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Gay Conversion Therapy Documentary

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TheDemSocialist

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Conversion therapy is the practice of "curing" gay people by trying to turn them straight through counseling and lifestyle restrictions. The practice dates back to the early Freudian period, when homosexuality was considered pathological and attempts to treat it were deemed appropriate. Today, however, homosexuality has been removed from the American Psychiatric Association's list of mental disorders, and conversion therapy is considered ineffective, harmful, and potentially deadly.

Regardless of a nationwide battle toward the acceptance of same*-sex marriage and equal rights for gay people, conversion therapy is still a problem, and it's being practiced every single day in the United States and throughout the world.

In this special report, VICE gets exclusive access to one of the hundreds of gay-conversion-therapy organizations, groups, and sessions in the United States. At the Journey into Manhood program, men pay more than $600 to attend a weekend retreat where they participate in exercises and activities the staff members claim will help them battle their same-sex *orientation. The only qualification to become a staff member is to have successfully completed the program.

The report meets with the founder of reparative therapy, Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, who is illegally practicing on minors in the State of California, and investigates the controversial legal battle to fight conversion therapy for individuals under 18 years of age. We also travel to the annual Gay Christian Network Conference, speak with former "ex-gay" leaders including John Smid of Love in Action, who is now married to his gay partner, and hear the grueling stories of the individuals who have survived this brutal practice.
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Gay Conversion Therapy Documentary

The continuation of a "therapy" which is harmful, ineffective, and potentially deadly needs to end. These practices are disturbing, and have been shown to be ineffective, and mentally harmful to the individuals who partake in this "therapy". What we need is love, and not to treat this as some sort of "mental illness", or that "something is wrong with you". Acceptance, that is what we need.
 
Gay conversion therapy is sick, it is twisted, and it is wrong. Any parent that considers it for their child ought to ashamed of themselves. Really.
 
:roll: If you think that your desires are wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying to get help to fight it.
 
cpwill said:
:roll: If you think that your desires are wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying to get help to fight it.
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I think adults should be able to get whatever stupid ridiculous treatment they want. Hell, they can treat their cancer with agave juice for all I care.

When you start inflicting that harmful crap on minors is when we should step in.
 
cpwill said:
:roll: If you think that your desires are wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying to get help to fight it.
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You are correct for adults,. For minors we get into a stickier area, though I do think it should not be the governments role to tell parents what "treatments" they can give their kids. However, educating people to the potential dangers and unlikelihood of conversion is a good thing as well. Conversion therapy is unlikely to change orientation, but much more likely to cause lasting harm to the persons mental health.
 
cpwill said:
:roll: If you think that your desires are wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying to get help to fight it.
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You clearly didn't even watch the video, since in the first 2 mins she's describing how kids under 18 are most often the ones targeted. You know why that is? Because minors are vulnerable and easily coerced. But i'm sure you have no problem with a gay kid being tortured

Only when religion butts its ugly head in do we allow such hideous child abuse and methods that have no proven efficacy whatsoever.
 
cpwill said:
:roll: If you think that your desires are wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying to get help to fight it.
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That is a completely different matter.
 
Redress said:
You are correct for adults,. For minors we get into a stickier area, though I do think it should not be the governments role to tell parents what "treatments" they can give their kids. However, educating people to the potential dangers and unlikelihood of conversion is a good thing as well. Conversion therapy is unlikely to change orientation, but much more likely to cause lasting harm to the persons mental health.
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In bold. I completely disagree. In the case of minors, in this particular situation, it is the government's role to prevent parents from authorizing harmful and unethical treatment on a minor when that minor does not want the "treatment". I am happy to say that in my state, parents are prohibited by law from doing this.
 
I like how the guy at like 9 mins in is all "i was never what you our society calls gay" with a full blown lisp. Is he just that in denial or desperately looking for a paycheck i wonder

These scams got badly exposed when exodus shutdown and issued its mea culpa

That speech by the guy who was tortured as a kid was very disturbing...
 
If it is by choice, have fun with that. Kids? Torn between parental rights and kids not being endangered by quackjobs.
 
Redress said:
You are correct for adults,. For minors we get into a stickier area, though I do think it should not be the governments role to tell parents what "treatments" they can give their kids. However, educating people to the potential dangers and unlikelihood of conversion is a good thing as well. Conversion therapy is unlikely to change orientation, but much more likely to cause lasting harm to the persons mental health.
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Watch the 2nd part about 6:30 in where he is talking about being tortured with ice water and electric shock as a kid. That doesn't sound like a grey area to me, but deserving of prosecution. Kids have rights too
 
CaptainCourtesy said:
In bold. I completely disagree. In the case of minors, in this particular situation, it is the government's role to prevent parents from authorizing harmful and unethical treatment on a minor when that minor does not want the "treatment". I am happy to say that in my state, parents are prohibited by law from doing this.
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Yeah, I know. Even I do not like my position, but I can't get past the thought that the government should not make healthcare decisions for parents. Lots of bad things can happen because of my stance, but I still think it is the right stance.
 
Redress said:
Yeah, I know. Even I do not like my position, but I can't get past the thought that the government should not make healthcare decisions for parents. Lots of bad things can happen because of my stance, but I still think it is the right stance.
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You're stance only logically follows if being gay is a medical condition with recognized treatment.
 
EMNofSeattle said:
You're stance only logically follows if being gay is a medical condition with recognized treatment.
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No it doesn't. My stance follows if the parents believe it is a health issue. Government should not make health choices for people, period. Even when I do not like the choices that will be made, and this is a good case of that. I think conversion "therapy" is both ineffective and downright barbaric at times.
 
Gay conversion therapy rests on the idea that gay is a choice, which I don't believe it is.

My brother was gay, he was born gay. It happens. People are born different all the time. I don't see how having a brain chemistry that is different from what is deemed "normal" is so out the realm of possibility to some people. Gay conversion therapy just hurts kids.
 
Redress said:
No it doesn't. My stance follows if the parents believe it is a health issue. Government should not make health choices for people, period. Even when I do not like the choices that will be made, and this is a good case of that. I think conversion "therapy" is both ineffective and downright barbaric at times.
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What if your healthcare choices raise the cost of healthcare for society overall? Why do I have to spend more on health insurance because millions of fat Americans can't exercise self control at the drive-thru window?
 
Redress said:
No it doesn't. My stance follows if the parents believe it is a health issue. Government should not make health choices for people, period. Even when I do not like the choices that will be made, and this is a good case of that. I think conversion "therapy" is both ineffective and downright barbaric at times.
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What if the parents believe that being gay is the result of satan and they want to release satan from juniors head via trepanning?
 
EMNofSeattle said:
What if the parents believe that being gay is the result of satan and they want to release satan from juniors head via trepanning?
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That's along the same line of parents who believe medicine is evil and refuse life saving cancer treatments for their kids. These parents usually face prosecution.
 
akrunner88 said:
That's along the same line of parents who believe medicine is evil and refuse life saving cancer treatments for their kids. These parents usually face prosecution.
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I think that gay conversion therapy is harmful just like that practice. I am generally in favor of parental rights, but there comes a time in which the state has to step in and say that you do not have a right to harm your child. Want to drag your kid to church? No problem, want to force him into a camp to treat a nonexistent problem? Problem
 
cpwill said:
:roll: If you think that your desires are wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying to get help to fight it.
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Then one clearly needs to seek the help of a trained clinical practitioner to explore the "belief" of right or wrong...applied to a human condition.

Clearly amateurs trying to determine ...right or wrong for anyone other than their own actions is dangerous. In the same vain that we do not allow the untrained to perform surgery.
 
cpwill said:
:roll: If you think that your desires are wrong, there is nothing wrong with trying to get help to fight it.
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There's a difference in feeling something is inherently wrong with you and being pressured by society into thinking that there is something wrong with you.
 
I don't have a problem with a congregation wanting to pray the Gay out of a willing adult participant...but don't call it 'therapy'/.
 
Redress said:
You are correct for adults,. For minors we get into a stickier area, though I do think it should not be the governments role to tell parents what "treatments" they can give their kids. However, educating people to the potential dangers and unlikelihood of conversion is a good thing as well. Conversion therapy is unlikely to change orientation, but much more likely to cause lasting harm to the persons mental health.
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In a society that reinforces the opposite of the therapy, yeah, I can see a lot of failures occurring; but I think we are going to have very different definitions of "lasting harm".
 
Zinthaniel said:
There's a difference in feeling something is inherently wrong with you and being pressured by society into thinking that there is something wrong with you.
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True enough. People who feel the first are more likely (as I understand it) to see success in therapy.
 
Redress said:
Yeah, I know. Even I do not like my position, but I can't get past the thought that the government should not make healthcare decisions for parents. Lots of bad things can happen because of my stance, but I still think it is the right stance.
Click to expand...

With children who don't have those kinds of rights, I am perfectly fine with parental rights being over ruled when a treatment has been demonstrably proven to be harmful. I understand where you are coming from, and I would agree with you in general terms, but in this very narrow scenario, the health of the child, to me, is paramount.
 
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