Behavioral Reinforcement
Akin in some ways to social constructionist theory, behavioral psychology maintains that we learn about sexuality (and everything else) by reinforcement of experiences. [46] Unlike most psychoanalytic or developmental approaches, behaviorism assigns no values to environment or behavior. It simply observes that people seek to repeat pleasurable experiences and to avoid painful experiences. Whenever reinforcement is immediate, as it often is (either negatively or positively) in the case of sex, it is especially powerful in establishing future patterns of behavior.
Very basic erotic experiences with the same sex may begin in infancy if the child strongly associates the same-sex parent with stimulation of the genitals during bathing or diaper changing. Later, parents may discover a child "playing doctor" and react so harshly that the child associates the opposite sex with pain.
Many boys are seduced by men or engage in sex play with other boys and enjoy the experience; some make it the basis of sexual fantasy until they begin to define themselves as homosexual and turn to the behavior as adults. Others of both sexes have negative opposite-sex experiences and mm to members of their own sex for pleasure (this is more common and occurs later in life for women). Others simply lack access to members of the opposite sex.
After some pleasurable experiences with members of the same sex, negative reinforcement in the form of social stigma attached to homosexuality may turn some people back to heterosexuality, or at least to the compromise of bisexuality. But others manage to persist in homosexuality by surrounding themselves with the reinforcements of a long-term companion, a network of supportive friends and a positive self-image.
Behaviorist psychology is subject to the some of the same criticisms as social constructionist theory. More specifically, it fails to account fully for the reasons that one person might experiment in one direction, another in the opposite direction. In addition, it appears to discount will and reflection, reducing human activity to a series of reactions to external stimuli. Partly as a result, behaviorism has developed a notorious reputation, especially among homosexual activists, for its therapy techniques, especially those that accomplish aversion through physical punishment for homoerotic responses. [47]
Excursus: Can Homosexuals Be Recruited?
It is apparent from what we have seen thus far that the formation of a homosexual identity is too complex in most cases to result merely from seduction by a homosexual. Popular fears of recruitment by schoolteachers, for example, may be exaggerated. Still, there is some evidence for concern about recruitment in childhood and early adolescence, and this evidence may be consistent with several of the theories outlined above.
In chapter six I cited data showing that there is a disproportionate problem of sexual molestation of children among male homosexuals. Having been molested in itself does not necessarily have a direct correlation to the sexual identity of a boy. Nevertheless, it is disturbing to find that although under 4 percent of boys are molested by men, a recent major study found that the rate of childhood molestation by men among homosexual or bisexual men was nearly ten times that (35 percent). [48] It is also notable that 75 percent of homosexual men report their first homosexual experience prior to the age of sixteen, as compared to 22 percent of heterosexual men reporting their first heterosexual experienced. [49]
A variety of explanations might account for this. From a biologic or developmental perspective, one might argue that prehomosexual children are more likely to be targets for molestation. From a sociological or behaviorist perspective, one might argue that children who have such experiences are more likely to experience confusion over their sexual identity and later to define themselves as homosexuals. From the perspective of the moral environment, one might argue that a society with an increasingly value-neutral view of homosexual behavior will provide fewer and weaker checks on those who associate early homosexual experience with a homosexual identity.
On top of all this, the liberalization of attitudes toward pedophilia and increasing rates of molestation (approved or not) contribute to an ever-larger pool of children who are candidates for influence. Moreover, I have considered only the impact of sexual experience on the young. We must also consider the impact of increasingly widespread and intrusive value-neutral or prohomosexual education.
As the history and comparison of cultures shows, there is not a constant percentage of homosexual people simply waiting to be born into every society, unaffected by discouraging or encouraging factors. To the extent that childhood and adolescent homosexual experience and education contribute to the formation of a homosexual identity, we must take very seriously the influence of those who, in one way or another, recruit the young.
Individual Choice
Some who object to the deterministic extremes of some biological and sociological theorists take the opposite extreme, arguing that orientation is a self-justifying myth and that homosexuality is a choice, pure and simple. As I noted at the beginning of this chapter, there is in fact a moment when an individual must choose whether or not to have sex with another person. There are also conditions under which a person might engage in same-sex acts without being driven by a long-standing or deeply felt desire for such actions.
Prison inmates, for example, commonly engage in same-sex acts without considering themselves homosexuals and without continuing the activity after they leave prison and find opposite-sex partners. Adolescents and counterculture types may choose same-sex acts as a dramatic expression of independence, individuality or freedom from authority. Others may experiment out of curiosity or fascination with the forbidden. Some feminists find that the logical conclusion of their rejection of patriarchal culture is to seek fulfillment in all important areas of life, including the sexual, within the sisterhood.
These are some of the most common circumstances in which a person might choose homosexual activity, at least for a time, without having an inclination influenced by biology, socialization, environment or early reinforcement. The truth is that a person who elects to leave the paved road of heterosexual monogamy may find many paths that lead to sexual gratification. Still, I think that we must make a distinction between those who leave the road thinking to find something better out there and those for whom the road is a strange and objectionable place. That is, there appears to be sufficient evidence that some people do not desire physical intimacy with members of the opposite sex, and they do desire intimacy with members of their own sex. Furthermore, some people have known this desire for as long as they can remember.
I hesitate to call this an orientation -- a word I have for the most part avoided in this book -- because for many people the word has come to imply an inevitable, and therefore justified, behavior. In other words, many think that orientation indicates what a person is -- and of course, the argument goes, we must act according to who we are. Thus, in two easy steps, it becomes not only morally justifiable but almost morally obligatory for a person with a homosexual orientation to engage in homosexual activity.
The fallacy here lies in the equation of sexual orientation with being. Whatever Freud and Foucault and most advertisers may think, the desire for sex is neither central nor necessary to anyone's being. [50] It should not control the person. My truck has a four-wheel drive; however, I should not expect to avoid a citation by explaining to the highway patrol that my vehicle was exploring the freeway embankment because I was being driven by my drive! Similarly, when I use the term orientation I mean only what a person desires, not what a person has a right to do, much less what a person is compelled to do as an expression of his or her being.
A Multiple Variant Model
With tedious repetition, proponents of the various etiological theories call for further research to establish a clear link between the data and their theory. This approach may keep the grant money flowing, but it is highly unlikely that enough evidence will appear to establish any one theory at the expense of all others. To some extent each theory depends on unrecoverable information from the past or from the mysterious workings of the human mind. And to some extent each theory is an apple to the orange of another.
For example, does evidence that some people have a genetic disposition rule out the possibility that others may be socialized? Furthermore, if one study shows that fifty of one hundred subjects are genetically disposed and another shows that fifty of one hundred subjects are socialized, does that mean that the two theories account for all cases -- or do both theories explain the same fifty?
Perhaps it is inevitable that in reaction to so many unanswered or unanswerable questions, some scholars are turning to combined causation theories. [51] It seems to me that this is not merely a concession to confusion but a fair assessment of the complexity of causation. In other words, if it were possible to set aside the emotion and politics associated with various theories, we would probably find several influences at work in various strengths for any one individual.
So rather than to push one explanation or to rule out another, I will propose a model that treats them equally and sequentially. Such a model necessarily oversimplifies, since variables may vary in strength or direction for any one individual. My purpose is simply to show one way in which different theories might work together. In figure 1 [below], the underlined terms represent theories of influence or causation in the sequence described above. On either side of each theory are specific variables that allow for (right side) or impede (left side) movement to the next category of influence.
In a simple sequential view, each variable allows for movement to the next. Suppose, for the purpose of illustration, that a boy with a biological disposition to gender nonconforming behavior is born in a confused culture that associates such behavior with homosexuality. The boy has a dysfunctional family in which the mother is overwhelming and the father is ineffectual. The boy grows up with no more moral training than is necessary to keep him out of trouble at home or in school. He experiments with same-sex relations as an adolescent and finds pleasure and companionship. As he enters adulthood, he chooses to move to a large city where he can build a life within the homosexual\ subculture.
At any point the introduction of a strong contrary variable might stop the succession. If, for example, the boy was born into a traditional culture, or if his dysfunctional family was exchanged for a functional one, or if he experienced a powerful conversion into a mature Christian community as an early adolescent his adult sexual identity might be heterosexual.
I repeat, however, that the model I outline is too simple to account for every case. Levels might be skipped, or one variable might be present in sufficient strength to overcome the absence of others. Another boy, for example, might have no disposition prior to an adolescent sexual experience that convinces him that he is a homosexual. Another might exhibit such a high level of effeminacy from early childhood that all the input of a functional family and a supportive moral environment fail to protect him from the societal assumption (and eventual self-perception) that he is a sissy and therefore a homosexual. Yet another might experience every influence in the direction of homosexuality but finally, at the level of volition, might say to himself, "No, this is simply too dangerous," and choose against it. [52]
The combinations and relative strengths of the variables make for an almost infinite variety of explanations. To apply any one theory to any one individual, therefore, is almost certainly simplistic. The multiple-variant model itself is intended to aid conceptualization, not to explain particular cases, because faulty memory and guesswork about variable strengths will always cloud the picture. Nevertheless, even an admittedly cloudy picture is better than no picture when we consider the powerful drive to understand and accept one's sexual identity -- or to change it.
Therapy and Healing Programs: Trick or Treatment?
Strategies for helping individuals to alter homosexual behavior or orientation differ according to the opinion of the counselor about whether homosexuality is in itself a disorder and, if so, what theory of causation applies. In the past twenty years the official stance of the American Psychiatric Association has changed from the position that homosexuality is a mental disorder, to the position that it is only a disorder when the subject does not want it, to the position that it is never a disorder. [53] Most of the current literature and education focuses on the need to help homosexuals embrace their sexuality and cope with homophobia. [54]
Counselors now cooperate with schools and businesses to provide (often compulsory) sensitivity training against heterosexism. Increasing numbers of therapists join homosexual activists to proclaim that homosexuality is immutable, that so-called change is a myth or a temporary and cruel imposition on the lives of a few vulnerable individuals. [55] Some within the American Psychiatric Association are now calling for an official ban on reparative therapy. [56] Against this pressure, many secular therapists persist in offering help to clients who wish to change. Leadership in this endeavor is supplied by the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), founded in 1991 by prominent psychiatrists C. W. Socarides and B. Kaufmann. Researchers who have conducted follow-up studies report success rates of 30-50 percent for long-term significant change in behavior or orientation. [57]
For example, W. Masters and V. Johnson conducted a study of fifty-four men and thirteen women who expressed a desire to convert or revert to a heterosexual orientation. [58] Therapists chose candidates for their apparently high degree of motivation and for their accompaniment by an understanding opposite-sex partner who could serve as a support during the transition period. The treatment format consisted of an intensive two-week program followed by periodic follow-up over a five-year period. The client couple worked with a man-woman therapy team who focused on nonjudgmental identification and explanation of the influences that had led to the client's homosexual behavior.
The therapists then worked to reduce these influences within the context of the clients' value system and to encourage heterosexual function on the part of the client couple. About 20 percent failed during the initial treatment period, but the five-year follow-up revealed no more than a 30-45 percent total failure rate, much lower than even Masters and Johnson had expected. [59]
Behavioral therapy, consistent with the behaviorist theory of causation, involves immediate negative reinforcement of homosexual responses in the client and positive reinforcement of heterosexual responses. In the early days of behavioral therapy, the former technique, also known as aversion therapy, sometimes involved physical punishment These methods proved ineffective and were abandoned, although they live on in the graphic accusations of revisionists that compare therapy to Auschwitz. [60] Modem behaviorist techniques involve trained accomplices, visual stimuli, role-playing, assertiveness training and a variety of verbal and nonverbal reinforcement techniques on the part of the therapists themselves. [61]
Another strategy for therapy finds such efforts to replace same-sex function with opposite-sex function misplaced and actually counterproductive, since the essential problem is an arrested development that renders the client unable to relate to the same sex in appropriate ways. [62] In this strategy the client must work on identity formation with a same-sex therapist to reestablish the long-detached identification with the same-sex parent and to develop appropriate, nonsexual same-sex friendships.
Client motivation is of course a major factor in all success reports. Other positive variables include youth (under thirty), anxiety over the homosexual condition, recent onset of homosexual activity, some heterosexual experience, lower level of effeminacy in men or masculinity in women, higher education level, loneliness and desire for marriage and children. [63]
Christian therapy programs borrow much from secular therapy techniques (especially psychotherapy) and from recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous. An example of this multifaceted approach is the Spring Forth Ministry [64] in Cincinnati, which involves a six-month to two-and-a-half-year program of small group (no one-on-one) counseling, personal history disclosure, personality inventory, twelve-step support groups, and repeatable courses on family systems and Christian thought.
After hearing director Hal Schell's moving story and description of his program at a recent conference, I was quick to ask the obvious question about success rates. He responded candidly that the dropout rate is high. In fifteen years, about twelve hundred have persevered through the program; but for every one who stays for the duration, twenty drift in and out. On the other hand, he noted that the success rates are similar to those for chemical dependency programs.
During the ensuing discussion among conferees, a profound statement on the subject of success rates was made by one conferee, a former homosexual now ten years out of the lifestyle. He explained that "homosexual activists want to convince not only the public but themselves that change never occurs, because if I exist, each of them must be haunted by the possibility that they, too, might find the power to change."
Despite the accusations of critics that Christian ministries to homosexuals are led by unprofessional manipulators who make grandiose false claims for the success of their methods, I think the fair-minded observer will conclude otherwise. As numerous books by ministry leaders show, their focus is on changed behavior, they are honest about the probability of ongoing temptations, and they recognize that growth is a lifelong process, not a quick fix.
Of course they accentuate the positive and give examples of success (including themselves), because they are trying to offer encouragement to struggling people. They do not provide "scientific" statistics on success rates, but I am not sure that it would mean much if they did. Skeptics might counter any attempt to provide numbers of people who change their behavior with the accusation that such people are lying or that they are damaging themselves by repressing their orientation. Similarly, skeptics might counter any attempt to provide numbers of people who change their orientation with the accusation that the change is not permanent, not complete or not verifiable by client self-reporting (which is the result of brainwashing) or counselor impression (which is the result of wishful thinking).
These kinds of accusations are also leveled against respected secular therapists, and the accusations allow revisionists to propagate the non sequitur that since reparation has not been empirically verified (according to their impossible standards), reparation is a myth. [65] It is an easy step from that point to call for the marginalization or criminalization of anyone who attempts to perpetuate the myth by effecting change -- especially if they do so in an "unprofessional" manner.
It would be interesting to apply the same logic to Alcoholics Anonymous (which, incidentally, refuses to keep statistics). Statistics may be useful to measure observable events, but they are notoriously imprecise in measuring human wills, thoughts and desires. However frustrating this may be, especially to some social scientists, it is not legitimate to conclude from our inability to prove one thing (complete change from homosexual to heterosexual orientation) that we have proved something else (the impossibility of at least substantial change).
The testimonies of real people whose lives have changed suggest that the distinctive of the Christian counseling approach is power and the Person through whom it is offered. There is a crucial point in therapy where a counselor must attempt to instill strength in the client to take the insights gained in therapy out into the real world. Support groups often help, but there are moments when every person must face temptation and opportunity without other people around to lean on. In the Christian perspective, the ultimate Counselor is always present with the offer of power, forgiveness, hope -- and even a healthy model of fatherhood.
I have been greatly impressed by the counseling insights of several Christian writers and the loving spirit in which they communicate their wisdom. They write with the authority of counseling experience -- in some cases personal homosexual experience -- and as a result their words are alive with hope. The primary purpose of my book is to treat the moral question, and I would do injustice to these other writers by repeating in brief what they communicate more powerfully in detail, especially through real-life stories. I will simply draw attention to the distinctive features of the books I consider the best, with the hope that my brief comments will aid the reader in choosing a more specific direction for further reading.
Leanne Payne's The Broken Image [66] stresses the role of specific kinds of prayer to produce forgiveness and relational hearing. The book emanates a true healer's loving insight and substantial experience. I had the unforgettable experience of meeting Payne on a park bench in Oxford, England, before I knew the significance of her work. Within minutes I was aware that I was in the presence of an extraordinarily deep channel of God's love. I was prepared by that two-hour conversation to be impressed by her book, and I was not disappointed.
Andrew Comiskey, who acknowledges Payne as a primary influence, wrote one of the most popular books on homosexual healing, Pursuing Sexual Wholeness [67] Comiskey, himself a former homosexual and now a married father of four children, heads the Los Angeles-area Desert Stream Ministry. He offers a refreshingly honest account of his own journey, and he focuses on support and accountability within the Christian community for the person who is making a transition from homosexuality.
Coming Out of Homosexuality, [68] by Bob Davies and Lori Rentzel, is notable not so much for insights beyond those of Payne and Comiskey as for its thoroughness and readability. Davies found help for his struggle with homosexual desires through the San Francisco Love in Action ministry fifteen years ago and is now executive director of Exodus International; Rentzel has worked with Love in Action since 1977. Their book contains a wealth of practical details on coping with temptation, dealing with the past, forming healthy friendships and considering marriage.
I will make brief reference to a few more helpful books. Michael Saia's Counseling the Homosexual [69] offers many of the insights of the books described above, with a somewhat more theological flavor. J. R. Cavanaugh's Counseling the Homosexual [70] gives a Roman Catholic perspective and stresses the importance of therapy to reduce guilt and to encourage heterosexuality. G. J. M. van den Aardweg's Homosexuality and Hope [71] stresses the roles of hope and faith for the person in transition. Finally, I recommend How Do I Tell My Mother?, [72] the moving autobiography of Jerry Arterburn, written while he was dying of AIDS and supplemented by his brother Steve, who runs the New Life Treatment Center in Laguna Beach, California.
Conclusion
So I end the research portion of this book as I began it, with a survey of recent literature. The contrast between the books just mentioned and the revisionist literature summarized in chapter two is significant and it leads to a recommendation. Revisionists repeatedly stress the importance of personal stories over abstract theories. Although I maintained earlier, and I repeat here, that we should not separate story and theory, I will grant the separation for the moment. Compare stories. Consider the most articulate accounts of experience on each side of the moral debate. On one side, read the story of Mel White or Gary Comstock or Robert Williams, along with the prohomosexuality argument of experienced pastor/psychiatrist John McNeill. [73]
On the other side, read the story of Andrew Comiskey or Bob Davies or Jerry Arterburn, along with the argument for homosexual healing of experienced pastor/counselor Leanne Payne. At the very least, linger in a bookstore long enough to read the last two pages of each book.
Here you will have an "apples and apples" comparison -- people long out of the closet alongside people long out of the lifestyle. No theorists like me writing from up in the ivory tower, but people who have spent considerable time down in their self-described dungeons, either of homophobia or of homosexuality. I submit that any sensitive reader, regardless of his or her position on the moral issue, will discover by reading these books in close sequence a marked difference not so much in the quality of the arguments -- leave those to the ivory tower types for the moment -- but in the qualities of the writers.
I will be more specific. In the first group of writers there is an unmistakable whine of victimization running through the narrative; in the second group there is an equally unmistakable psalm of release. The first group burns with rage; the second group glows with peace. In the first group the writer is invariably the hero; in the second group Jesus is invariably the hero. The first group openly proclaims the will to power, the spirit of self-actualization, the god of this age; the second group openly proclaims the will to serve, the Spirit of Jesus, the God of the age to come.
Can the pain of the writers justify the first set of qualities? To some extent, perhaps. Can deceivers or the self-deceived fake the second set of qualities? To some extent, perhaps. Are there other books out there yet to be written by irenic, humble homosexuals? I expect so: the movement is young. Are there other books out there written by homophobic conservatives with lousy attitudes? I am afraid so: the movement is old.
Finally, is it really an "apples and apples" comparison to set the experience of resistance to cultural norms over against the experience of accession to cultural norms? Perhaps not: perhaps these different kinds of experience force us back to abstract and complex questions concerning the relative importance for Christians of the acquisition of Justice and the renunciation of power.
And so the words of experience, like the theories of causation, leave us with difficult and perhaps unanswerable questions. In the meantime we are left to consider the best words we can find on both sides of the issue and to discern, with Gods help, the spirit within them.
Having reached my own conclusions about the available words on the subject of healing, I end this chapter with what I consider some of the best words, from among the last published words of Jerry Arterburn. These words mark the final transition for one man, but they may apply prophetically to all who facilitate healing among homosexuals:
Only God knows my future here on earth. I do not concern myself with how many days or months or years are in His plan. I only know I would rather live one day as I am today than for eternity the way I was....
For me, during these difficult times of struggle, as each day grows darker, a new dawn draws closer. That closeness to the God I love gives me a superhuman peace and sensitivity that keeps me filled with hope for a new and better day. [74]
____________________
ENDNOTES
1 R. H. Denniston, "Homosexuality in Animals," in Homosexual Behavior: A Modern Reappraisal, ed. J. Marmor (New York: Basic Books, 1980), pp. 25-40. There may be some examples of same-sex pairing among birds, but some "promiscuity" is required for eggs: J. D. Weinrich, "The Kinsey Scale in Biology," in Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation, ed. D. P. McWhirter, S. A. Sanders and J. M. Reinisch, Kinsey Institute Series 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 133-34.
2 R. D. Nadler, "Homosexual Behavior in Nonhuman Primates," in Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation, ed D. P. McWhirter, S. A. Sanders and J. M. Reinisch, Kinsey Institute Series 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 138-70.
3 L. A. Rosenblum, "Primates, Homo sapiens and Homosexuality," in Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation ed. D. P. McWhiiter, S. A. Sanders and J. M. Reinisch, Kinsey Institute Series 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 172-73.
4 A. Karlen, "Homosexuality in History," in Homosexual Behavior: A Modern Reappraisal ed. J. Marmor (New York: Basic Books, 1980), pp. 75-90; and D. Greenberg, The Construction of Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988), pp. 89-396.
5 John Boswell, Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe (New York: Villard Books, 1994). For an excellent, detailed review, see B. D. Shaw, "A Groom of One's Own?" The New Republic, July 18-25, 1994, pp. 33-41.
6 See J. M. Canier, "Homosexual Behavior in Cross-Cultural Perspective," in Homosexual Behavior: A Modem Reappraisal, ed. J. Marmor (New York: Basic Books, 1980), pp. 100-22; Homosexuality and the World Religions, ed. A. Swidler (Valley Forge, Penn.: Trinity Press International, 1993); and Greenberg, Construction of Homosexuality, pp. 25-88.
7 See relevant articles and bibliography on each religious tradition in Swidler, Homosexuality and the World Religions.
8 S. LeVay, "A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure Between Heterosexual and Homosexual Men," Science 258 (August 30, 1991): 1034-37.
9 For the criticisms advanced here, see especially W. Byne and B. Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation: The Biologic Theories Reappraised," Archives of General Psychiatry 50 (March 1993): 228-29, 234-35; R. C. Friedman and J. Downey, "Neurobiology and Sexual Orientation: Current Relationships," Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 5 (Spring 1993): 148; and M. Barinaga, "Is Homosexuality Biological?" Science 253 (August 30, 1991): 956-57.
10 See D. F. Swaab, L. J. G. Gooren and M. A. Hofman, "Gender and Sexual Orientation in Relation to Hypothalamic Structures," Hormone Research 38, supp. 2 (1992): 51-61; Byne and Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation," pp. 229, 236; A. Gibbons, "The Brain as 'Sexual Organ,'" Science 253 (August 30, 1991): 957-59. Swaab, Gooren and Hofman did not attempt to replicate LeVay's finding, but they found that another region of the hypothalamus, the sexually dimorphic nucleus, was identical in homosexual and heterosexual men, while the suprachiasmatic nucleus (function unknown) was larger in homosexual men.
11 L. S. Allen and R. A. Gorski, "Sexual Orientation and the Size of the Anterior Commissure in the Human Brain," Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America 89 (August 1, 1992): 7199-202.
12 K. Ö. Götestam, T. J. Coates and M. Ekstrand, "Handedness, Dyslexia and Twinning in Homosexual Men," International Journal of Neuroscience 63 (1992):179-86.
13 S. Demeter, J. L. Ringo and R. W. Doty, "Morphometric Analysis of the Human Corpus Callosum and Anterior Commissure," Human Neurobiology 6 (1988): 219-26.
14 Byne and Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation," p. 235.
15 B. A. Gladue, "Psychobiological Contributions," in Male and Female Homosexuality: Psychological Approaches, ed. L. Diamant, Series in Clinical and Community Psychology (Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere, 1987), pp. 132-34; Byne and Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation," pp. 231-32.
16 See L. Gooren, "Biomedical Theories of Sexual Orientation: A Critical Examination," in Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation, ed. D. P. McWhirter, S. A. Sanders and J. M. Reinisch, Kinsey Institute Series 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 71-87; Byne and Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation," pp. 230-34; Friedman and Downey, "Neurobiology and Sexual Orientation:'pp. 134-36.
17 Gladue, "Psychobiological Contributions:' p. 143, compare pp. 134-43. See also J. Bancroft, "Commentary: Biological Contributions to Sexual Orientation," in Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation, ed. D. P. McWhirter, S. A. Sanders and J. M. Reinisch, Kinsey Institute Series 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 109; J. Money, "Sin, Sickness or Status? Homosexual Gender Identity and Psychoneuroendocrinology," in Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Male Experiences, ed. L. D. Garnets and D. C. Kimmel (New York. Columbia University Press, 1993), pp. 162-63.
18 "A Genetic Study of Male Sexual Orientation" Archives of General Psychiatry 48 (1991): 1089-96; J. M. Bailey et al., "Heritable Factors Influence Sexual Orientation in Women," Archives of General Psychiatry 50 (March 1993): 217-23.
19 In the female study there were also thirty-five adoptive sisters, two of whom (6 percent) were homosexual.
20 A 65 per-cent concordance rate for thirty-four monozygotic pairs and 30 percent concordance rate for twenty-three dizygotic pairs was reported by F. L. Whitam, M. Diamond and J. Martin, "Homosexual Orientation in Twins: A Report on Sixty-one Pairs and Three Triplet Sets," Archives of Sexual Behavior 22, no. 3 (1993): 187-206. Compare similar concordance figures for a smaller sample reported by N. Buhrich, J. M. Bailey and N. G. Martin, "Sexual Orientation, Sexual Identity and Sex-Dimorphic Behaviors in Male Twins," Behavior Genetics 21 (January 1991): 75-96.
21 M. King and E. McDonald, "Homosexuals Who Are Twins: A Study of Forty-six Probands," British Journal of Psychiatry 160 (1992): 407-9; see further bibliography in Byne and Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation," p. 229.
22 N. Risch, E. Squires-Wheeler and B. J. B. Keats, "Male Sexual Orientation and Genetic Evidence," Science 262 (December 24, 1993): 2063.
23 Some speculation in this direction which preserves biologic causation is provided by W. J. Turner, "Comments on Discordant Monozygotic Twinning in Homosexuality," Archives of Sexual Behavior 23 (February 1994): 115-19. Turner suggests the possibility of unequal blood supply in the womb and generic changes following separation of the twins within the womb.
24 D. Hamer et al., "A linkage Between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation," Science 261 (July 16, 1993): 321-27.
25 M. Baron, "Genetic Linkage and Male Homosexual Orientation: Reasons to Be Cautious," British Medical Journal 307 (August 7, 1993): 337; compare M. King, "Sexual Orientation and the X," Nature 364 (July 22, 1993): 288. King is in other respects favorable toward Hamer's research.
26 A. Fausto-Sterling and E. Balaban, "Genetics and Male Sexual Orientation," Science 261 (September 3, 1993): 1257.
27 J. Maddox, "Wilful Public Misunderstanding of Genetics," Nature 364 (July 22,1993): 281
28 Baron, "Genetic Linkage," p. 338; L. Pool, "Evidence for Homosexuality Gene," Science 261 (July 16,1993): 291-2.
29 Fausto-Sterling and Balaban, "Genetics and Male Sexual Orientation,, p. 1257.
3O Byne and Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation," pp. 236-37.
31 Maddox, "Wilful Public Misunderstanding," p. 281. Specialists will appreciate the exchange on several technical points of genetic research between N. Risch et al. and D. Hamer in Science 262 (December 24, 1993): 2063-65. I confess my incompetence to declare a winner in that debate.
32 Byne and Parsons, "Human Sexual Orientation," p. 228.
33 Lest there be any doubt that public opinion of morality is swayed by biologic causation studies, one study proved it with a group of students: J. Piskur and D. Degelman, "Effect of Reading a Summary of Research About Biological Bases of Homosexual Orientation on Attitudes Toward Homosexuality," Psychological Reports 71, no. 3, pt. 2 (December 1992):1219-25.
34 D. Y. Rist, "Are Homosexuals Born That Way?" The Nation, October 19, 1992, pp. 424-29.
35 The best explanations of social construction theory in relation to the individual are R. C. Troiden, "The Formation of Homosexual Identities," in Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Male Experiences, ed. L. D. Garnets and D. C. Kimmel (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), pp. 191-217, and V. C. Cass, "The Implications of Homosexual Identity Formation for the Kinsey Model and Scale of Sexual Preference," in Homosexuality / Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation, ed. D. P. McWhirter, S. A. Sanders and J. M. Reinisch, Kinsey Institute Series 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 239-66. For a direct comparison to biological theories see J. P. De Cecco and J. P. Elia, "A Critique and Synthesis of Biological Essentialism and Social Constructionist Views of Sexuality and Gender," Journal of Homosexuality 24, nos. 3/4 (1993): 1-26. On the historical dimension see D. F. Greenberg, The Construction of Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988), pp. 1-21,482-99, and M. Foucault,\ The History of Sexuality, vol. 1, An Introduction (New York: Vintage, 1980).
36 This is Foucault's position, and presumably that of G. D. Goss (see above, chapters two and three); for a critique by another constructionist, see Greenberg, Construction of Homosexuality, pp. 489-99.
37 The best of these, in my opinion, are Lawrence J. Hatterer, Changing Homosexuality in the Male. Treatment for Men Troubled by Homosexuality (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970), and E. Moberly, "Homosexuality: Restating the Conservative Case," Salmagundi 58/59 (Fall 1982/Winter 1983): 281-99. Other important works reflecting variety within the developmental perspective include R. T. Barnhouse, Homosexuality: A Symbolic Confusion (New York: Seabury Press, 1977); I. Bieber et al., Homosexuality. A Psychoanalytic Study (New York: Basic Books, 1962), pp. 44-117; B. Burch, "Heterosexuality, Bisexuality and Lesbianism: Rethinking Psychoanalytic Views of Women's Sexual Object Choice," Psychoanalytic Review 80 (Spring 1993): 83-89; R. Fine, "Psychoanalytic Theory," in Male and Female Homosexuality: Psychological Approaches, ed. L. Diamant, Series in Clinical and Community Psychology (Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere, 1987), pp. 81-95; R. C. Friedman, "Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Homosexuality," Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology 98, no. 2 (1991):155-60; E Moberly, Psychogenesis: The Early Development of Gender Identity (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983); F. Morgenthaler, Homosexuality, Heterosexuality, Perversion (Hillsdale, NJ.: Analytic, 1988); C. W. Socarides, "The Homosexualites: A Psychoanalytic Classification," in The Homosexualities: Reality, Fantasy and the Arts, ed. C. W. Socarides and V. D. Volkan (Madison, Conn.: International Universities Press, 1991), pp. 9-46 (see also Socarides's books in my general bibliography); and M. Stemlicht, "The Neo-Freudians," in Male and Female Homosexuality, Psychological Approaches, ed. L. Diamant, Series in Clinical and Community Psychology (Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere, 1987), pp. 97-107.
38 Twenty-three studies are cited by M. Siegelman, "Kinsey and Others: Empirical Input," in Male and Female Homosexuality: Psychological Approaches, ed. L. Diamant, Series in Clinical and Community Psychology (Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere, 1987), p. 51. See especially the large sample studies of M. T. Saghir and E. Robins, Male and Female Homosexuality: A Comprehensive Investigation (Baltimore: Williams Wilkins, 1973); Bieber et al., Homosexuality, pp. 79,114; and A. Bell, M. Weinberg and S. Hammersmith, Sexual Preference: Its Development in Men and Women (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981), pp. 41-62,117-34.
39 Saghir and Robins, Male and Female Homosexuality, pp. 139, 296-97, compared to 9 percent and 4 percent of heterosexual controls, respectively; compare D. L. Peters and P. J. Cantrell, "Factors Distinguishing Samples of Lesbian and Heterosexual Women," Journal of Homosexuality 21, no. 4 (1991): 10. Peters and Cantrell also found an unusual incidence of protracted absence during childhood on the part of fathers of homosexual women.
40 See, for example, Sagbir and Robins, Male and Female Homosexuality, pp. 17-31, 191-203; R. Green, The "Sissy Boy" Syndrome and the Development of Homosexuality (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1987); G. Phillips and R. Over, "Adult Sexual Orientation in Relation to Memories of Childhood Gender Conforming and Gender Nonconforming Behaviors," Archives of Sexual Behavior 21, no. 6 (1992): 543-58; and Bell, Weinberg and Hammersmith, Sexual Preference, pp. 74-81, 145-52. It should be noted that Bell et al. do not use this finding in support of classic psychoanalytic theory.
41 For further documentation on father relationships in relation to female homosexuals, see the summary of ten studies in G. J. M. van den Aardweg, On the Origins and Treatment of Homosexuality (New York. Praeger, 1986), pp. 183-84.
42 Peters and Cantrell ("Factors Distinguishing Samples," pp- 2-3) cite ten former studies that document high rates of incest, rape and molestation; but their survey did not confirm the pattern.
43 This argument of course cuts both ways: since developmental theory is now out of fashion, homosexuals are either not asked about or no longer "remember" early childhood problems. It is certainly suspicious that to my knowledge, not a single study of early childhood among homosexuals has been conducted since the early 1980s. Is no one interested, or is grant money for research tied to political concerns? For extended arguments that developmental theory is an expression of homophobia see K. Lewes, The Analytic Theory of Homosexuality (New York. Simon & Schuster, 1988), and the review by R. C. Friedman in Archives of Sexual Behavior 19 (June 1990): 293-301. In the same issue (pp. 303-7) Lewes reviews Friedman's published defense of developmental theory: Male Homosexuality: A Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspective (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988).
44 For example, Siegelman, "Kinsey and Others," pp. 53-54; Bell, Weinberg and Hammersmith, Sexual Preference p. 218.
45 Burch, "Heterosexuality, Bisexuality and Lesbianism," p. 97.
46 J. Greenspoon and P. A. Lamal, "A Behaviorist Approach," in Male and Female Homosexuality: Psychological Approaches, ed. L. Diamant, Series in Clinical and Community Psychology (Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere, 1987), pp. 109-28. See also M. Storms, "A Theory of Erotic Orientation Development," Psychological Review 88 (1981): 340-53.
47 See, for example, Goss, Jesus Acted Up, p. 44; J. J. McNeill, The Church and the Homosexual (Boston: Beacon, 1976; 4th ed. 1993), pp. 122-23.
48 L. S. Doll et al., "Self-Reported Childhood and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Among Adult Homosexual and Bisexual Men," Child Abuse and Neglect 16 (1992): 855-64. The study was conducted among one thousand adults in Chicago, Denver and San Francisco during 1989-1990.
49 D. P. McWhitter and A. M. Mattison, The Male Couple: How Relationships Develop (Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, 1984), p. 269, table 41 (312 subjects); p. 271 for heterosexuals. It should be noted that the experiences reported by this study most often involved intimacy with other boys rather than men, and we must acknowledge that heterosexual men may be less likely to report such experiences. Obviously any statistics based on reports of childhood memories must be used very cautiously.
50 Sexuality, as I noted in chapter three, is indeed central to a person's being, but sexuality is broader and deeper than sexual activity, and it does not have to be expressed by sexual activity.
51 Byne and Parsons ("Human Sexual Orientation " pp. 236-37) call this an "interactionist model"; De Cecco and Elia ("Critique and Synthesis," pp. 1-19) describe a "synthesis" of biological essentialism and social constructionism; and most developmental theorists acknowledge the possibility of an underlying biological factor.
52 This does happen: see K. Siegel and V. H. Raveis, "AIDS-Related Reasons for Gay Men's Adoption of Celibacy," AIDS Education and Prevention 5 (Fall 1993): 302-10.
53 See L. Diamant, introduction to Male and Female Homosexuality: Psychological Approaches ed. L. Diamant, Series in Clinical and Community Psychology (Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere, 1987), pp. 1-15.
54 See, for example, R. A. Isay, "Psychoanalytic Theory and the Therapy of Gay Men," in Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation, ed. D. P. McWhirter, S. A. Sanders and J. M. Reinisch, Kinsey Institute Series 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 283-303.
55 See, for example, D. C. Haldeman, "Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy for Gay Men and Lesbians: A Scientific Examination," in Homosexuality: Implications for Public Policy, ed. J. C Gonsiorek and J. D. Weinrich (Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage, 1991), pp. 149-60. Haldeman is particularly critical of Christian ministries to homosexuals, which he considers unprofessional and ineffective gimmicks hiding under "the formidable auspices of the Christian church."
56 C. W. Socarides and B. Kaufman, "Reparative Therapy" (letter and replies), American Journal of Psychiatry 151 (January 1994): 157-59.
57 For a general discussion of treatment efforts and success rates see F. S. Berlin et al., "Media Distortion of the Public's Perception of Recidivism and Psychiatric Rehabilitation," American Journal of Psychiatry 148 (November 1991):1572-76; L. Diamant, "The Therapies," in Male and Female Homosexuality: Psychological Approaches, ed. L. Diamant, Series in Clinical and Community Psychology (Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere, 1987), pp. 199-217 (I stole Diamant's clever subtitle for this section); and J. Marmor, "Clinical Aspects of Male Homosexuality," in Homosexual Behavior: A Modern Reappraisal ed. J. Marmor (New York: Basic Books, 1980), pp. 275-79. For detailed reports of techniques and change results, see J. Bieber et al., Homosexuality: A Psychoanalytic Study (New York: Basic Books, 1962); L. Birk, "The Myth of Classical Homosexuality. Views of a Behavioral Psychotherapist," in Homosexual Behavior: A Modern Reappraisal ed. J. Marmor (New York. Basic Books, 1980), pp. 376-90; A. Ellis, "The Effectiveness of Psychotherapy with Individuals Who Have Severe Homosexual Problems," in The Problem of Homosexuality in Modern Society, ed. H. M. Ruienbeck (New York. E. P. Dutton, 1965), pp. 175-82; M. P. Feldman and M. J. MacCulloch, Homosexual Behavior: Therapy and Assessment (Oxford: Pergamon, 1971); Hatterer, Changing Homosexuality in the Male, pp. 465-83 (and preceding discussion of technique, 49-387); H. E. Kaye et al., "Homosexuality in Women," Archives of General Psychology 17 (1967): 626-34.
58 W. H. Masters and V. E. Johnson, Homosexuality in Perspective (Boston: Little, Brown, 1979). Conversion candidates were those who had little or no prior heterosexual experience; reversion candidates were those with considerable prior heterosexual experience who were currently practicing homosexuality (p. 333). On the therapy technique, see especially pp. 255-60.
59 Ibid., p. 401. For criticism of this study, which centers on the incompleteness of the information supplied by Masters and Johnson, see Haldeman, "Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy," pp. 154-55.
60 See, for example, Goss, Jesus Acted Up, p. 44; McNeill, The Church and the Homosexual, pp. 122-23. Both make explicit comparisons between aversion therapy and Nazi death camps. See Birk, "Myth of Classical Homosexuality," pp. 378.79, Diamant, "The Therapies," pp. 208-9, and Greenspoon and Lamal, "Behaviorist Approach,' Pp. 122-23, on the abandonment of physical aversion techniques.
61 Greenspoon and Lamal, "Behaviorist Approach," pp. 124-26; Birk, "Myth of Classical Homosexuality," pp. 380-9.
62 Moberly, "Homosexuality: Restating the Conservative Case," pp. 291-93.
63 Hatterer (Changing Homosexuality in the Male, pp. 445-64) provides the most detailed catalog of variables. See also D. S. Sanders, "A Psychotherapeutic Approach to Homosexual Men," in Homosexual Behavior: A Modem Reappraisal, ed. J. Marmor (New York: Basic Books, 1980), pp. 342-56, especially p. 346; Marmor, "Clinical Aspects of Male Homosexuality," . pp. 277-8; J. R. Cavanaugh, Counseling the Homosexual (Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor, 1977), p. 240.
64 The umbrella organization for such ministries to homosexuals is Exodus International, which provides a monthly update of referral and affiliate agencies by region to inquirers: P.O. Box 77652, Seattle, WA 98177.
65 This is the method of P. B. Jung and R. F. Smith (Heterosexism: An Ethical Challenge [Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1993]), who dispute one study (Masters and Johnson) and one outdated method (behaviorist shock therapy), conclude that there has been "no documented success in reorienting homosexuals (p. 19) and later feel free to generalize about "what we know scientifically about human sexuality" (p. 83). I trust these authors know more than they reveal, but their method of argument is irresponsible. It is objectionable enough for these authors to deny the burden of proof at nearly every point, but in this case their apparent acceptance of the burden is a mirage. It appears that what they describe as lack of evidence is in fact an assertion that they are not convinced (read: not convinceable) by evidence contrary to their assumptions.
66 Leanne Payne, The Broken Image (Westchester, Ill.: 1981); see also Leanne Payne, The Healing of the Homosexual (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway, 1984), which is essentially a condensation of the earlier book.
67 Andrew Comiskey, Pursuing Sexual Wholeness (Lake Mary, Fla.: Creation House, 1989). A study guide for small groups is also available. [NOTE: one must take a training course to purchase the study guide now.]
68 Bob Davies and Lori Rentzel, Coming Out of Homosexuality (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993).
69 Michael Saia, Counseling the Homosexual (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1988).
70 J. R. Cavanaugh, Counseling the Homosexual (Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor, 1977).
71 G. J. M. van den Aardweg, Homosexuality and Hope (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Servant, 1985). Van den Aardweg has also written a clinical book, cited above (n. 41), which contains a helpful appendix (pp. 269-77) giving parents guidelines for the encouragement of heterosexuality in their children.
72 J. Arterburn, How Do I Tell My Mother? (Nashville: Oliver-Nelson, 1988; rev. 1990)
73 M. White, Stranger at the Gate (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994); G. D. Comstock, Gay Theology Without Apology (New York: Pilgrim, 1993); R. Williams, Just As I Am: A Practical Guide To Being Out and Christian (New York: Crown, 1992); J. J. McNeill, The Church and the Homosexual (Boston: Beacon, 1976; 4th ed. 1993).
74 J. Arterburn, How Do I Tell My Mother? pp. 127,181.
To read the beginning of this excellent artcle by Thomas E. Schmidt, please see Homosexual Causation: Nurture or Nature? (Part 1) in this library.
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Reprinted from STRAIGHT & NARROW? Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate by Thomas E. Schmidt. ©1995 by Thomas E. Schmidt. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515. To order a copy of this book, go to the "Resources" section of this website.
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