On her MSNBC show last night, Rachel Maddow gave a history of the ex-gay movement in light of psychiatrist Robert Spitzer’s retraction of his 2001 study. Watch the report below:
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The brief segment provides a fairly good run-down of how groups such as Exodus International rose up in defiance after the APA declassified homosexuality as a mental illness in 1973. Maddow identifies how ex-gays seized on the Spitzer study as proof of a “gay cure,” and how, a decade later, Spitzer admitted his conclusions — that gay men and women could successfully change their sexual orientation — were entirely wrong.
Where it falls short, as most mainstream reports on the ex-gay movement do, is in distinguishing between the varieties of ex-gay treatment. Wacky clips of Richard Cohen screaming and flinging around tennis rackets are mixed with mentions of Mitt Romney and Exodus International, with little context to connect the dots.
That objection can be overstated, of course. To gay men and women on the outside of the ex-gay movement, the message is just as insulting and misguided whether it’s found in the out-and-out quackery of a Cohen or the “progressive” language of “journeys,” “processes” and “healing.”
Maddow highlights a 2006 quote from Alan Chambers, which reminds us how recently the Exodus International president was touting an undisguised message of sexual orientation change (and using it to prop up an anti-gay political message):
The lives of thousands of former homosexuals, like me, verify that homosexuality is not an immutable trait, [and] therefore marriage is not a civil right to be casually granted to any group who demands it.
Since then, Exodus has become ever hazier on the issue of “change,” stepping up efforts to rebrand its message in light of its declining fortunes.
The ex gay industry has irrefutably intertwined itself with anti gay politics and policies. Of all the clinical disorders, and diagnosed mental and emotional disorders out there, we don’t see any political action to keep people who have BP, autism spectrum, OCD or schizophrenia from getting married and having a family.
Even those with life threatening genetic disorders are not kept from doing so.
There is no demand to change these issues ON CONDITION of their equal civil rights and protections.
This is EXACTLY why I keep pointing out that ex gays, by definition, even if not working actively at anti gay policy, are still more useful to those who are.
And few, if any, ex gays PROTEST strongly enough to NOT be used in this way.
And I doubt anyone would listen for the very reasons I’ve already said: ex gays have no credibility to be pro gay.
In the real world, no idealistic insistence that a person should be able to choose which orientation they want to live as is going to make a dent in PRO GAY policy.
Just the opposite and the sooner ex gays and their supporters get that, the better.
Accept that you can’t be of help or help this situation.
Spitzer’s research was blasted all over the place and for more than a decade was the go to reference. Notice that since he’s reversed himself, those who supported him, now pretend he didn’t do or say what he just did.
He’s trying to un ring a bell that’s been sounding for over ten years.
And the anti gay are determined that this is met with thundering silence from THEIR end.
This is what I mean by real world issues that cannot be changed by the tepid denials of ex gays that their existence doesn’t have a serious impact on the entire of gay people. The anti gay are not compelled to, nor do they care to produce evidence of their high incidences of conversion.
The reason why, is there are MORE policies AGAINST gay people, than FOR them, so that the anti gay don’t have to work that hard to get the desired result.
Something that ex gays don’t seem to want to be too mindful of.
In my experience, ex gays seem to be exceptionally weak people who don’t want to engage in what it takes to make the positive and necessary changes to civil law and policy gay people need.
Our society goes out of it’s way to make life extremely hard for gay people, and when a gay person doesn’t want to deal with it, I understand.
But let’s not sugar coat what it means when one capitulates to such a thing.
Fine, not everyone is made to be a warrior in this fight.
But please don’t act like you’re not part of the problem, when you are.
And please don’t deny that you’re exactly the reason why OTHER gay people have to debate complete strangers, voters, the Senate, Congress and SCOTUS on the ability to convert.
You hand the anti gay a LOT of ammunition, and then aren’t strong enough to take it back.
Something that Spitzer AND Dr. Byrd did too.
A fact of life, like there are hills and mountains.