The Fallacies and Failures of the Ex-gay Movement

by moonwatcher

Since the Gay Rights Movement began to take shape in the 1960's and 70's, many religious people have been fighting against gay rights because they believe homosexuality to be a sin. As our society became more gay-tolerant over the last few decades, the anti-gay movement became more vocal about what they call "traditional" or "family" values. Within the last few years the Ex-gay movement has emerged from the anti-gay movement. The Ex-gay movement is promoting the idea that sexual orientation can be changed through therapy and other methods. Most Ex-gay ministries are Fundamentalist Christians, but a few are of other denominations and some are secular. In 1998 a series of ads, put out by proponents of the ex-gay and anti-gay movements, proclaimed that with faith in God, homosexuals could change their orientation.

The question that comes to mind is, is there any evidence that this works? And more importantly, why should a gay person attempt change their orientation?

Historically, the acceptance of homosexuality has varied by time period and culture. Among most indigenous societies (such as Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, and Eskimos) homosexuality was and is accepted. Homosexual, transsexual, and transgender persons of these cultures commonly become shamans because they are perceived to have special powers. Some indigenous societies also worshiped homosexual and transsexual animals, and believed them to bring fertility to the rest of the population. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, male homosexuality was accepted and sometimes even encouraged, because it was understandable that men would want to have relationships with men equal to them rather than with "lowly" women. For much of the history of Europe, most cultures were accepting or ignoring of homosexuality, and it wasn't until the 1400's that homosexuals began to be persecuted as sinners. Laws were passed against homosexual behavior, some of which still exist in America today, although they are usually no longer enforced. Today many people are accepting of homosexuality, but many still believe it to be a sin.

Homosexuality was thought by psychologists until recently to be a mental illness and it was commonly blamed on sexual abuse and family dysfunction. However, a number of studies have shown that rates of sexual abuse and emotional problems have no relation to sexual orientation. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association officially removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. Scientists have not yet determined the causes of homosexuality, but most believe that there is a biological component to it. This would also explain why homosexuality exists in many other animal species.

Ex-gay organizations claim that homosexuality is often caused by childhood sexual abuse and lack of bonding with the parent of the same sex. They site that the majority of people who come to them for help were abused or had dysfunctional relationships with their parents. In the FAQs of the Exodus International site, it says,

If homosexuality is genetic, then that doesn't explain why we see such a similarity in personal backgrounds among the men and women who seek our help. There is a pretty uniform picture of poor family dynamics in general, a rift in the father-son or mother-daughter relationship growing up, feelings of being an outsider among one's peers during childhood and adolescence, and instances of sexual abuse/incest.

However, the individual people seeking to change their orientation cannot be representative of homosexuals in general. Well-adjusted, emotionally stable people with no history of abuse or dysfunction would not be likely to want to change their orientation. It is not surprising that they have found many abused, emotionally unstable people with rocky pasts seeking to change. In addition, the feelings of being an outsider are probably caused by the person's sexual orientation, not the other way around.

Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at University of California at Davis, wrote in his article "Facts about Homosexuality and Mental Health",

Just as it would be inappropriate to draw conclusions about all heterosexuals based only on data from heterosexual psychiatric patients, we cannot generalize from observations of homosexual patients to the entire population of gay men and lesbians.

Furthermore, many straight people have had similar backgrounds. One in four girls and one in five boys is sexually abused before the age of 18. Homosexuals, however, account for between three and ten percent of the population, according to studies. Therefore, sexual abuse alone could not account for homosexuality.

But if homosexuality is indeed a mental illness as the anti-gay movement believes, how can it also be a sin? Is it a sin to be schizophrenic or bi-polar? If it is a mental illness, the patient cannot be blamed for his or her condition, and it cannot be wrong to have that mental illness. The only case in which it could correctly be called a sin is if the person chooses to be homosexual as one would choose to steal, rape, or murder. But even those of the Ex-gay movement agree that homosexuality is not chosen. They believe that it is caused by molestation, family dysfunction, and other environmental causes. Because it is not chosen in this view, it can hardly be called a sin. Of course, most people of the Ex-gay movement simply believe that it is a sin to act on homosexual impulses, but this also does not coincide with how other mental disorders are treated. It is not a sin to act out on schizophrenic impulses.

The Bible, of course, is the issue here. Many Fundamentalist Christians and Orthodox Jews believe that homosexual sex is a sin because it is forbidden in the Bible and the Torah. However, the specific passages that are pointed to have been interpreted differently by different biblical scholars. For instance, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, often cited by anti-gays, could just as easily be a warning against inhospitality or rape. Because it does not involve consensual homosexual sex, beliefs about homosexuality cannot be based on it.

Furthermore, there are many other things that appear to be forbidden in the Bible and the Torah that are common in our society, such as the blending of different types of fiber in cloth (Leviticus 19:19), consuming pig's meat (Deut. 14:18, Mark 5:11-16), women speaking in church (I Cor. 14:34-35), women wearing gold or pearls (1 Tim. 2:9), touching a menstruating woman (Lev. 15:19-24), eating shellfish (Lev. 11:10), making a likeness of anything in the heavens, the earth, or the water (Ex. 20:4). The anti-gay movement isn't nearly as concerned over these violations. Pat Robertson, a well-known televangelist explained on his show "The 700 Club" that he is opposed to homosexuality because it constitutes premarital sex. Considering how common premarital sex is in our society today, it seems absurd that he would focus on the small percentage of the population that is gay rather than the larger percentage of heterosexuals who engage in premarital sex. The problem appears to be societal discomfort with homosexuality rather than religious beliefs.

The anti-gay movement commonly blames many of modern society's problems, particularly the "breakdown of the family", on homosexuals, but they never explain the logic of those accusations. How can homosexuals be to blame for teenage pregnancy, more than half of marriages ending in divorce, and premarital or extramarital sex? It appears that the anti-gay lobby is using homosexuals as a scapegoat for larger societal problems. Their claim that homosexual men sexually abuse children is unfounded and has been disproved by a number of studies. A person being homosexual does not do any harm. It does not hurt the homosexual, their friends and family, or society as a whole, and neither does acting on the homosexual orientation.

Trying to change one's sexual orientation through shame and repression, however, can do immense harm. Encouraging one's internalized homophobia results in self-hatred and depression, and many who have gone through the "reparative therapy" have come out depressed and suicidal because they feel it is their own inadequacy that does not let them change. Jallen Rix, a former ex-gay, wrote,

When they run on this twenty-four-hour treadmill of desperate change and then see no real results in their sexual orientation, most collapse into utter depression, even suicide. Many have actually reached a point at which they believe that God would more fully accept them dead than to live another moment being attracted to the same gender.

Furthermore, the ad campaigns put out by the ex-gay movement could encourage homophobia, and in fact, the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998 took place just after the release of a series of ex-gay ads. While it is uncertain that the ads had any role in the motivation of his murderers, it is a possibility that homophobia that is caused or exacerbated by the ex-gay movement could trigger hate crimes against gays and lesbians in the future.

Ex-gay ministries claim to be anywhere between 30% and 70% successful. They also claim that "thousands" of homosexuals have broken free of homosexuality. However, even if this were true, "thousands" is statistically insignificant considering the many millions of homosexuals in the US alone. Furthermore, the definition of success may vary. While some ex-gays have claimed to be entirely heterosexual, many of those considered successes have only ceased homosexual activities without changing their orientation itself. This figure also does not account for bisexuals, who would have an easier time leaving the "lifestyle". It may be that many of the so-called homosexuals who reportedly succeeded in changing their orientation were actually bisexuals.

Many people who have gone through the "reparative therapy" have come to realize that they can't change their orientation. Some of the leaders of the movement, in fact, have left when they finally admitted to themselves that they couldn't change. Two of the founders of Exodus International, Gary Cooper and Michael Bussee, left the organization as lovers in 1979 and became vocal opponents of the movement. Furthermore, there have been many reports of still-active leaders violating their own standards. Colin Cook, former leader of Homosexuals Anonymous, claims to be "100 percent heterosexual". However, he lost his position in 1987 when it came out that he had been having sex with men that he had been counseling. John Paulk, a leader of Exodus International, was photographed in a gay bar in Washington, DC in 2000. He initially claimed that he had gone in by accident while looking for a bathroom, but later admitted that he had gone in intentionally. He admits that he is still struggling with his homosexuality. And a lawsuit was recently held against Desert Stream, another ex-gay ministry, by a minor who reported that a male staff person had had sex with him during his time there. These facts have done serious damage to the credibility of the ex-gay movement.

The most important question is, why should a gay person attempt to change? Wanting to change something that feels like one's natural inclination — whether it is or not — shows a profound dislike for oneself. The real problem here is not homosexuality, but self-hatred, caused by internalized homophobia or unrelated emotional problems.

links

Critiques of the Ex-gay movement:
The Ex-gay Movement ~ an article on ex-gays from the Gay and Lesbian Humanist
Ex-gay "Ministries" ~ a list of sites of or about the Ex-gay movement
About Ex-gay Ministries ~ an excerpt from an article on the Radical Religious Right
Church Group Offers Homosexual New Life in Closet ~ a parody of the Ex-gay movement from The Onion
Introduction to Reparative & Similar Therapies ~ an article from ReligiousTolerance.org
Love In Action: The Final Indoctrination ~ an interview with a former ex-gay
Exgay ~ the testimony of an ex-ex-gay
Facts About Changing Sexual Orientation ~ an article by Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D, Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Davis
Inside Exodus ~ a report from the anti-gay ministry's 21st national conference
Psychologists Oppose 'Conversion' Therapy for Gays ~ an article on the position of the American Psychological Association
The Other Side of the Rainbow ~ behind the curtain of ex-gay ministries

Ex-gay sites:
Exodus International
National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality
Homosexuals Anonymous
Another Way Out
Stonewall Revisited ~ a collection of personal experience stories by Ex-gays
Free To Be Me ~ a site aimed at teenagers that tries to look like a resource for queer youth, but encourages visitors to question whether they want to "choose" to stay queer

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