In
1973, Dr. Robert Spitzer helped spearhead the removal
of homosexuality as a mental disorder from the American
Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual. So, it was quite a media sensation when Spitzer
unveiled a controversial new study in 2001 suggesting
that some very motivated homosexuals could switch sexual
orientations.
The
study was criticized by many academics and GLBT advocates
for the following reasons:
**
Ex-gay lobbyists were used in the study, some even on
the payroll of right wing organizations, presenting
a conflict of interest.
** Spitzer simply called
these right wing activists on the telephone and asked
if they had changed. There were no physical measures
- such as the polygraph or penile plethysmograph - to
corroborate this stated change.
** There were bisexuals
used in this study, suggesting that the "changes"
that took place were far from impressive.
** Many of the subjects
seemed mentally fragile. For example, more than a third
of subjects were suicidal before attempting their conversion,
and roughly half were "markedly" depressed.
** Most important, even
with the entire right wing establishment searching for
so-called ex-gay subjects, it still took Spitzer a year
and a half to find a mere 200 people for his study.
This flies in the face of ex-gay groups, like Exodus
International, which claim that there are "hundreds
of thousands" of ex-gays.
Despite
his differences with scientists and GLBT advocates,
Spitzer made it clear that he did not want his study
used to justify discrimination. He also strongly emphasized
the fact that he did not think most gay people could
become heterosexual and that change was extremely rare.
GLBT
Advocates video
"I
suspect that the vast majority of gay people –
even if they wanted to – would be unable to make
substantial changes in sexual attraction and fantasy
and enjoyment of heterosexual functioning that many
of my subjects reported," Dr. Spitzer told TWO's
Besen in his book "Anything But Straight: Unmasking
the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth.
In
a May 28, 2006 article in the Los Angeles Times, Spitzer
reiterated what he said in Besen's book.
Spitzer
told the New York Times in Feb. 2007 that, “Although
I suspect change occurs, I suspect it’s very rare.
Is it 1 percent, 2 percent? I don’t think it’s
10 percent.”
"If
some people can change – and I think they can –
it's a pretty rare phenomenon."
Unfortunately,
the results of Spitzer's study have been misrepresented
by right wing groups, particularly Focus on the Family,
to make it seem like all gay people could become heterosexual
if they prayed hard enough or entered conversion therapy.
For
example, Focus on the Family has a "fact sheet"
called "Myths and Facts about Homosexuality."
Under the heading "Fact" the organization
makes the untrue statement, "There is freedom from
homosexuality" and backs this up this false claim
by citing Spitzer's study.
Focus
on the Family has also used Spitzer's study to justify
distorting the work of other researchers. For instance,
in June 2006, Focus on the Family twisted a study by
Canadian researcher Elizabeth Saewyc that showed teenage
lesbians had a higher rate of suicide attempts. Canadian
Press Melissa Fryrear, a spokesperson for Focus
on the Family, blamed gay activists for causing the
deaths, saying that teaching self-acceptance caused
the young women to be suicidal.
"Regrettably,
they think they have to embrace homosexuality because
pro-gay advocates told them that they were born gay,"
said Fryrear.
Saewyc
disputed Focus on the Family's assertions and charged
that the group had "hijacked" her work for
their political agenda. Fryrear defended her misuse
of Saewyc's research by bringing up Spitzer's study
in a Candadian Press article. Spitzer was forced to
address this misrepresentation of his work:
"Unfortunately
Focus on the Family has once again reported findings
of my study out of context to support their fight against
gay rights," said Spitzer. "Although a third
of the subjects in my study reported having had serious
thoughts of suicide related to their homosexuality,
not one of them blamed the gay rights movement's advocating
a 'born gay' theory of homosexuality as the cause of
their suicidal thinking."
