PFOX billboard promoting their sexual re-orientation programs.
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Richard
Cohen, president of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays, blatantly lied in
a recent issue of the Washington Blade by denying the political and mean-spirited
mission of his organization. While there are simply too many mistruths
to counter, I would like to set the record straight on a few key points:
Myth: Cohen said, “PFOX is not in the changing business.”
Fact: Cohen’s farcical statement is betrayed by their expensive advertising
campaign that focuses exclusively on “change.” Take a look
at the PFOX billboard with the huge headline “Ex-Gays Prove that
Change Is Possible” and judge for yourself.
Myth: Cohen said, “As a professional psychotherapist, I have helped
hundreds change from gay to straight.”
Fact: Cohen conveniently fails to mention that he was permanently expelled
from the American Counseling Association in 2002. Manager of Ethics & Professional
Standards Larry Freeman, told the Blade, “If a person is sanctioned
by the ACA code of ethics, it indicates that there’s been a practice
of malpractice.”
It is interesting that if one reads his book, not one of the people featured
has actually gone from gay to straight. Cohen steadfastly refuses to keep
real statistics so the public can have a true idea of his failure rate.
Finally, Cohen failed to inform Blade readers that he once belonged to
the Wesleyan Christian Community Church, a cult that was infamous for practicing
nude therapy. Today, Cohen practices the very controversial method of “touch
therapy” that has led to many abuses across the nation.
Myth: Cohen says, “I lived a gay life for many years. Today, I am
happily married with three kids.”
Fact: Based on his own life story, Cohen’s testimony of change is
highly suspect. For more than two years, Cohen left his wife and cruised
New York City looking for men.
“It was a very bizarre time. I was out running around New York City
with my boyfriend and she was at home alone taking care of our son, knowing
her husband was out with a man,” Cohen wrote in his book, “Coming
Out Straight.”
Cohen readily admits that he once lied to the public and even his own family.
So why should we believe him today?
Myth: Cohen said, “We are in the loving business.”
Fact: If one looks at the history of PFOX, it is very difficult to find
even a hint of love. Roy Cohn’s former houseboy, Anthony Falzarano,
who once called Matthew Shepard “a predator to heterosexual men,” founded
the group in the late 1990s. Falzarano also once told CBS that “satan
uses homosexuals as pawns and then he kills them.” With this type
of rhetoric it is no surprise that the right-wing Family Research Council
helped launch the group with an $80,000 grant.
Richard Cohen, Falzarano’s replacement, also comes up a little short
in the love department. While he claimed in the Blade that ex-gay therapy
is a “civil right,” Cohen has regularly lobbied legislators
in Annapolis to ensure that people in Maryland can be fired from their
jobs just because they are gay or lesbian.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the controversial talk radio host who once referred
to gay people as “biological errors,” wrote the forward for
Cohen’s book. Cohen also says that gay people can’t be happy
and believes that they are mentally ill, coining a phony diagnosis with
a derisive acronym, Same-Sex Attachment Disorder (SSAD).
Finally, Cohen admits that he was once fired from the Red Cross and “their
reason was that I was homophobic and spreading hate.” There are a
lot of words to describe Cohen and PFOX’s work, but love is not one
of them.
Myth: Cohen said, “We are in the education business.”
Fact: Cohen and PFOX exist to spread outdated myths about gay life. Their
work is rejected by every respected medical and mental health organization
in America.
Cohen’s favorite media sound bite is “born gay, no way,” although
he offers no credible evidence to back up his assertion. Despite the incontrovertible
fact that countless gay men are close to their fathers, in an interview
I did with Cohen for my book “Anything But Straight,” he said:
“I don’t believe that you or anyone else can have same-sex
attractions and have successfully attached to both Mom and Dad. It’s
an impossibility and I do not believe it can be true.”
Another educational gem from Cohen is, “The penis and the vagina
fit together. Two penises and two vaginas, they don’t work.”
PFOX offers false hope and traffics in broken families. It should do its
members a favor by disbanding and sending these misguided people to PFLAG
where they can learn the true meaning of love and acceptance.
Richard Cohen has made a career out of degrading the lives of gay and lesbian
people. While he and his clientele might not have changed into heterosexuals,
we can certainly set the record straight. If Cohen is up to the challenge,
I am interested in a public debate on this issue. Of course, he may feel
it is in his best interest to continue letting his distortions and falsehoods
go uncontested. |
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