I was doing a bit of research this morning and I stumbled upon a “Quack Classic” by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, co-founder of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). In a book he co-wrote with his wife Linda Nicolosi, “A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality,” he opines:

I have also seen this same intense fascination with neutered or genderless cartoon characters. One father told me that his son, who is now involved in homosexuality and is refusing to consider change, had a boyhood fascination with Bozo the clown. At the time his parents thought it was cute, even if a little strange. But he held onto the obsession until the age of twelve. The truth is, these obsessive interests are boys’ attempts to lose themselves in a fantasy world where they can imagine themselves as something other than male and where the challenges of gender do not exist. (P. 67)

How does Dr. Nicolosi know that this is “the truth” and not some surreal theory he pulled out of his posterior? And aren’t most forms of entertainment attempts to lose oneself in a fantasy world — such as watching sports, going to the movies, drinking beer, watching television, or playing video games?

Nicolosi book Clownish Ex Gay Therapist Says Bozo Can Make You GayHere is the truth: When one reads such idiotic notions it is a reminder of why the entire field of “ex-gay” therapy should be easily dismissed and not taken seriously. Such therapy exists, not as science, but as a cynical public relations stunt designed to trick people into thinking the medical field echos the opinions of fundamentalist Christians on homosexuality.

However, the more one reads about the techniques and ideas espoused by “doctors” like Nicolosi, the easier it is to see through the nonsense. So-called Reparative Therapy is a joke perpetuated by religious individuals playing doctor who obviously have psychological disturbances and severe sexual hangups. The bizarre ideas they come up with prove that they are on the wrong side of the couch and are in serious need of professional help.

This is the same buffoonish book where Nicolosi tells fathers that “The experience of taking showers together has the potential to strengthen a boy’s identification with his father and his father’s masculinity, as well as with his own male anatomy.”

To bolster his position, Nicolosi quotes Dr. George Rekers, the infamous quack who got caught taking a young male escort to Europe that he met on Rentboy.com:

If the son repeatedly touches his father’s privates every time they take a shower together, Dr. Rekers advises the father to say, “I don’t mind if you look at my penis, because I’m your dad and seeing what my grownup penis looks like helps you learn how your body will grow up to be like mine. But now that you’ve already touched it to see what it’s like, I need to teach you that we guys don’t touch each other’s penises — unless we’re a doctor examining a patient or a parent giving a little boy his bath or checking if a boy needs medicine if he complains his private parts hurt or itch. Furthermore, the father should explain that when a boy touches his own penis, he should do so in private.” (P. 187)

This creepy claptrap is what “reparative therapy” is all about. These are the pathetic products and wacky ideas that PFOX, JONAH, and Exodus International have been peddling to clients for years.

And they wonder why they are laughed at and mocked by thinking society. But such tomfoolery masquerading as science is fully deserving of scorn and belly laughs. Clearly, “ex-gay” activists are not serious people and they promote almost child-like, superstitious notions  on human sexuality that must be confronted and dismissed by the modern world.

Here is Nicolosi spewing more unscientific trash, such as a trauma, sexual abuse, or a distant father can turn boys gay. Or maybe it is an older brother good at sports that  makes the timid younger brother gay.  It is important that people realize that no mainstream, credible scientific organization in the world supports Nicolosi’s carackpot ideas.

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