The Pridelets Files for September 19

On this day in 1989, The New York Times accuses AIDS activists of causing the unnecessary deaths of patients demanding the FDA refine the length of time "necessary to approve" treatments for the syndrome. (Yes, that's exactly why ACT UP, Project Inform and AIDS doctors want approval of drugs that work on the market sooner.)

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1551 - Drag connoisseur France and Poland's King Henry Ill
* 1876 - artist Ethel Mars
* 1934 - The Beatles manager, Brian Epstein
* 1945 - Mystery writer John Morgan Wilson

Q.UOTE
"Lord: Take me where you want me to go, Let me meet who you want me to meet, Tell me what you want me to say, and keep me out of your way" -- FDNY Chaplain Father Mychal Judge

---

THE ACTIVIST'S TOOLBOX
"EX-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study And Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics And Culture" edited by Jack Drescher, MD, and Kenneth J., Zucker, Ph.D.
In 2001, Robert L. Spitzer, MD, presented his study on sexual conversion therapy with its controversial findings that some homosexuals can change their sexual orientation. The resulting media sensation and political firestorm that followed enraged the study’s critics and emboldened its supporters. "Ex-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study and Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics, and Culture" presents leading experts examining Spitzer’s research methodology and findings to discern whether the study itself deserves deeper consideration or outright dismissal. Every facet of the study is reviewed to discuss the positive or negative aspects of the results, its significance in political and social terms, and the implications for the future.
Dr. Spitzer himself was an instrumental figure in the American Psychiatric Association's decision in 1973 to remove homosexuality as a mental illness listing from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-III. His later study that states that in some individuals, homosexuality may be more fluid than previously thought stirred controversy in the psychiatric community and society at large. His study is presented here to allow the reader to evaluate and consider it for themselves. Leading experts then voice their own pro or con views on the methodology and findings. "Ex-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study and Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics, and Culture" fearlessly illustrates the sometimes fuzzy boundary between science and politics, courageously spotlighting the culture wars now dividing our society.
"Ex-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study and Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics, and Culture" discusses:
the ex-gay movement
the nature of scientific inquiry
the relationship between science and politics
the results of sexual conversion therapies
gay and lesbian rights
Ex-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study and Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics, and Culture is essential reading for sex researchers, mental health professionals, pastoral counselors, political activists, and any person asking if one can truly "change" his or her homosexuality.

This work is copyright© 2006 Thomas Allen Heald, all rights reserved. Contact the author at tom@idontgetit.org and the latest column are always available at www.Pridelets.com.