Gay-to-straight programs FAIL

Want to hear something shocking? It turns out that programs that aim to “help” queer individuals magically transform into straight individuals do not work. The American Psychological Association stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1975. Yesterday, they announced that “gay-to-straight” programs are not very effective. That is shocking. No, really.

At best, some people learned to ignore their homosexual desires, but it does not say if they had much success in fostering heterosexual desires. At worst, people lost sexual feeling, became depressed, suicidal, and developed anxiety. I think that if we were charting a cost-benefit analysis, we would decide that these “intervention” programs are just not worth it.

In an article about this study on CNN.com, a man from Exodus International is interviewed. He tells this story of his magical transformation from a gay man into a happily married heterosexual man. Knowing that it is difficult to argue against anyone’s personal experience, this man seems to make a strong case on the surface.

My take? Funny you should ask. He was never a gay man; he was a bisexual man. I think that what small “success” these programs claim to have can be attributed to bisexuality. If you can guilt someone (who is legitimately attracted to both men and women) into ignoring his or her homosexual desires, then you are left with a bisexual person who limits him or herself to the opposite sex… not a heterosexual person.

If you do not like strawberries, chances are that a trip to the doctor is not going to change that. My Latin teacher used to say, “De gustibus non est disputandum.” It translates, “You cannot dispute matters of taste.” Can we finally close the case on this one?

Feel free to contact campusteam@feminist.org with any questions or comments.
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