Fishback Addresses Channel Seven Presentation

David Fishback is the former chair of the MCPS Citizens Advisory Committee for Family Health and Human Development, he's on the board of Metro-DC PFLAG, and he has been a central character in TeachTheFact.org's activities over the years. He has written up a reaction to Monday's story about "ex-gays" on Channel Seven. His post starts by quoting the entire online text of the report, and then discusses important aspects of it, better than when I said it was "unbelievably terrible" and "sickening." David's always good for a clear, reasonable analysis of a complicated situation.

Here is his text:

THE PROBLEMS WITH THE WJLA REPORT

I think it useful to look at the entire text of the WJLA piece on its website HERE.

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The idea that a person can change their sexual preference is beginning to become a major debate with gay activists because of an upcoming book, "The Born Gay Hoax".

Author Ryan Sorba was speaking at Smith College about his upcoming book, "The Born Gay Hoax," when gay protesters began taking over shouting, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it!" Soon Sorba was overrun and drowned out. Police finally arrived and advised Sorba to leave for his own safety. An example, some say, of how militant gay activists hijacked public debate on homosexuality.

"A person may not be happy being gay! I mean, has anyone ever thought of that," David exclaimed.

David, 34, said he would be afraid of being harassed by gays, if he were to be identified. He said he wanted "out of the gay life" that contradicted his faith and left him feeling empty, so he underwent so-called "reparative therapy". "I'm working on becoming more heterosexual," he said, "I believe that it is possible." "I believe feelings can change and I found feelings to change."

Scott Melendez, who is gay, said that he prayed to be straight, "No matter how much I believed that God would deliver me or make me straight, it never happened."

Melendez had a whole different view. He believed that people were born gay and that they should accept it. "I finally just realized that God loved me exactly the way I am and He didn't make a mistake."

In 1973, the mainstream scientific community declared homosexuality no longer a mental disorder and it warns now that trying to change a person's sexual preference could leave a person confused and depressed.

Scientists still don't know why a person is gay.

Dr. James Scully with the American Psychiatric Association said "There's actually been no definitive studies to decide what causes homosexuality."

So the debate rages on, with websites touting programs to help people go straight or at least to help them learn to control same-sex impulses. Yet there were no hard numbers on results and others blasted ex-gay methods as futile and ridiculous.

Wayne Besen with TruthWinsOut.org said, "It destroys people, it shatters families, it ruins lives, and it's being promoted by right-wing political groups."

With many struggling to reconcile feelings with their faith and absent hard science, many still maintain homosexuality is triggered by childhood abuse or poor relationships and people should be freed to choose which path to take.

"Homosexual activists are talking about personal choice, freedom and so forth, but they deny personal choice and freedom for those who wish to seek change," said Peter Sprigg with the organization, Parents and Families of Ex-Gays.

Gay activists applauded the cancellation of the American Psychiatric Association's workshop Monday. They called it a ploy by the religious right, but Dr. David Scasta who is a gay psychiatrist said he worked two years trying to setup the workshop. He just wanted to move beyond the shouting and bashing. He said he might try again next year.

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The actual video may be viewed HERE. That version framed the issue as a conflict between "militant homosexuals" and those who wish to have calm discussion of the question of whether people can change their sexual orientation.

I have several observations:

1. The piece leads with something about one Ryan Sorba, who has written a book entitled The Born Gay Hoax. Given the scientific consensus that sexual orientation is not chosen, I was curious to find out Mr. Sorba's qualifications for attacking the scientific consensus. It took a little time, because his blog and other things on the web seem to avoid that. Finally, I found that he has a bachelor's degree in psychology by Cal State-San Bernadino. See HERE

Before leading with such an item, I would think that WJLA would want to inquire as to whether Mr. Sorba is a reputable scholar and researcher in the field, or just a right-wing ideologue. A Google search reveals that the latter is the case.

2. It is noteworthy that while WJLA contacted and quoted Peter Sprigg of PFOX (a shell organization if ever there was one), without mentioning that his principal affiliation is as Vice President of James Dobson's Family Research Council), but did not even bother to contact Metro DC PFLAG – a real organization representing actual people.

3. The piece does set forth "both sides" of the substantive dispute, but does so with only a peremptory nod to the scientific consensus, without even mentioning the recent American Psychological Association's publication Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth (READ HERE) which lays out the facts and details the dangers of so-called reparative or conversion therapies.

4. The most egregious portion of the WJLA report is the following statement: "With many struggling to reconcile feelings with their faith and absent hard science, many still maintain homosexuality is triggered by childhood abuse or poor relationships and people should be freed to choose which path to take."

But who are the "many [who] still maintain homosexuality" is so triggered? WJLA does not say. This viewpoint has been rejected outright by the scientific community for decades. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics, in its Guidance for Clinicians on Sexual Orientation and Adolescents, unequivocally states that "there is no scientific evidence that abnormal parenting, sexual abuse, or other adverse life events influence sexual orientation." READ HERE). No reputable scientific or medical researcher believes what WJLA says that "many still maintain." For WJLA to not so state in its report was irresponsible. The canard that bad parenting causes homosexuality has been used by theological ideologues to drive wedges between parents and children for too long to let the canard go unanswered. For WJLA to set forth the "many still maintain" statement without more was irresponsible.

5. I believe that the piece entirely misses the key question underlying the controversy: Why do some people want to change their sexual orientations in the face of the reality, confirmed by the mainstream scientific community, that people cannot will themselves to change their orientation?

Some conservative religious groups tell people that being gay is contrary to God's plan and that therefore they should try to change their sexual orientation. But this is where theology runs directly into mental health issues, since it is clear that real, purposeful change of sexual orientation is simply not possible.

I suspect, but do not know, that Dr. Scasta's intention was to have a discussion about whether and/or how gay people who wish to follow the theology of the particular religious communities into which they were born can find contentment in celibacy. On an earlier string on this blog, I asked Warren Throckmorton if his view was that gay people really could change and, if not, whether that meant they should be live-long celibates, giving up the joys of monogamous intimacy. He did not respond. I was disappointed that he did not respond, because a discussion of the intersection of theology and mental health is important. The problem, as Dr. Scasta may have discovered, is that many people have good reason to be suspicious of the agendas of the leaders of the "ex-gay" approach.

Is Professor Throckmorton approaching these sorts of discussions starting from a common ground of a scientific understanding of sexual orientation, or is his agenda still to assert – in the face of all the evidence to the contrary – that people cannot purposely change their orientation? If the latter, there is no point of having him on panels discussing mental health. Moreover, if the latter, then the appropriate place for him to speak would be in debates about the science regarding whether people can change their orientation – but given the scientific consensus on that point, such debates would be akin to debates about whether the Earth is round or flat. But even if this were an open question, Professor Throckmorton has done no peer reviewed research which would contribute to such a scientific discussion.

6. So WJLA's framing of its report with students at Smith College yelling at Mr. Sorba distracts from the real issues here. The visual may be good television entertainment, but it is deficient journalism.

David S. Fishback
Board Member, Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)