For gays who no longer want to be gay, conversion therapy can be the answer to getting rid of gayness once and for all – this, according to a report by NPR. In its findings, the news source reported that “conversion therapy” could actually be effective at re-orienting one’s sexual preferences.
GLAAD is calling out NPR’s anti-gay message with a plead to correct the findings, since “all the major psychological and medical associations in the United States have stated that such treatment is ineffective and harmful.”
The story by NPR highlighted two individuals, Rich Wyler and Peterson Toscano, who both underwent ex-gay therapy. Wyler reportedly turned straight after conversion therapy, while Toscano condemned the program calling it ineffective and traumatizing. But in its reports, NPR gave readers a false impression that conversion therapy could actually work to make one straight, despite thousands of medical reports and psychological experts that say conversion therapy is simply not an effective therapy practice.
NPR reportedly ran the story after news that Marcus Bachmann, husband to presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, runs a counseling clinic reportedly offering “ex-gay” therapy.
Prior to NPR’s report, the American Psychological Association published an official position on conversion therapy, noting it was a bad idea altogether, and that there was no evidence whatsoever that suggested any kind of therapy could eliminate homosexual tendencies.
But despite the APA’s findings, Rich Wyler, a participant of an ex-gay program, says it worked for him. “The actual dynamic between me and the male world shifted,” he said. Wyler says he is now straight.
On the other hand, the report also discussed Peterson Toscano, a man who underwent harmful conversion therapy only to emerge not only gay, but also traumatized.
“The vast majority of people who try to change cannot, and the distress that’s caused is real,” says Toscano. “It’s not just that this doesn’t work. It’s destructive.”
Now, GLAAD has taken a position to the reports, asking NPR to correct its misleading statements that conversion therapy may indeed work on its patients. NPR’s ombudsman issued a statement shortly after GLAAD called out the report, noting the news source “believed that our listeners are well informed about (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues.”
Similarly, Margaret Low Smith, acting Senior Vice President of News at NPR, issued a statement noting, “We could have done a better job on this story. Though we stated at the end of the piece that conversion therapy harms gay people and people who find it beneficial are very rare, we should have addressed those questions earlier and in greater detail so that listeners could hear the stories of Rich Wyler and Peterson Toscano with that context in mind.”
But according to GLAAD, “both the ombudsman’s post and the statement from the Senior Vice President miss the underlying concerns with the story. There is no ‘balance’ and no ‘debate’” – conversion therapy is proven to be ineffective and harmful by the nation’s most respected psychological associations.
NPR did not indicate if a follow-up article will be written or researched.
