Posted on 01/29/2003 11:29:48 AM PST by Notwithstanding
Summary: You be the judge. A letter form the editor in chief.
... I bring these matters to your attention because of a threatening phone call I received a few weeks ago from a fellow psychologist. On page 78 of our last issue, PT ran a small ad for a book called A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality by Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D., and his wife Linda. Nicolosi is a psychologist who specializes in trying to help unhappy gays become straight. Apparently feeling that this rather modest contribution to the literature on homosexuality wasn't getting enough attention, the psychologist, who identified herself as a lesbian activist, called me at home on a Saturday to tell me that PT should not have run such a heinous ad, that she was speaking for "thousands" of gays who were going to boycott PT, "and worse," that Dr. Nicolosi was a "bigot," that no gay person had ever successfully become straight, that homosexuality was entirely determined by genes, and that sexual conversion therapy had been condemned by the American Psychological Association. I told her that the editorial department at PT has no connection whatsoever with the advertising department, but she was unimpressed. She subsequently posted messages on the Internet urging people to harrass me at home (no one else ever did) and to send me complaint letters.
In all, I received about 120 letters, many of which exemplified a bad game of Telephone: Some people complained about an anti-gay "article" PT had published; others referred to an anti-gay book I had published and people who weren't subscribers said they were dropping their subscriptions. Several writers suggested I was a "Nazi" and a "bigot," and one compared me with the Taliban. A surprising number of letters asserted that gays have a right to be rude or abusive because they themselves have been abused. Most echoed the same points that my caller had made....
(Excerpt) Read more at psychologytoday.com ...
Also...if it is genetic then why don't gays have physical characteristics that accomodate this? For example: Gay men should have vagina like qualities to their anus to accommodate their different mode of sexual intercourse. Women should have -- I don't know -- something to accommodate theirs. As it is now all they do for "intercourse" is mutually masturbate. According to the Democrats, that isn't sex.
In short: If gays evolved that way then why didn't -- in the course of natural selection and evolution -- they also get different body parts that support their behavior?
(mock scolding) Silly boy. That's too easy!
The "genes" are passed along by way of introducing homosexuality and how "normal" it is to children too young to be able to know anything about sex. This is done primarily by the introduction of books on the reading lists of these children, like "It's Perfectly (Ab)Normal" and "Heather Has Two Mommies."
You properly point out that "preference" (or "attraction") is not the same as "behavior." There have been studies, reports, and articles published lately (I tend to read some of the more popular science journals and magazines, rather than the psychology journals) that there have been found distinct differences in brain morphology between practicing homosexuals and heterosexuals. So there may be some truth to observations about homosexuality.
However, the contention that homosexuality is driven exclusively by genetics can be tested. Identical twins, separated by birth, share an identical genetic makeup. If it is found that one separated twin is a practicing homosexual, or maintains homosexual attractions, then it stands to reason that the other twin would also have similar attractions, and should in 100% of the cases. In fact, the findings were nothing like that. I recall the number reports was something less than 20%.
So clearly, there are other factors influencing both preference and behavior. I'm not a psychologist, and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night either. So I will not pretend that I know a lot about the psychology of human sexual behavior (other than red-heads are hot!). But I do know from my education and professional scientific background, that the "all" and "never" cases rarely occur in nature.
Some might say that gay men have effeminate voices but it could just be environment. Do black men have a genetic reason to speak ebonics?
When I saw Rip Taylor, he denied being homosexual but did reveal that he was raised by 2 female prostitutes and sexually abused by a man (fondled?) while he was a child.
By "a great deal of evidence," did you actually mean: "a lot of stuff from Nicolosi, his associates at NARTH, disgraced researcher Paul Cameron, et al?"
Nicolosi is just a guy who helps homosexuals who WANT to change their orientation. There's nothing wrong with that. He has a good record of success (about the same as for treating any psychological disorder). (Even the New York Times ran a front page artilce last year about homosexuals wanting to change - and noted that significant numbers of them have achieved success in doing so.) He simply notes in his book that there are many strong similarities among the homosexuals he treats. That's valid. As I say, every homosexual man I've known fits into these similarities. I'm not saying that all do. But Nicolisi's experience is certainly strongly suggestive. As an example, I have a homosexual friend that I've known since high school. He had a tyrant father who told his kids that he wished he hadn't had them. He was poor at sports and was mocked and rejected by most male kids. Finally, when he was hurting the most and just entering adolescence, a Methodist minister he knew convinced him to engage in homosexual activity to help 'heal' him. Of course, the minister abandoned him a year later, and moved on to other conquests. (He also abandoned his family.) Many homosexual men I've known have similar stories. I don't claim to know the answer as to what causes homosexuality - but Nicolosi's observations (also supported by many other psychologists in this field) are strongly suggestive in my mind.
Yes, that's right, madg. But a very large percentage of homosexual men have had these difficulties. As I say, that's strongly suggestive in my mind (and the minds of many others).
I've never in my life met a parent who wants their kid to turn out homosexual. Not one. Why would a parent want their kid to suffer from a sexual disorder? Why would a parent want their kid not to know the beauty and wonder and love of a woman? Why would a parent not want their kid to have the option of creating and bring new life into this world in an act of selfless love with a woman? Of course, you're right on the second point. Parents should always love their children unconditionally. But in so loving, they have to make the determination of what they believe is best for their (loved) child.
No it's not. It's just that the Gaystapo tries its hardest to intimidate anyone who doesn't profess to agree with their belief agenda. The guy whose research about homosexuals often being able to change their orientation, and who was published in the New York Times last year, and who has sympathy for homosexuals, and who simply wants to help those who want to change their orientation, was of course brutally attacked and excoriated and subject to homosexual hate-mongers the second his research was published. Same with the Boy Scouts. Same with anyone who dares to not toe the Gay fascist line.
Why? It's always homosexuals who are claiming that they felt homosexual when they were little. If a psychologist can help a boy develop his normal sexual identity and grow up normal, that's a good thing. Nicolosi successfully helps boys do so, in many cases. If I were one of those parents, I would be ecstatic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.