The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973.
Numerous national health organizations in the United States have stated that there are zero scientific demonstrations of conversion therapy’s efficiency in the last forty years, and many institutions — among them the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and the American Psychological Association — publicly discredit the practice.
And somehow, Washington, D.C. is set to become the third place in the country to ban conversion therapy as a treatment for minors.
Which is baffling if you think about it. We have a discredited practice that’s been proven to do far more damage than good being used to “treat” something that is widely understood to not be a disorder in the first place.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
We’ve experienced a tidal wave of marriage rights that have granted same-sex unions in 35 states, but if you’re a gay 15-year-old and you don’t live in California or New Jersey (and soon to be D.C.), your parents can still force you to undergo ex-gay therapy.
It’s time to do away with the ugly blemish of conversion therapy.
You need look no further than ex-gays’ reaction to the news in D.C. to see how damaging their attitude is. The so-called “Voice of the Voiceless,” an ex-gay group, released a press release, the headline of which reads, D.C. Council Passes Reparative Therapy Ban for Minors, Gay Pedophiles Applaud.
While there’s no actual example they use of a “gay pedophile applauding,” here’s the warped logic they follow, taken verbatim from their press release:
“Tuesday’s unanimous decision by the D.C. Council is a victory for gay pedophiles everywhere, but especially in the District,” commented Christopher Doyle, President of Voice of the Voiceless (VoV). “Now that sexually abused and confused minors will no longer have the ability to see a licensed mental health provider in the District to help them reduce unwanted same-sex attractions due to sexual molestation, there will be less reports of sexual abuse by D.C. children, because they will increasingly be indoctrinated by D.C. -based organizations, such as HRC, that they are born gay and may not seek out treatment for their homosexual feelings brought on by pedophiles such as HRC’s Terry Bean.”
It should be noted that Terry Bean was arrested and faces charges of sodomy and sexual abuse for having relations with a 15-year-old. And that’s just not good for a number of reasons. But does that make him a pedophile? No. Pedophiles are attracted to prepubescent children. Ephebophilia describes a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to individuals in later adolescence (generally ages 15-19).
But ephebophile doesn’t have quite the same ring as pedophile. Still, they use Terry’s past and the truly wacky notion that molestation reports will somehow decline if minors aren’t able to seek ex-gay therapy as a way of building a twisted reality.
To anyone on the outside looking in, they’re clearly wrong. Gay conversion therapy is clearly wrong. Allowing professional authority figures the right to damage children by shaming their same-sex attraction is clearly wrong.
So why is it still legal in 48 states?
The Southern Poverty Law Center is one organization trying to change that. Hopefully there are more Sam Wolfes out there in the world:
Related stories:
An Ex-Gay Therapist Was No Match For This Amazing Harvard Law School Student
A Disturbing Undercover Look At How Conversion Therapy Tries To “Cure” Gayness
Ladbrook
You have to love this warped little piece of logic:
“Now that sexually abused and confused minors will no longer have the ability to see a licensed mental health provider in the District to help them reduce unwanted same-sex attractions due to sexual molestation…”
So basically, being abused/attacked BY A MAN makes you grow up to BE ATTRACTED TO MEN? Really? Do they even realize how idiotic this type of thinking is? It explains why their ranks are small and getting smaller every day. All of these people should be in jail for fraud.
Paul Nadolski
Somehow these people fail to comprehend that pedophilia and homosexuality are not the same thing. Statistics overwhelmingly show that the majority of pedophiles self-identify as straight. As usual, those in favour of conversion therapy just try to twist things and make up facts to justify their bigotry and prejudice.
Motard
Remember that a lot of the doctrine undergirding many of these organizations is that the “disorder” of homosexuality and same-sex attraction is caused by traumatic childhood sexual abuse.
So it’s not uncommon in their utterly ungrounded fantasy rhetoric to equate gay with pedophile.
Traditional (and by traditional, I mean outdated and disproven) causes, right up there with overbearing mothers, absent fathers, and early childhood overexposure to Olivia Newton-John.
phillybb
I am a gay social worker and Mr. Doyle is 10000% off the mark….I work in the trauma field and there is minimal “homosexual” feelings brought on by pedophiles…..Being sexually abused is one of the worst things that can happen to another human being, but being gay and being a pedophile are 2 different things….apples and oranges…..and, the disservice and misinformation Mr. Doyle continues to speak about brings harm by the belief system of Mr. Doyle…..The main focus of Doyle and his ilk is to create a gay person into an ex-gay person and that is NOT the goal, focus or anything when dealing with victims of sexual abuse…….The treatments used in mainstream therapy for victims of sexual abuse is steeped in best practices, research and science. The methods, etc used by Doyle and his ilk is junk science, non-peer reviewed research and outdated research. Let the buyer beware of Doyle and others in the reparative therapy and ex-gay field……………..
tdx3fan
The biggest problem with their comment is the word licensed. Licensed professional therapists do NOT do ex-gay therapy. Because, to be licensed you need to be in good standing with your accreditation body, and since every single counseling/therapist accreditation body has strict rules against ex-gay therapy it means that ex-gay therapists cannot maintain legal license. Because they violate ethical standards of “do no harm.” Its why they always use terms like psychotherapist… because although the practice of talking to other people is not legally copyrighted by any organization, words like licensed professional counselor and licensed social worker are.
Tobi
I trust these same “licensed mental health providers” also council girls who have unwanted opposite sex attraction after being molested by their fathers?
Harley
@Motard: Yep, Xanadu definitely made me gay. LOL.
Billysees
“So why is it still legal in 48 states?” the article asks.
Because it means more patients to the counselors, mental health providers and therapists and therefore more money to be earned. Sounds like some of it could be a dollars and cents thing to me.