BY ADAM GLEN – It’s time for anti-gay fun facts! Guess who supports the controversial 2001 study that lauded the effects of conversion therapy for homosexuals? Certainly not Dr Robert Spitzer, the man who conducted the study.
Dr Spitzer, pictured above, who campaigned in the 1970s to declassify homosexuality as a disorder, published the study in 2001. The study stated that 66 percent of men and 44 percent of women had achieved levels of “good heterosexual functioning” after seeking therapy. The American Psychological Association distanced itself from the study, criticizing that the study failed to look at aspects such as self-deception and that it lacked a control group (a group that received no treatment as a form of comparison).
The American Prospect published an article written by Gabriel Arana, who attended “gay cure” therapy, in which he interviewed Spitzer, now 80. When asked about the criticism, Spitzer stated, “In retrospect, I have to admit I think the critiques are largely correct. The findings can be considered evidence for what those who have undergone ex-gay therapy say about it, but nothing more.”
With the retraction of the study, organizations that push the “gay cure,” such as Exodus International, a nondenominational Christian group, and the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), have lost their primary scientific proof that the therapy is effective for all gay people. Exodus, NARTH and other organizations still continue their campaign, despite controversy.
Josh Hutcherson, 2012 GLAAD Vangaurd award recipient
On a lighter note, Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson will receive the GLAAD Vanguard Award at the GLAAD media awards in Los Angeles. The actor, whose profile has been rising this past year thanks to the success of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, the academy award-nominated The Kids Are All Right and his role as Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games, admitted in a recent interview that he lost two uncles to AIDS, which got him active in the campaign for equality.
Last year Hutcherson contributed a video to the Straight But Not Narrow campaign, which aims to change the way straight teens treat their queer peers. You can watch it below:
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