Tobi (Male x Male)

Final Word

If you're reading this, it probably means you've finished reading 'Tobi,' so, thank you for joining me on this writing journey.

I'm going to tell you a little bit about the inspiration behind this story, for those that are interested.

It all started in a bar one evening, during a conversation I was having with some friends about LGBTQ+ relationships, when someone I'd not met before interjected with their opinion. They divulged to the group that they believed homosexual relationships were 'pointless' because they usually didn't result in children and were therefore not useful to society.

On establishing that this person wasn't joking, I put forward that having children is not the only reason people have intimate relationships. Companionship is vital to humans for emotional well-being, and having someone you can trust in times of need is invaluable. Furthermore, not all 'straight' relationships result in babies, while many people in same-sex relationships are bringing up amazing children.

Later, upon reflection of this incident, I found it surprising that in the twenty-first century there were people that thought this way – especially in a world that is already over-populated. And then I started wondering what could happen if somebody with similar views oversaw a whole community. So, I played with the idea of whether there could be a scenario in which the general population could be convinced this was kind of opinion was broadly acceptable.

After some thought, I decided that it may be possible to persuade people of this in a community where there was a very low birth rate, which then also led me to the concept of humans becoming close to extinction and then keeping the population artificially tapered. And so, the seed for the idea behind 'Tobi' was planted.

One of the main principles behind the 'genetic template' in this story was based on the idea that sexuality is genetically encoded from birth. This seemed like a reasonable assumption to me, given that sexuality is not a choice and can't be 'cured'.

While writing the first draft of 'Tobi,' I came across two identical twin brothers who I have very much enjoyed engaging in conversation with. Despite having extremely different personalities to each other, it has become evident through our discourse that the twins both identify as gay. I find it fascinating that their sexuality happens to be one of the aspects of their disparate identities that is consistent for them both, and I'm grateful to have their permission to mention this in my 'Final Word' of this story. The brothers have also examined various statistics behind monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic (non-identical) twins, and it seems that research has shown that it's a common occurrence that if one identical twin is gay, the other is too. Whether this phenomenon stems from genetics or is heavily influenced by the childhood environment remains unknown, but I found it interesting to at least consider that the statistics around this topic have the potential to support a theory where sexuality is encoded from birth.

Through a mixture of personal experience and conversations with others, I believed that sexuality was a continuous spectrum even before I knew about the Kinsey scale. For those that are unfamiliar with the Kinsey scale, it theorises that at the extreme ends of the spectrum are homosexuality and heterosexuality, and in between are a whole plethora of preferences that are unique to each individual. The 'genetic template' I brought into play in this story was a means of syphoning off individuals at birth who were predisposed to sexual preferences that lay close to the homosexual end of the Kinsey scale. The higher the match to the 'template,' the more likely that person would be to prefer a homosexual relationship to a heterosexual one.

My own body has also been an influential factor in the writing of this book, since it naturally produces hormones in different proportions to that which is considered 'normal.' Whether or not this is the root of my gender fluidity is not known for sure, but I do believe, given my various experiences, that it's at the very least likely to have a significant impact on my inconsistent gender state. As a result, I've researched the impact of a variety of different hormones, both natural and synthetic, on the human body, and decided that some of the elements of what I'd learned during my investigations would fit the nature of this tale.

Aschenputtel was, at least in part, referenced in 'Tobi,' to illustrate the lengths some people will go to to gain favour with those in power. In that sense, I considered Aschenputtel a reflection of what was happening in the world in which my characters reside. And while none of my characters cut off their own limbs in an act of desperation as they do in the original fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, much of the population blindly follow the Andekas, primarily (in this case) driven by their desire to reproduce, destroying part of their authentic selves in the process.

The 'Great War' stemmed from a fear I have about the future of this planet. There is no doubt that technology has grown faster in recent years than at any other time in human history, and we have access to much more knowledge than previous generations. In theory, this sounds amazing, but sadly, in some instances, an overabundance of information has made it more difficult to distinguish fact from opinion. This limitless supply of data also potentially makes imparting relevant information somewhat futile. After all, an oversupply of anything means people tend to value it less. In the past, I've always viewed this as applying to only tangible physical items, but what if it also applies to knowledge and ideas?

For example, for every article I read about the health benefits of eating eggs, there will be two more telling me how harmful they are, and another one telling me why all the other articles were flawed. This plethora of contradictory information leads me to a place where I give up trying to work out whether eggs are good for me or not. I start to not care about 'facts' anymore because my investigation ended in confusion and mistrust, and I become cynical and jaded.

Whether we agree with it or not, the world operates on emotions, and there are now so many 'facts' out there that people can easily seek out and find those that best support their feelings on any given topic. Depending on the issue under debate, there are many ways that this can amplify the gap between beliefs and fuel conflicts, potentially on a global scale.

Social media has been pitched as a way of uniting communities and connecting people, and while in many cases this is true, it has also made it easier to create dissention. The idea behind the 'Great War' stemmed from my observations of the way people often use social media to be deliberately divisive, usually to promote their own agendas. The ability to seek out those with similar opinions is simpler than ever before, which means that extremism has a platform as well as those seeking peace. And so, it seems that for those looking to spread hate, an audience is never far away.

This is one reason why, other than a Twitter account that I use solely for book-related purposes, you won't find me on social media platforms. I find them too toxic and divisive, and so for the sake of my own mental health, I'd rather avoid them as much as possible.

Finally, although not explicitly stated in the main text of the book, this tale was set in what was left of the beautiful country of Estonia, with its magnificent chalk and limestone cliffs bordering the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, at a point in time after my fabricated 'Great War' had destroyed most of the world and left it irradiated and uninhabitable. For that reason, many of the words I've used throughout the story come from the Estonian language, and for those that are interested, I've listed them below.

'Katki' is the Estonian word for 'broken,' which I used to refer to those segregated at birth for their supposed violent tendencies.

'Andekas' is the Estonian word for 'gifted,' which I used for the family apparently blessed with fertility and the ability to grant it to others.

'Kinnisvara' means 'estate.'

'Ravim' is the Estonian word for 'drug.'

'Vesi' means 'water,' which is why I chose it for the name of the main river flowing down from the mountains.

'Linn' means 'town,' which is why it was used for as the name of a neighbouring town.

'Sinine' means 'blue' in Estonian, and I liked the way it sounded for purposes of describing the blue flowers that were the source of the active ingredient for the Ravim.

'Rannik' means 'coast,' which is why I used it for the name of the coastal town.

For those that are still reading, I appreciate you making it all the way to this end point. Thank you again for getting involved in 'Tobi,' and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.