Intelligent Design II
If you can't beat'em, join'em.
That's exactly what anti-gay factions are doing in some states. Finding it too difficult to keep gay rights out of school, they are fighting to get their anti-gay message into schools.
Conservative religious groups like Exodus International are pushing to have "ex-gay therapy" taught in schools alongside discussions of homosexuality. They're convinced gay and lesbian people are choosing their sexuality and, under the right treatment, can actually renounce their attraction to the same sex.
The mental health profession disagrees. According to the American Psychological Association:
Even though most homosexuals live successful, happy lives, some homosexual or bisexual people may seek to change their sexual orientation through therapy, sometimes pressured by the influence of family members or religious groups to try and do so. The reality is that homosexuality is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable.
That's exactly what anti-gay factions are doing in some states. Finding it too difficult to keep gay rights out of school, they are fighting to get their anti-gay message into schools.
Conservative religious groups like Exodus International are pushing to have "ex-gay therapy" taught in schools alongside discussions of homosexuality. They're convinced gay and lesbian people are choosing their sexuality and, under the right treatment, can actually renounce their attraction to the same sex.
The mental health profession disagrees. According to the American Psychological Association:
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Even though most homosexuals live successful, happy lives, some homosexual or bisexual people may seek to change their sexual orientation through therapy, sometimes pressured by the influence of family members or religious groups to try and do so. The reality is that homosexuality is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable.
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In fact, mental health professionals call attempts at "ex-gay therapy" not only ineffective, but also potentially harmful to the self-esteem of the patient.
But just as scientific consensus doesn't stop creationists from pushing intelligent design as a science, neither does it stop anti-gay advocates from insisting that homosexuality is a choice -- and the wrong choice.
For those who are curious what "ex-gay therapy" looks like, check out this video of a spot that aired on CNN last week.
It's pretty creepy -- especially when the ex-gay counselor suggests (and demonstrates) hitting a pillow with a tennis racket while screaming "Mom, why did you do that to me!" in an attempt to, I suppose, release the evil gay spirits.
The LA Times has more on the push to get "ex-gay therapy" into schools.
But just as scientific consensus doesn't stop creationists from pushing intelligent design as a science, neither does it stop anti-gay advocates from insisting that homosexuality is a choice -- and the wrong choice.
For those who are curious what "ex-gay therapy" looks like, check out this video of a spot that aired on CNN last week.
It's pretty creepy -- especially when the ex-gay counselor suggests (and demonstrates) hitting a pillow with a tennis racket while screaming "Mom, why did you do that to me!" in an attempt to, I suppose, release the evil gay spirits.
The LA Times has more on the push to get "ex-gay therapy" into schools.
posted by Seth Zlotocha at Tuesday, May 30, 2006
1 Comments:
These bastards will do anything to insert their mean-spirited and bigoted view of the world into the lives of everyone else.
I have a brother who is gay and have seen first-hand the evil that is the anti-gay movement. My mother was a counsellor who specialized in substance abuse (mostly gay men and women). She has spoken at length of the lives shattered by these misbegotten cretins.
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