A Theology of Erasure

When Joshua Chastain, the protagonist of my novel The Education of Joshua Chastain, meets Dr. Chandler—a Mormon behaviorist therapist trained at Harvard—he encounters a chilling kind of reasoning that has shaped far too many lives. Dr. Chandler claims that he can “cure” homosexuals through conditioning and aversion therapy.

When Joshua confides that he is homosexual, Dr. Chandler offers a stunning reply:

“Josh, you know, there is really no such thing as a homosexual. Some people feel same-sex attractions and sometimes commit homosexual acts, but that doesn’t mean they are homosexuals. Homosexual is an adjective, not a noun. So, we speak of homosexual behavior or homosexual acts, but there is really no such thing as a homosexual.”

In this moment, Chandler seeks to erase Joshua’s very sense of self. If “homosexual” is not a noun, then Joshua—the person—does not exist in any meaningful way. His identity is reduced to behavior, his being to a grammatical quibble.

Joshua pushes back, asking the question that exposes the heart of the argument:

“Does that mean there’s no such thing as a heterosexual? Just heterosexual acts?”

Chandler dodges the question, retreating instead to theology. As both a therapist and a devout Mormon, he insists that God would not create homosexuals—so, therefore, they do not exist. In his logic, heterosexuality is not only the norm but the only kind of sexuality God could have intended.

This “theology of erasure” is not unique to Chandler. It echoes a long history within Mormon thought and beyond. In the September 1995 issue of The Ensign, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ monthly magazine, then-apostle Dallin Oaks published an article titled “Same-Gender Attraction.” Oaks argued that there is “no such thing as a gay, a lesbian, or a homosexual,” claiming these words should be used only as adjectives to describe “particular thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.”

Such reasoning attempts to erase identity by redefining existence. By denying the legitimacy of naming, it denies the legitimacy of being.

For Joshua Chastain, part of his education lies in reclaiming the language of self. Through his journey, he learns to trust his lived experience over the voices of authority that seek to define—or erase—him. He comes to understand that he is the truest witness of his own existence.

This is the heart of The Education of Joshua Chastain: a story about resisting erasure, affirming identity, and reclaiming the power to define oneself.