I had a nice conversation about creativity and homosexuality recently. The subject: whether gay people are inherently more creative than straight people. Sure, we are all created equal. But somehow, industries that rely on creativity have been dominated by homosexuals and bisexuals. Fashion, music, publishing, and movies: these businesses may be geared towards pleasing everyone but look closely and you will notice that gay people are running the show. This begs the question: is creativity somehow synonymous with homosexuality?
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Creativity in Open Cities
Numbers don't lie, and it is a proven fact that cities with high density gay populations (such as San Francisco and Los Angeles) also have a good showing in terms of creative output. Fields like interior decoration, music, public relations, entertainment, and fashion have a high percentage of workers that are gay. It seems like gay people are naturally inclined to entering ventures that hone our creativity. It helps that these open-minded cities appreciate such talents, and are welcoming of gay people.
Creativity and Empathy
From a psychological perspective, creativity is borne of empathy. It takes understanding of another individual's feelings and thoughts to break the barrier of monotony and look for something better. Knowing what other people's feelings are would give you an edge in terms of harnessing your creative juices. Knowing your audience/reader/listener/customer's thoughts can lead your insights towards the right direction.
Empathy is usually honed from childhood experiences. You understand others better if you have personally experienced their loss or suffering. The most empathic persons have seen death, trauma, illness, or bullying at one point in their lives. These experiences make a person think differently about the world, forcing them to observe what other people only ignore. Could this be why gay people are more creative? Most of us had to endure discrimination and bullying growing up, and these life lessons could have impacted our ability to become more creative.
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Biologically speaking, men and women are different. This is why it can be difficult for one to understand the other's point of view. Gay people, however, have the unique capability of seeing things from the perspective of both man and woman. I'm not sure how this works, exactly, but gay guys have a good balance between masculinity and femininity. And this delicate complication could possibly be why we are (generally) more creative. We see things differently, and in this state we are able to create ideas that are out of the box.
Closeted Gay People are Less Creative
On this note, it was pointed out to me that there is a tendency for closeted individuals to be less creative than their "out and proud" counterparts. As a discreet gay guy, my tendency was to be defensive. That, to me, did not make a whole lot of sense. But as I listened to the argument (from someone who has years of experience in the entertainment industry, no less), I realized that he may have a point. It appears that closeted guys create a protective wall around them to shield them from being outed. This proverbial wall, in turn, limits the flow of creativity. There are things that a closeted guy won't admit, and topics that he is hesitant to discuss.
The Future
While some of these arguments aren't scientifically proven, the fact that the gay community has taken over a good chunk of creativity-related industries is indisputable. "Gay" has been made synonymous with "creative." Yes, we are different. And in this difference lies the kind of thinking that will propel our society to another level.
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