A scientist has accused Parents and Friends of ExGays and Gays (PFOX) of distorting his research by claiming that high school gay-straight alliances increase risk of suicide for teens.
PFOX President Regina Griggs said that “the risk of suicide decreases by 20% each year that a person delays homosexual or bisexual self-labeling,” and criticized schools for affirming teens who self-labeled.
However, Dr Gary Remafedi, a pediatrician at the University of Minnesota, whose research Griggs cited, told Wayne Besen that the claims did not line up with his study:
My work has been cited by PFOX in response to a Washington Post article on gay-straight alliances (GSA). … PFOX misuses one of my studies on suicide attempts in gay youth to argue that people should not identify their sexual orientation at young ages. Our findings do not support the contention that young people choose their identity or the timing of events in identity formation. Nor is there any evidence that the availability of GSAs influences those developmental processes.
Misrepresenting scholarship in order to cast suspicion on LGBT persons is nothing new to anti-gay groups. In 2006, University of BC professor Elizabeth Saewyc accused James Dobson’s Focus on the Family of twisting her findings to claim that embracing lesbianism led to suicide. Dr Robert Spitzer has made the same complaint towards FotF. Robert Hogg is another researcher whose studies have been manipulated by the Religious Right to give credence to myths about the “gay lifestyle.”
Truth Wins Out has been keeping an archive of Focus on the Family’s unscholarly distortions, including statements from scholars whose own work has been misrepresented by James Dobson et al, at www.respectmyresearch.org.
This is evidence that not only should orgs or websites remove this distortion, but that the orgs that do it should be shut down and cited for their defamation.
The truth, education through integration and young people forming alliances are proven the most healthy and affirming response to gay teens coming out. PFOX espouses long held traditions that are proven dangerous. The defamation is dangerous since the real world consequences are threat and risk, not just inconvenience.
PFOX, FOTF et al…would suffer inconvenience and so what if they do?
They deserve to be shut down because LYING and deceit, if these are their tactics and tools, any agency concerned with quality control wouldn’t allow them to operate.
It’s an abuse of their influence AND that of the researchers they disotort.
Defamation, slander and libel is not protected speech.
I have personally dealt with PFOX as I am the main Gay-Straight Alliance Sponsor at my school in Montgomery County, MD. These people pass out literature telling students that they can change and say it’s wrong to not include an “ex-“gay perspective.
These people are hateful and, to be honest, I feel sorry for them. They will stoop to the lowest level you can imagine to assert their theocratic, biased, hate-mongering and unscientific agenda.
It’s very sad.
It might be interesting to also note that PFOX is represented as a signer on the Rebuttal to Argument Against Proposition 8 here in California. (For those not aware, Prop 8 is the proposition to define marriage as between a man and woman only). One of the main points the supporters of this proposition are pushing is that without it, kids in California schools will be taught that gay marriage is okay (despite California laws that allow parents to opt their kids out of health education classes).
Jeralee Smith signed the rebuttal as Director of Education/California for PFOX (the Argument Against Prop 8 was written by leaders of PFLAG). Also signing the Rebuttal was a Dr. Jane Anderson as Fellow, American College of Pediatricians and Robert Bolingbroke, Council Commissioner for the San Diego-Imperial Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Link is as follows: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/bp_11042008_pres_general/prop_8_rebuttal_to_arg_against.pdf