The Washington Post does a two-fer today in covering the ex-gay agenda. The same Sandra Boodman has another article up that doesn’t quite make fun of Richard Cohen.
She skirts the edges of mockery by noting that his marraige was arranged by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the creepy, Kim Jong-Il-esque head of the right-wing newspaper The Washington Times. She describes in a somewhat sardonic tone Cohen’s bizarre practices, which include his hitting a pillow with a tennis racket and screaming “Dad!” and finding a nice man to cuddle with. Boodman also notes that Cohen was permanently expelled from the ACA.
She doesn’t do much to challenge Cohen directly, but in his case, does she really have to? Coehn justifies his lack of a counseling license in the interview by saying he’s “coaching,” and the article ends by quoting him as saying “You’ve got to feel it to heal it.” The facts speak for themselves, and require no explanation.
There’s really no need to ridicule Cohen. Just set up a press conference.
The one thing he’s competent at is portraying himself as completely and entirely nuts.
Hmmmm… so the big thing that “made him go straight ” was a good friend that was straight. I think he has other problems to sort out if that’s the case.
I had no idea what a truly bizarre person he really was. One wonders if his “practice” exists to fulfill his own same-sex needs (sexual or otherwise), rather than those of his “patients”. Is he still part of the Unification Church? His association with that bunch should be enough to freak out more than a few in the right wing. What a nutty mess.
The fact that the religious right and ex-gay groups aren’t upfront about Cohen’s past really says something about where they are coming from.
I also don’t think it was really necessary to take on Cohen’s beliefs head on. Bringing out his background did the right amount of damage for me.
I had no idea what a truly bizarre person he really was. One wonders if his “practice” exists to fulfill his own same-sex needs (sexual or otherwise), rather than those of his “patients”. Is he still part of the Unification Church? His association with that bunch should be enough to freak out more than a few in the right wing. What a nutty mess.
You may be on to something there. Cohen discounts his expulsion from the ACA as due to complaints from one patient. Having worked in health care for 16 years, I can tell you expulsion from that kind of group is not done for simple issues, and one patient’s complaints, particularly in the mental health world, is not going to hold much water. I wonder if several of his patients complained about inappropriate behavior? IIRC the article stated he was expelled in part for using his patients to fulfill his own needs – at least psychologically.
I saw the Penn & Teller episode that featured “Dick” Cohen and I just can’t stop smiling when I think about him talking about “healthy man love”.
Interactions
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Washington Post
Our Children Don’t Need Reparative Therapy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/29/AR2005082901389_pf.html
As the mom of a gay son, I thank you for your very revealing articles about reparative therapy [“Vowing to Set the World Straight” and “A Conversion Therapist’s Unusual Odyssey,” Aug. 16].
My son and the millions like him do not need to be repaired. What is in dire need of repair is society’s misinformed, misguided, antiquated and often harmful notions about sexual orientation.
As a long-standing member of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), I have worked with many families coming to terms with the fact that a family member is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT). At PFLAG, we know that love and acceptance help shape productive and wholesome lives for our GLBT loved ones.
Sheron A. Rosen
North Potomac
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Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) and Citizens for Responsible Curriculum (CRC) have received ample coverage in the media to present their views. However, their two main messages — that reparative therapy and presentation of “ex-gay” as a sexual orientation are valid and that nothing other than abstinence-only sex education is acceptable — have been rejected by all major professional medical organizations and discredited by research. That is why the PFOX/CRC messages were not part of the health curriculum revisions adopted last year by the Montgomery County Board of Education.
Students need accurate information about human sexuality, sexual orientation, the wisdom of abstinence — and also information on contraception and sexually transmitted infections. Ideological or theological viewpoints with no basis in sound medical practice and research have no place in the health curriculum.
Lara Akinbami
Kensington
David Fishback
Olney
© 2005 The Washington Post Company