Perhaps you have seen the video on You Tube or in yesterday's post by Jeremy Senters showing a church group "curing" a young man of homosexuality. There are a number of groups dedicated to curing gays. Little known is that many fathers force their Lesbian daughters to have sex with a male in order to cure them.
Agreement among the psychiatric community is that sexual orientation is determined by age six and cannot be changed, and the attempt to change a person causes psychological damage.
In 1996 the American Psychiatric Association released this information:
Homosexuality is neither mental illness nor moral depravity. It is simply the way a minority of our population expresses human love and sexuality. Study after study documents the mental health of gay men and lesbians. Studies of judgment, stability, reliability, and social and vocational adaptiveness all show that gay men and lesbians function every bit as well as heterosexuals.
Nor is homosexuality a matter of individual choice. Research suggests that the homosexual orientation is in place very early in the life cycle, possibly even before birth. It is found in about ten percent of the population, a figure which is surprisingly constant across cultures, irrespective of the different moral values and standards of a particular culture. Contrary to what some imply, the incidence of homosexuality in a population does not appear to change with new moral codes or social mores. Research findings suggest that efforts to repair homosexuals are nothing more than social prejudice garbed in psychological accouterments.
In 1994-AUGUST, The APA sent a proposal to one of its committees that would declare as unethical:
attempts by a psychologist to change a person's sexual orientation through therapy, or
referral of a patient to a therapist or organization who attempts to change people's sexual orientation
The APA published an undated brochure titled "Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality." It states:
"...psychologists do not consider sexual orientation for most people to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed."
"...homosexuality is not an illness, mental disorder or emotional problem."
"There is noevidence indicating that homosexuals are more likely than heterosexuals to molest children."
The American Medical Association (AMA) released a report in 1994-DEC which calls for "nonjudgmental recognition of sexual orientation by physicians." They suggest that psychotherapy be directed help homosexuals "become comfortable with their sexual orientation."
The Academy of Pediatrics and the Council on Child and Adolescent Health have also stated that homosexuality is not a choice and cannot be changed.
In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, American School Health Association, Interfaith Alliance Foundation, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers and National Education Association jointly issued a document titled: "Just the facts about sexual orientation." 3 They:
expressed concern about harassment of gay and lesbian youth.
condemned reparative therapy as potentially harmful and of little or no effectiveness.
In brief homosexuality is not a mental illness and cannot be changed.
To those who disagree with the medical community, I suggest that you re-read Leviticus. You will find that you are also among the condemned. The book is in The Old Testament. In The New Testament Jesus does mot mention homosexuality.
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Comments: 48
But being gay is very very best - of course !!!
(and it's fabulous, too)
I bet Jesus was gay. He called John his "beloved" ...
hhhhmmmmm
But they didn't have "gay culture" back then. So you got your arranged marriage and then you also had "freinds" - Jesus had friends, for sure. And Mary and Martha were fag hags, for sure. ha ha
That procedure is the same as turning a cow into a goat.
To me, any group that tries to "cure" homosexuality is just another hate group and should be called as such. People can be so intolerable and narrow minded.
I have NEVER understood the vicious and virulent hatred the fundie religious community has toward homosexuality. And I use the term "religious community" advisedly. It's not just the Xtian nuts who act like this. Muslims (except for the clerics who 'marry' teenage boys), will kill anyone caught in a homosexual relationship. And you don't want to think about what happens in Communist China.
I just don't get it.
There is quite a bit I don't understand about how people operate, including some sick need to cure others of nondiseases which these sick puppies have created for more rationales to be what ought to be inhuman.
I have never understood why people care what consenting adults, regardless of NUMBER, do in the privacy of their homes.
My thoughts exactly.
I'll third that. Especially hard to understand why anyone hyperventilates about what someone down the street or on the other end of the country does. I just don't get it.
These homosexual "cure" or "conversions" are hilarious. It must be difficult being gay (because of how heterosexuals react), and it's probably more difficult for some than others. So some guy who has parents who can't stand it, or friends or relatives that makes his gayness difficult, or he believes someone who tells him he's going to hell, or ... So he decides to pretend to be something he isn't and the church or whomever proclaim's him "cured." It's all about ignorance, and maybe even some self deception by the guy who feels better now.
Have you ever seen someone being "cured'? Ever seen a Hell house? These things are NOT funny, not in the least. They're at best disturbing and at worse revolting and disgusting.
Not meaning to take this lightly Elizabeth. When I said "hilarious" I meant the concept that somebody actually thinks a) a cure is needed and b) a cure works for whatever they think "needs" to be cured. Have no idea what that's like. Never heard of a Hell house, but I can tell you what I think is probably more disgusting -- The lifetime of crap ranging from attitude to abuse that gay people have to take from their relatives (some) and other ignorant bigots they meet in life, including some they don't even know.
My best gay friend in the world lives in San Antonio Texas. He feels homophobia every day when he is out and about. It is no wonder to me that Leo has submitted this piece in bold type, in black and red. Leo lives in San Antonio, I believe, and must feel like screaming sometimes.
Just as Bush defunded any agency which provided sources toward abortion, so I think Mr Obama should defund any agency which denies full membership and benefits to homosexuals.
Obama should do that. He should also move Don't Ask, Don't Tell further to the front of his agenda.
Why cant people just live and let live..... it sounds like some kind of mental torture!
If you don't be the way we want you to be we will make you mentality.
Amen! (Ra)
This web site tracks those, such as Exodus, who attempt to cure homosexuality: truthwillout.org. The founder and director is my former student Wayne Besen. He was brilliant as a student in 1983. He is frequently on news and talk shows. We reconnected whenI saw him on television.
I saw that video, very disturbing! Groups like that blame anything they don't like on satan, I guess it's easier than looking at themselves; or actually having to think independently. Whether someone has a addiction, is gay, or depressed; it's all satan.
Too bad there is not a cure for stupidity and ignorance.
There is; it's called 'education'.
Whatever the right cure might be, it is the same as for heterosexuality, and, I suspect, would be the same as the cure for left handedness.
If only they would spend as much time trying to cure all the pastors and TV evangelists that get caught spending time with prostitutes!
Pastors and evangelists are obsolete. They should get real jobs that serve the well-being of mankind.
Amen. Amen. And Amen. This homesexual cure thing is about as ridiculous as it gets, maybe only Obama's birth certicate comes in a close second. I guess we'll always have fools around, but they need our prayers as well and probably more of them than any other group of wing nuts.
I don't believe there is a cure. Sure there are people who get married and have kids. There isn't a cure on the earth or in the heavens. You are who you are.
Some gays marry for career reasons, some for children.
Leo L., I'm not knocking their choice, but I don't believe in a flat out cure for being who we are.
It amazes me there is still so much igorance in this modern world. You cannot cure what your DNA dictates. I feel most today see this. However there are still those who go into the world with blinders on, and refuse the obvious truths. Groups such as this have been around for quite awhile. By now you would think, that they would see what they practice to be a lie. And to think they go as far to put it out there, like they can convince people what they are doing is right. All they are doing is showing their true colors, and that being bigotry at its best.
Ignorant people in this world. When I told my mother about me, she was so upset that she didn't know what she was doing. She called PFlag and asked them to talk to me and told them to change me back. Now that was ingnorant. They told her that they are there to educate people who are against gays, to teach them to understand. She was so upset that she said they are a cult group. Stupid huh.
Thanks for posting to Fugitives from Ignorance, Conformity, and Peer Pressure
I am a right wing fundamentalist who doesn't believe homosexuality is to be cured. I believe God loves everyone and he doesn't look at one person for any reason any differently than another. Don't clump all people of any group together. Religious fundamentalists are people, too. Some are just whacky, but I bet there are whack-o homosexuals that doesn't make them all whack-o's. God is love.
...and this is probably the most sensible comment made on this post!
Judgement begins at home, so to speak - each of us must stop ourselves from being harsh to others, period.
Cure gays? Totally ludicrous and not at all funny. What on earth do they need to be cured of? Nothing, in my opinion, as there's nothing wrong with them.
I also don't get it and never have. Why? Because it doesn't make any sense.
There are plenty of people who need to be cured of their heterosexuality.
I suspect that it is determined in utero or before as also stated above: "possibly even before birth."
I deeply appreciate your article.
Some people need to stop being so ridiculous as to think that sexual orientation is important in determining who you are as a person. Look on the inside for the good in a person!!!!
Oh, and by the way...my best friend is a lesbian.
how stupid to think homosexuality needs to be cured.
www.epinions.com/book-review-7736-115982D5-39C6785D-prod3
Recently, a biography of Masters & Johnson has shown that Johnson thinks that the claims to "cure" homosexuality Masters made were fraudulent.