Educational film producer Sid Davis released countless “cautionary tales” over the span of the 1950’s and ’60’s, one of the most notorious being the film Boys Beware (1961). XGW mentioned the film in a brief posting in 2006 when Davis died. It shows predatory men targeting young boys for sexual gratification, warning the audience that homosexuals are on the loose. The film includes such quotable gems as:

What Jimmy didn’t know was that Ralph was sick. A sickness that was not visible like smallpox, but no less dangerous and contagious — a sickness of the mind. You see, Ralph was a homosexual: a person who demands an intimate relationship with members of their own sex.

One never knows when the homosexual is about. He may appear normal and it may be too late when you discover he is mentally ill.

The entire film is a fallacy, in that it equates homosexuality with pedophilia – the condition in which a person, male or female, seeks out sexual relationships with prepubescents. Homosexuals seek out relationships in the same manner as heterosexuals, with sexually mature people, engaging in romantic courtship and often seeking mutual lifetime commitment. The film also equates homosexuality with an obsession with sex. But perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the film itself is that it ignores the fact that female pedophiles and child molesters exist, failing to warn young boys of this very real danger.

Watching the movie, it’s easy to dismiss it as old-fashioned and a testament to the ignorance of the time. But today anti-gay groups have diverged little from the basic themes: That homosexuals are dangerous to children, obsessed with sex, and are sick (and therefor need to be cured) – providing a need for ex-gay groups. In addition, ex-gay and anti-gay groups are focused especially on male homosexuality, despite the existence of homosexual women.

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