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05/12/2006
The always ironclad nature of 'ex-gay' proof
Focus on the Family's resident "ex-gay" Melissa Fryrear (pic.) today says of changing one's sexuality:
"The truth is, thousands of men and women who were once gay-identified have changed their sexual orientation and now live fulfilled, heterosexual lives,"..."A few years ago a study was published by a prominent psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Spitzer, proving this."
Dr. Spitzer's own quotes on his questionable, at best, study (for which he's said to have struggled for a year and a half to find only 274 possible subjects):
"Our sample was self-selected from people who already claimed they had made some change. We don't know how common that kind of change is. . . . I'm not saying that this can be easily done, or that most homosexuals who want to change can make this kind of change. I suspect it's quite unusual." [CNN, May 9, 2001]
"I did not conclude that all gays should try to change, or even that they would be better off if they did. However, to my horror, some of the media reported the study as an attempt to show that homosexuality is a choice, and that substantial change is possible for any homosexual who decides to make the effort." [Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2001]
"...I suspect the vast majority of gay people would be unable to alter by much a firmly established homosexual orientation." [Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2001]
"...the kinds of changes my subjects reported are highly unlikely to be available to the vast majority [of gays and lesbians]... "[only] a small minority -- perhaps 3% -- might have a "malleable" sexual orientation." He expressed a concern that his study results were being "twisted by the Christian right." [Advocate, July 17, 2001]
Though we're sure you meant to include those clarifications, right Mel?
Research on the Gay Brain Reported Inaccurately [FOF CitizenLink]
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