The Daily Agenda for Saturday, May 25
The Daily Agenda for Friday, May 24
Boy Scouts of America Votes To Allow Gay Members, Retains Ban On Gay Leaders
Nevada House votes to reverse marriage ban
The Daily Agenda for Thursday, May 23
It's Not the Principle, It's the Prejudice
Congratulations Mitch!
Gay Couples Excluded from Immigration Bill Markup
Featured Reports
What Are Little Boys Made Of?
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
David Benkof: Behind the Mask
At first glance, David Benkof appears to be a young gay man who believes that same-sex marriage will damage the institution of marriage, that there are better options for gay couples than marriage, that the community should join him in prioritizing other more pressing issues, and that the marriage discussion is harming the efforts of gay couples in red states to get recognition for their unions. He also claims that he’s a gay columnist, that he speaks for an influential collection of gay thinkers, and that he is part of the gay and lesbian community and that he shares our goals and dreams. But none of that is true.
“Repeat After Me”: The Reparative Therapy Echo Chamber
The April 2008 edition of the pay-to-publish vanity journal Psychological Reports featured a new report from NARTH. Written by NARTH president A. Dean Byrd, past president Joseph Nicolosi, and Richard W. Potts, the report carries the unwieldy but self-descriptive title, “Clients perceptions of how reorientation therapy and self-help can promote changes in sexual orientation.” While the title describes what the authors meant to show — how clients describe the benefits of reparative therapy — the report itself actually illustrates something very different: the ex-gay movement’s remarkable ability to instill an almost robot-like parroting of ex-gay rhetoric among their clients.
Testing the Premise: Is MRSA The New Gay Plague?
The Toronto Star said that a new study “discover[ed] a new strain” of a super-bug “hitting gay men.” Headlines in Britain screamed, “Flesh-eating bug strikes San Francisco’s gay community,” and anti-gay extremists across America spread the alarm that gays were introducing another plague into “the general population.” But there was a small problem with all of this: None of it is true!
Paul Cameron’s World
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
From the Inside: Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out”
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing The Myths
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don't miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Testing The Premise: Are Gays A Threat To Our Children?
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Straight From The Source: What the “Dutch Study” Really Says About Gay Couples
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
The FRC’s Briefs Are Showing
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
Review: The Gay Report
When Karla Jay and Allan Young published The Gay Report in 1979, it quickly a favorite source of statistics for many anti-gay extremists. But before you accepts these statistic at face value, you should examine the inner workings of this survey very carefully. What you learn might surprise you.
Daniel Fetty Doesn’t Count
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
News, analysis and fact-checking of anti-gay rhetoric
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daftpunkydavid
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
“not to mention transgender”… hmmm i wonder why you write this.
though myself cisgender, my understanding is that being transgender is not on the same spectrum as being, say, straight or bi (if, of, course, such spectrum does exist; if you don’t like the term ‘spectrum’ , use ‘category’ instead if you must).
case in point: transgender individuals can be straight, bi, or gay. it’s not like they’re transgender and that’s their sexual orientation….
someone cares to educate me on the matter?
Rob Tisinai
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
David, I wrote that for exactly the reasons you mention. I know transgender people who variously say they are homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, or a sexuality that they will not label with ANY of those categories. The survey doesn’t seem to handle that adequately, so the transgender population is a mystery as far as this survey is concerned.
daftpunkydavid
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
thanks!
Emily K
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
I think that kinda makes sense.. I mean, if an intersex person refuses to identify with any single gender, what does that make their sexual orientation when they couple with someone of exclusively male or exclusively female persuasion? Or another intersex person?
Timothy Kincaid
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
Oh My Dear Sweet Baby Buddha!! Is there a less accurate way to get an honest response?
This is WORSE than tick-the-box. They actually are asking people to say out loud to a total stranger that “I’m in the ‘gay’ category.”
Timothy Kincaid
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
And lets look at the age breakdown:
16 – 24 1.9%
25 – 44 2.0%
45 – 64 1.2%
over 65 0.6%
Anyone see the obvious flaw in this “research”?
Christopher
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
As much as I hate to perpetuate a stereotype, given the population I have to wonder not only how many “people (especially the elderly) aren’t willing to tell a stranger they’re gay”, but how many British people are willing to discuss sex with a stranger.
As silly as it sounds I’ve known quite a few British people who’d respond to a survey like this with, “A little less sex, please. We’re British.”
Timothy Kincaid
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
Not to mention the obvious socio-economic pressures of self-identification to somebody holding a clipboard. Fully half (49.1%) of those who identified as gay were in “safe” managerial positions (as opposed to the average of 30%).
This is a HORRIBLY conducted survey.
Brian Pengelly
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
I guess a better question is what does it matter? Are gay people less deserving of protection and their civil rights if they make up 1.5% of the population than if they make up 7% or 10& or 50%?
Even if we make up 0.005% does that make it okay that we are treated unfairly? Are Jews less deserving or respect and protections because they are outnumbered by Christians? Are Native Americans less worthy of protection because they are outnumbered by Hispanics? How many people does a minority have to have in it before it is valued?
Ivan
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
And how many of those claiming to be straight were lying?
Soren456
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
Self-reporting is the weakest form of polling. It is the most prone to lying, exaggeration and omission.
Self-reporting is the reason that teabaggers, for instance, can come out of NYT/CBS polls as considerably MORE educated (including advanced degrees), more financially savvy and with higher incomes than the average American, despite every appearance to the contrary.
Every poll is self-reported, to an extent. Polls that ask about highly emotional issues but don’t probe the answers, should be taken skeptically.
Chris McCoy
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
The ONS Survey can be found here
Their analysis of the “Sexual Identity” question breakdown is here.
Self-reporting Surveys will always be under-reported. The official analysis doesn’t appear to even consider under-reporting.
Mark F.
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
Timothy:
The liberals are obviously turning our young people gay! ;-)
EZam
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
I think the only way to find out the real number of LGB people is to force EVERYONE to participate in those experiments where they test arousal levels.
cd
September 23rd, 2010 | LINK
I have come to the impression that with the exception of a few ethnic groups and regions that have higher rates, rates of homosexuality &c are pretty uniform worldwide.
This survey is awful, though. When you’re trying to poll for identifications that individually run around 1-2% in the population and aggregate to 5% (8% tops), allowing 3% “don’t know”s defeats the whole endeavor.
Paul Mc
September 24th, 2010 | LINK
I’m afraid the headline 1.5% gay is likely to stick. It is consistent with other population surveys in the UK and France in last 10 years.
A journalist not looking for cheap filler would then ask why, if there are only 750,000 gay or bisexual people then how come ~1.5Million people (wish there was some collective data about this – just my guess from news reports) attend Pride events in the UK? With a demographic of ~18-50 based on my observation.
If only two thirds of those are in fact LBGT and also that this demographic age range is 2/3 of the whole LBGT community (including those not yet out/adult) and finally that 2/3 of this demographic actually bother to attend any pride, that puts a UK LBGT commuity (those largely identifying as LBGT openly) at 2.25million or 3.75%.
Does anyone have a better way to do this than my 2/3 rule?
ZRAinSWVA
September 24th, 2010 | LINK
Please note how they conducted the survey: “In both cases, the sexual identity question was administered to all members of the household aged 16 or over who were available at the time of interview to provide their own responses”.
Does anyone really believe that they could survey a household and obtain valid responses?
Clay
September 24th, 2010 | LINK
The problem is with the ONS survey, not the Guardian’s reporting of it.
Priya Lynn
September 24th, 2010 | LINK
Clay, the problem is with both.
esurience
September 24th, 2010 | LINK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/09/24/1.5-figure-is-wrong-says-gay-website-with-2.2.-million-members/
“Gay networking websites Gaydar and GaydarGirls say that estimates of 1.5 per cent of the population being gay or bisexual cannot be true as they have 2.2 million members in the UK.”
Helen in Ireland
September 26th, 2010 | LINK
“The findings, based on interviews with more than 450,000 people – the biggest pool of social data after the census – show that an estimated 481,000 people regard themselves as gay and a further 245,000 – mainly women – say they are bisexual.”
My problem is with the basic maths – how can a survey find that 31 000 people MORE than they surveyed say that they are gay? Nevermind the 245 000 who are bisexual ?
Or was there a typo in reporting the true figure…?
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