The Missing Myth

If homosexual behavior is an aberration from the standpoint of reproduction, why is it widespread among humans, primates, and a myriad of other animal species, and why has it been favored by evolution? And if homosexuality is considered a moral problem based on religious beliefs, why were more homosexuals exterminated under the brief reigns of such secular regimes as the Communists and the Nazis than during the entire Christian Inquisition. Why is everything about homosexuality always a paradox? In The Missing Myth, Gilles Herrada tackles the many questions about the role and meaning of homosexuality in the evolution of our species and the development of civilization: what evolutionary edge same-sex relationships have provided to the human species; what biological mechanisms generate the sexual diversity that we observe; why homosexual behavior ended up being prohibited worldwide; why homophobia has persisted throughout history; why the homosexual community resurfaced after World War II; and others. In this heartfelt, beautifully written, and painstakingly researched text, the author sculpts a vision of homosexuality that integrates its biological, sociological, cultural, ethical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. Stressing the connection between the social status of homosexuality and how same-sex love is depicted in the myths of a particular culture, The Missing Myth advocates the creation of a new mythos—not only informed by all the fields of knowledge, but also inclusive of the beauty, truth, and goodness of same-sex love.

If homosexual behavior is an aberration from the standpoint of reproduction, why is it widespread among humans, primates, and a myriad of other animal species, and why has it been favored by evolution? And if homosexuality is considered a moral problem based on religious beliefs, why were more homosexuals exterminated under the brief reigns of such secular regimes as the Communists and the Nazis than during the entire Christian Inquisition. Why is everything about homosexuality always a paradox? In The Missing Myth, Gilles Herrada tackles the many questions about the role and meaning of homosexuality in the evolution of our species and the development of civilization: what evolutionary edge same-sex relationships have provided to the human species; what biological mechanisms generate the sexual diversity that we observe; why homosexual behavior ended up being prohibited worldwide; why homophobia has persisted throughout history; why the homosexual community resurfaced after World War II; and others. In this heartfelt, beautifully written, and painstakingly researched text, the author sculpts a vision of homosexuality that integrates its biological, sociological, cultural, ethical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. Stressing the connection between the social status of homosexuality and how same-sex love is depicted in the myths of a particular culture, The Missing Myth advocates the creation of a new mythos—not only informed by all the fields of knowledge, but also inclusive of the beauty, truth, and goodness of same-sex love.

Gilles Herrada, PhD, began his career as a research biologist after receiving his academic degrees from the University of Nice and the Pasteur Institute in Paris. His research as a scientist at Columbia and Harvard universities in the fields of reproductive molecular biology and molecular neuroscience has been published in top scientific journals, such as Cell, one of the leading journals in molecular biology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the official journal of the National Academy of Sciences. His important accomplishments in scientific research include his discovery in 1997 of a family of more than one hundred genes encoding for receptors to pheromones, which are biochemical cues contained in bodily secretions and involved in triggering sexual and dominance behaviors in animals. Today, Gilles Herrada dedicates his time to his transdisciplinary research project, applying integral philosophy to understanding human sexuality and the evolution of symbolic realities in human cultures, as well as his business as a life coach. Gilles Herrada lives in New York City.