Gay Electroshock- and Vomit-Aversion Therapy at BYU

[_Buffalo]

So, did it work? How many rainbows did they straighten out?

Not a single one. One man would vomit and convulse even if he shook hands with or hugged another man, but he was still only sexually attracted to men.

[_Nomad]

I hate to get all Godwinny, but Adolf Hitler didn't personally kill any Jews either. I guess that puts him in the clear.

Wow, now we're rounding up LGBT's and committing genocide? Yikes! Things move fast in this forum. I'd like to see some further escalation of this... Who can top the Holocaust?

They can do that, too. Just ask them about Mormon Nazis, and see how far they'll take it.

[_just me]

So, did it work? How many rainbows did they straighten out?

Torture works really well in getting people to say anything to make it stop.

A few killed themselves. I don't see that as a win.

[_NeoMorm]

So, did it work? How many rainbows did they straighten out?

Torture works really well in getting people to say anything to make it stop.

A few killed themselves. I don't see that as a win.

Well, I say that facetiously, I actually think the whole thing is appalling, misguided and frightening. I saw something on 20/20 or somewhere (I would have to look it up, but am too lazy) about some Utah psychologist that claimed to be able to cure homosexuality. They were throwing the guy under the bus.

Really it should be exposed and brought out into the open and BYU needs to deal with the consequences. If the church was indeed behind it as is suggested, then they too need to fess up.

[_harmony]

Really it should be exposed and brought out into the open and BYU needs to deal with the consequences. If the church was indeed behind it as is suggested, then they too need to fess up.

Praise God! There is at least one naïve person left in the world!

Ummm... Neo? (welcome to the board, by the way)... the church doesn't 'fess up. Ever. Neither does BYU. The attitude is all part and parcel of the "speaking as God's mouthpiece" thing... and the "only authority to act in God's name" thing... and the "hell will freeze over before we admit to anything shady" thing...

[_NeoMorm]

Praise God! There is at least one naïve person left in the world!

Ahhh blissful naïveté...

the church doesn't 'fess up. Ever. Neither does BYU.

Well, I can hope, I can want, I can exert what little pressure I can from within. I don't like absolutes, I am open to the idea that this could happen someday. So there is nothing that the church will admit too? (another absolute?) Or is it that we expect them to take the blame for any indecent thing flung at them by the anti crowds...

Thanks for the welcomes, by the way!

[_Corpsegrinder]

Well, I can hope, I can want, I can exert what little pressure I can from within. I don't like absolutes, I am open to the idea that this could happen someday. So there is nothing that the church will admit too? (another absolute?) Or is it that we expect them to take the blame for any indecent thing flung at them by the anti crowds...

If and when the Church ever acknowledges its role it will probably do so according to the Mountain Meadows Massacre template:

1) One or more participants with firsthand knowledge will leak the story to the press.

2) In response to negative press coverage, the Church will deny its involvement and shift responsibility to parties not within its authority. The Church will also claim--quite indignantly--the victims are entirely to blame for what happened to them.

3) Under increasing public pressure, the Church will acknowledge limited responsibility for its misdeeds but will initially refuse to offer an official apology.

4) If a partial acknowledgement of responsibility brings about a favorable public reaction, the Church will then go all the way and offer an official apology…over a century and a half after the events in question.

[_NeoMorm]

Well, looks like we are somewhere between steps 1 and 2. I will be interested to see if this develops as you say. I will watch for steps 3 and 4 (if they happen in my lifetime.)

[_Corpsegrinder]

Well, looks like we are somewhere between steps 1 and 2. I will be interested to see if this develops as you say. I will watch for steps 3 and 4 (if they happen in my lifetime.)

Yeah, it’s been stuck between 1 and 2 since the 80’s, because of insufficient public interest. Though, the story is sometimes briefly mentioned in works like Angels in America and Big Love.

There may be renewed interest in it if Mitt Romney gets the nod...

[_subgenius]

So, did it work? How many rainbows did they straighten out?

Not a single one. One man would vomit and convulse even if he shook hands with or hugged another man, but he was still only sexually attracted to men.

They were probably just doing it incorrectly:
Anna Freud reported the successful treatment of homosexuals as neurotics in a series of unpublished lectures. In 1949 she published “Some Clinical Remarks Concerning the Treatment of Cases of Male Homosexuality” in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis.
Robert Spitzer concluded that some highly motivated individuals whose orientation is predominantly homosexual can become predominantly heterosexual with some form of reparative therapy.
Too many have suffered from excessive sips of Kinsey's Kool-Aid.