So I was pondering doing a post on the etiology of sexual orientation (as a lead-in to how political/moral beliefs lead to factual ones, not vice versa).
I came across this article, which I found myself nodding along with, until I noticed the source...
Oops! Although they stress the voluntary nature of their interventions, NARTH is an organization devoted to zapping the fabulous out of gay people, using such brilliant methodology as slapping a rubber band against one’s wrist every time one sees an attractive person with the wrong set of chromosomes. From the creators of the rhythm method.
Look at that article, though. And look at the site’s mission statement, etc. while you’re at it. The reason I posted this is because I was disturbed by how well the dark side has done here, rhetorically. And also by how they have used true facts (homosexuality is definitely not even close to 100% innate) to argue for something which is (1) morally questionable at best, given the possibility of coercion and the fact that you’re fixing something that’s not broken, (2) not even efficacious (no, I am not thrilled with that source).
For what it’s worth, rubber band snapping is a pretty popular thought-stopping technique in CBT for dealing with obsessive-type behaviors, though I believe there’s some debate over how effective it is. I know it’s been used to address morbid jealousy, though I don’t know to what extent or if more scientific studies have been conducted.
So I was pondering doing a post on the etiology of sexual orientation (as a lead-in to how political/moral beliefs lead to factual ones, not vice versa).
I came across this article, which I found myself nodding along with, until I noticed the source...
Oops! Although they stress the voluntary nature of their interventions, NARTH is an organization devoted to zapping the fabulous out of gay people, using such brilliant methodology as slapping a rubber band against one’s wrist every time one sees an attractive person with the wrong set of chromosomes. From the creators of the rhythm method.
Look at that article, though. And look at the site’s mission statement, etc. while you’re at it. The reason I posted this is because I was disturbed by how well the dark side has done here, rhetorically. And also by how they have used true facts (homosexuality is definitely not even close to 100% innate) to argue for something which is (1) morally questionable at best, given the possibility of coercion and the fact that you’re fixing something that’s not broken, (2) not even efficacious (no, I am not thrilled with that source).
For what it’s worth, rubber band snapping is a pretty popular thought-stopping technique in CBT for dealing with obsessive-type behaviors, though I believe there’s some debate over how effective it is. I know it’s been used to address morbid jealousy, though I don’t know to what extent or if more scientific studies have been conducted.