you are fortunate enough to have found a partner whom you greatly admire, and who similarly admires you; and if you share sexual attraction with that person, then celebrate your relationship! Commit yourself to nurturing your couplehood with time, energy, and attention. Love with your body, heart, and mind.
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