Have you heard of a "Homosexual Therapist?"

[Jacco]

I was driving home earlier and listening to the radio and the host was interviewing a guy who called himself a "Homosexual therapist." as I listened, he explained that when he was younger, he harbored "homosexual thoughts and feelings" and simly assumed he was gay. As the years went on and he got further into his schooling, he began to examine himself and came to realize that many of this thoughts and feelings came from various incidences during his childhood, such as being sexually absurd by an uncle, being closer to his mother instead of his father, etc. When he dealt with these issues, he found his homosexual tendencies disappeared and he's not been happily married for 30 years with 3 kids. As a result, he councils people who have unwanted gay feelings and helps them through any issues he they have that may be behind it.

To be fair, he did make a point to say that he is in no way condemning homosexuality and for people who choose to accept it and live that lifestyle, more power to them. His mission is to help those that do not want to be gay. And curiously, for that, he is reviled by the gay community. According to his own testimony, he has been described by them as the number one enemy of the gay movement (which I could believe).

It makes sense to me. I've never really bought into the argument that people are born homosexual. I don't think people are born anything other than human. That being said, I see homosexuality as a personal thing. What they do in their personal lives doesn't concern me and i don't think they should be condemned for it just like I shouldn't be condemned for my belief in God.


Do you think there is any meat to what he says? What are your feelings on this matter?

EDIT: Please excuse any typos in this, I'm on my iPad. I scanned for errors but I may not have caught them all.

EDIT 2: someone asked for the guys name and I just couldn't find it anywhere. The show was Kim Iverson and it was today's (7/27/2011) episode. If you find it, let me know and I'll put it up here.

 

[Radelaide]

So, because I'm closer to my mother than my step-father, I'm going to be a lesbian? It doesn't make sense.

I'm somewhat confused by what he means by "unwanted gay feelings".

 

[Bags159]

snip

He's a random guy with only personal anecdotes as his evidence. So no, he has no meat.

Quick question, OP. Green is my favorite color. Was this a conscious choice of mine, in your opinion?

 

[theevilgenius60]

Could be. I know several ex-gays. One of them was gay for over a decade that I knew him. He has been married for six years and he just recently celebrated the birth of his second child. I think it's a lot more fluid than either side wants to admit. Then again these folks may be the exception that proves the rule. What do I know, I'm straight and always have been.

 

[Timbydude]

Moral of the story: Dude is probably bisexual and doesn't want to admit it.

I do think that after enough "therapy" and having enough ideas drilled into your head, the attraction to the same sex could probably be partially eliminated or at least masked. But, it's pointless since it's not like homosexuality is something that needs to be treated in the first place.

 

[Jacco]

snip

He's a random guy with only personal anecdotes as his evidence. So no, he has no meat.

Quick question, OP. Green is my favorite color. Was this a conscious choice of mine?

I have no idea whether you chose what color you liked. I like green too. But I chose to like it the most when I was young because it was the color of Qui-Gon Jinn's light saber and he was the coolest character ever.

And I didn't say it weas a conscious choice. In fact, by the guys's reasoning, it would be an unconscious one.

 

[Jacco]

I think the gay community, or those sympathetic to the cause hate him for the implications of his therapy: homosexuality is curable. Also, I have heard of tons of "straight trainers" and "gay counseling"; there are numerous organizations (mostly religious) that offer camps and rehabilitation center for those stricken with the gay.

That being said, I see homosexuality as a personal thing. What they do in their personal lives doesn't concern me and i don't think they should be condemned for it just like I shouldn't be condemned for my belief in God.

I don't agree with people when they say that they shouldn't be condemned for their belief in god, at it is just that, their belief. I think that belief in god designates lower intelligence. Because a belief in god predicates everything on that entity; yes, laws of physics can still co-exist with god as it supposedly created them or whatever. But belief in god shows a level of certainty--audacity--that I'm just not willing to forgive. So, yeah, while I won't condemn you for your belief in god, I will, no matter what you do, hold you with some degree with contempt. Not that you should care, though.

Is your absolute belief that God doesn't exist much more different than mine in the affirmative? The implications are the same- it doesn't make you smarter or dumber, it makes you, you. Which is the same argument that gays use to justify their lifestyle to those who condemn them.

 

[orangeban]

People hate him because of this attitude that homosexuality "should" be changed, that heterosexuality is the norm and homosexuals are deviations or abnormalities from the "proper" heterosexuality. I firmly believe homosexuality cannot be changed, I get boners for dudes, at no point did I choose that (heck, I have a dad who is straight and a mother who is a lesbian, therefore the least gay (specifically gay maleness) family possible, except maybe asexuals).

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

It's a complicated issue.

It's clear that some in some people, homosexuality is "programed" in some, it's not.

 

[Cakes]

Just a heads up, "conversion therapy" is widely considered horseshit by actual experts (like the American Psychological Association).

 

[Giest4life]

I think the gay community, or those sympathetic to the cause hate him for the implications of his therapy: homosexuality is curable. Also, I have heard of tons of "straight trainers" and "gay counseling"; there are numerous organizations (mostly religious) that offer camps and rehabilitation center for those stricken with the gay.

That being said, I see homosexuality as a personal thing. What they do in their personal lives doesn't concern me and i don't think they should be condemned for it just like I shouldn't be condemned for my belief in God.

I don't agree with people when they say that they shouldn't be condemned for their belief in god, at it is just that, their belief. I think that belief in god designates lower intelligence. Because a belief in god predicates everything on that entity; yes, laws of physics can still co-exist with god as it supposedly created them or whatever. But belief in god shows a level of certainty--audacity--that I'm just not willing to forgive. So, yeah, while I won't condemn you for your belief in god, I will, no matter what you do, hold you with some degree with contempt. Not that you should care, though.

Is your absolute belief that God doesn't exist much more different than mine in the affirmative? The implications are the same- it doesn't make you smarter or dumber, it makes you, you. Which is the same argument that gays use to justify their lifestyle to those who condemn them.

No, sir, I am not an atheist. I'm a firm believer of the Church of I-Don't-Know: Knowing is Impossible. It's a post-modernist thing.

 

[DarkRyter]

He just needs to change his job description.

He's a "Sexuality Confirmation Consultant".

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

I'm going to say that he has no ground to stand on. His experiences seem to come from his personal experiences, which doesn't translate at all to anyone else. I'm going to write him off as an idiot.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

I've never really bought into the argument that people are born homosexual.

Then you are wrong. Try and get a straight guy to watch gay porn and see what happens. He will be limp, whereas a gay/bi man would be aroused as that is their natural reaction to it. It's not something we can help, if people could choose their sexuality then no-one would want to pick an orientation that will potentially make them victims of descrimination and ostracised amonst their friends.

OT: People are right to be upset with him. He's helping people to repress their sexuality, which is not healthy. Worse still, he could be using his experiences to help people find themselves, discover their sexuality and tackle the issues they have. Repressing sexuality does not tackle their issues it only creates more.

 

[Jacco]

I think the gay community, or those sympathetic to the cause hate him for the implications of his therapy: homosexuality is curable. Also, I have heard of tons of "straight trainers" and "gay counseling"; there are numerous organizations (mostly religious) that offer camps and rehabilitation center for those stricken with the gay.

That being said, I see homosexuality as a personal thing. What they do in their personal lives doesn't concern me and i don't think they should be condemned for it just like I shouldn't be condemned for my belief in God.

I don't agree with people when they say that they shouldn't be condemned for their belief in god, at it is just that, their belief. I think that belief in god designates lower intelligence. Because a belief in god predicates everything on that entity; yes, laws of physics can still co-exist with god as it supposedly created them or whatever. But belief in god shows a level of certainty--audacity--that I'm just not willing to forgive. So, yeah, while I won't condemn you for your belief in god, I will, no matter what you do, hold you with some degree with contempt. Not that you should care, though.

Is your absolute belief that God doesn't exist much more different than mine in the affirmative? The implications are the same- it doesn't make you smarter or dumber, it makes you, you. Which is the same argument that gays use to justify their lifestyle to those who condemn them.

No, sir, I am not an atheist. I'm a firm believer of the Church of I-Don't-Know: Knowing is Impossible. It's a post-modernist thing.

Then is your firm belief in whatever you believe, no knowing things evidently, any different than mine?

For someone like me, "because god said so" is not enough. Science exists for us to better ourselves with- in essence to understand the mind of God.

 

[AnkaraTheFallen]

Yeah. I'm going to say he was simply confused and has always been straight.

As for myself, I tried to not be gay, and those were some of the worst years of my life. I hate these people who say they can stop you being gay, as I see it you either are, or your not. If you are, repressing it is one of the worst things you can do.

 

[Cain_Zeros]

So, by this guy's logic, since my parents are divorced and I live with my mother (although my parents do have joint custody so I can see my dad whenever the hell I want), I should be gay. Either I'm the exception or this guy's statements don't hold water. Quite frankly, I'm leaning toward the second one.

 

[Febel]

It's a complicated issue.

It's clear that some in some people, homosexuality is "programed" in some, it's not.

I'd agree with this. In some cases being gay does seem to be "hardwired in" so to speak, and in others it's confusion or a choice or what have you.

I think the guy is considered an enemy of the gay community because they view it as fighting one's nature regardless of whether or not a person wants to be gay.

 

[Giest4life]

I think the gay community, or those sympathetic to the cause hate him for the implications of his therapy: homosexuality is curable. Also, I have heard of tons of "straight trainers" and "gay counseling"; there are numerous organizations (mostly religious) that offer camps and rehabilitation center for those stricken with the gay.

That being said, I see homosexuality as a personal thing. What they do in their personal lives doesn't concern me and i don't think they should be condemned for it just like I shouldn't be condemned for my belief in God.

I don't agree with people when they say that they shouldn't be condemned for their belief in god, at it is just that, their belief. I think that belief in god designates lower intelligence. Because a belief in god predicates everything on that entity; yes, laws of physics can still co-exist with god as it supposedly created them or whatever. But belief in god shows a level of certainty--audacity--that I'm just not willing to forgive. So, yeah, while I won't condemn you for your belief in god, I will, no matter what you do, hold you with some degree with contempt. Not that you should care, though.

Is your absolute belief that God doesn't exist much more different than mine in the affirmative? The implications are the same- it doesn't make you smarter or dumber, it makes you, you. Which is the same argument that gays use to justify their lifestyle to those who condemn them.

No, sir, I am not an atheist. I'm a firm believer of the Church of I-Don't-Know: Knowing is Impossible. It's a post-modernist thing.

Then is your firm belief in whatever you believe, no knowing things evidently, any different than mine?

For someone like me, "because god said so" is not enough. Science exists for us to better ourselves with- in essence to understand the mind of God.

Yes, it is. But for different reasons than you think.

Anything that I think is inherently superior to what you think. Why? Because of virtus dormitiva (the dormitive principle). The very fact that I'm thinking one thing and not the other makes what I think/thinking superior to the other. Subjectivity, that is the key to the entire thing.