shegeek72
2009-08-13 02:51:27 UTC
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_13017548
Futile therapy
Quit trying to make gays straight
Tribune Editorial
Updated: 08/07/2009 05:54:57 PM MDT
There has long been a theory, supported by some conservative religions
and religious groups, that people who are sexually attracted to
members of their own gender are mentally abnormal and can be "fixed,"
in the same way that mental illnesses can be treated with drugs or
therapy. But homosexuality is not an illness.
That reality was underscored Wednesday when the American Psychological
Association reported the results of a comprehensive study pointing up
the failure of efforts to turn gay people straight. The group
representing 150,000 professional mental health therapists
recommended, based on 83 studies over nearly 50 years, that its
members give up counseling patients that they can, if they try hard
enough, change their sexual orientation.
The treatments, called reparative therapy, simply don't work. That's
because the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians does not
constitute mental illness. They are as normal as left-handed people or
people with detached earlobes.
Humans are not clones; differences of all kinds are part of the human
condition and most are accepted as normal, though dissimilar from the
majority of the population. Homosexuality, however, isn't as well-
tolerated by the heterosexual community as lefties are among the right-
handed. That intolerance is often supported by references to scripture
or religious doctrine, just as mistreatment of Jews and blacks was,
for centuries, said to be God's will.
But that bias shouldn't force gays to try to change who they are. The
APA report is just the latest scientific evidence that trying to
change sexual orientation is futile, and worse, can cause lifelong
unhappiness or depression, and sometimes leads to suicide.
But the APA declaration that it does not support reparative therapy is
only part of the group's recommendation. It advises its members to
urge their gay patients who are trying to reconcile their
homosexuality with a religion that abhors it to adopt celibacy or
switch religions.
But, though that advice sounds practical and may prevent years of
frustrating and useless therapy, isn't it akin to telling a woman who
is being sexually harassed to simply change jobs or work stations?
Gays and lesbians aren't the ones who need to change. Those who see
homosexuality as immoral, who want to segregate gays and lesbians and
refuse them legal rights and privileges that heterosexuals enjoy,
should take a long look in the mirror to see where some reparative
therapy might actually do some good.
Tara's Transgender Resources
http://tarasresources.net
Metropolitan Community Churches
http://www.mccchurch.org/
Futile therapy
Quit trying to make gays straight
Tribune Editorial
Updated: 08/07/2009 05:54:57 PM MDT
There has long been a theory, supported by some conservative religions
and religious groups, that people who are sexually attracted to
members of their own gender are mentally abnormal and can be "fixed,"
in the same way that mental illnesses can be treated with drugs or
therapy. But homosexuality is not an illness.
That reality was underscored Wednesday when the American Psychological
Association reported the results of a comprehensive study pointing up
the failure of efforts to turn gay people straight. The group
representing 150,000 professional mental health therapists
recommended, based on 83 studies over nearly 50 years, that its
members give up counseling patients that they can, if they try hard
enough, change their sexual orientation.
The treatments, called reparative therapy, simply don't work. That's
because the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians does not
constitute mental illness. They are as normal as left-handed people or
people with detached earlobes.
Humans are not clones; differences of all kinds are part of the human
condition and most are accepted as normal, though dissimilar from the
majority of the population. Homosexuality, however, isn't as well-
tolerated by the heterosexual community as lefties are among the right-
handed. That intolerance is often supported by references to scripture
or religious doctrine, just as mistreatment of Jews and blacks was,
for centuries, said to be God's will.
But that bias shouldn't force gays to try to change who they are. The
APA report is just the latest scientific evidence that trying to
change sexual orientation is futile, and worse, can cause lifelong
unhappiness or depression, and sometimes leads to suicide.
But the APA declaration that it does not support reparative therapy is
only part of the group's recommendation. It advises its members to
urge their gay patients who are trying to reconcile their
homosexuality with a religion that abhors it to adopt celibacy or
switch religions.
But, though that advice sounds practical and may prevent years of
frustrating and useless therapy, isn't it akin to telling a woman who
is being sexually harassed to simply change jobs or work stations?
Gays and lesbians aren't the ones who need to change. Those who see
homosexuality as immoral, who want to segregate gays and lesbians and
refuse them legal rights and privileges that heterosexuals enjoy,
should take a long look in the mirror to see where some reparative
therapy might actually do some good.
Tara's Transgender Resources
http://tarasresources.net
Metropolitan Community Churches
http://www.mccchurch.org/