(1) gender dysphoria (imposed) and (2) transgender identity in the very young

When David Reimer shot and killed himself at age 38, it was the spectacularly tragic end of a well-meant but infamous experiment in the “plasticity” of gender identity in the young. (Purists may note that the mortal consequences for David and his entire family were not directly visited on the hubristic actor in this case, Dr. John Money, erstwhile champion of infant sex assignment through surgery and socialization.) As John Colapinto points out in his reflections on David’s death published on Slate (June 3, 2004, 3:58 PM ET), there were certainly other contributing factors in the Reimer family history, but the mere facts of the experiment were such as might have driven anyone to despair.

My recent acquaintance with the Reimer case was occasioned by Graeme’s posts at DeweyWriter.com, including information on a BBC documentary on the experiment and its aftermath, and transcribing a fascinating (in context) article on transgender identity in children – some as young as 18 months – published in a very mainstream Australian parenting magazine. Thanks to Graeme for his alerts and his labor.

There’s some redundancy in the links posted here, but also some interesting variations in the facts of David Reimer’s life. The first link, to Wikipedia, ends with a brief discussion of the clinical and social impact of the Reimer/Money affair; the BBC page links further to a transcript of the documentary.

photo of David Reimer by Reuters

drugging kids for hyperactivity skyrockets in the US, is on the rise elsewhere

Nearly 4 million Americans, most of them children and young adults, are being prescribed amphetamine-like stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Up to a million more may be taking the drugs illegally.Now, amid reports of rare but serious side effects, leading researchers and doctors are calling for a review of the way ADHD is dealt with. Many prescriptions are being written by family doctors with little expertise in diagnosing ADHD, raising doubts about how many people on these stimulants really need them. Just as worrying, large numbers of children who do have ADHD are going undiagnosed.

Both trends could lead to problems with drug dependency, argue specialists in addiction.

This report by Peter Aldous continues at NewScientist.com: “Prescribing of Hyperactivity Drugs Is Out of Control” (31 March 2006)

a broadside for “Zach”

The protest around these sexual suppression programs for teens, as galvanized and personified by “Zach”, continues in the vein of charmingly naive.

Best to all,
M.

Tennessee still investigating Love in Action

OK, here’s a bit of an update on Love in Action. The state of Tennessee is continuing to scrutinize the program, now on the basis of whether they are purporting to provide professional counseling services, and if so whether the services are effective and/or need to be licensed, as reported in The Washington Blade.

The article also discusses the debate over “reparative therapy”, and how even some of its advocates advise against imposing it on teenagers, on grounds of both effectiveness and ethics.

Some issues actually most germane to “Zach’s” case are discussed at the end of the article:

Shannon Mintner, a lawyer with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, has worked on hundreds of cases in which teens are forced into various types of treatment scenarios because their parents disapprove of their sexual orientation.

Mintner first became aware of this phenomenon when he was contacted by a teenage girl who had escaped from a psychiatric facility where she was undergoing forced treatment for lesbianism. Mintner was able to help the girl find an adoptive home with a San Francisco lesbian couple.

Mintner said that Love in Action’s attempt to reorient kids is unique only in that they are so open about what they are trying to do.

In 1995, Mintner was involved in a case in Memphis in which the group Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays helped a 16-year-old gay male seek emancipation from his parents because they were forcing him to attend reorientation counseling with a Memphis psychologist, Dr. Duff Wright, and planned to send him to either Love in Action, or another similar program.

Minter said that the Memphis Circuit Court judge agreed that the boy would be harmed by this treatment and indicated that he would sign the emancipation order. In a settlement agreement, the parents abandoned plans to send the boy to reorientation treatment.

In April, the Tennessee Department of Health permanently revoked Dr. Duff Wright’s license to practice as a psychologist, due to alleged ethics violations.

Mintner said that while he has been able to help young people on a case-by-case level, “What we have not yet been able to find a way to do is to develop a systemic response that would get at the heart of the issue.”

Discussion of Love in Action has permeated the Memphis media in recent weeks and Alex Polotsky of the Queer Action Coalition said that the group will continue its campaign of demonstrations against Love in Action.

“We want every person in America to know about this. No reasonable sane person would support this program,” he said.

Twenty-one-year-old J.M., who spoke on condition on anonymity, said that he was sent to Love in Action by his parents at the recommendation of a Christian counselor when he was 17.

“The place was like a Nazi camp. I lost faith in God, friends, family.”

J.M. said he is glad that Love in Action has come into the spotlight.

“I am optimistic for some point in the future, I’ve lived for brief periods in New York, New Jersey, Philly. They are not as close-minded about this; it is not as cruel,” he said.

more on Tennessee’s investigation of Love In Action

Here’s an update from the Associated Press on Tennessee Child Services’ investigation of Love in Action’s “Refuge” program. The state did not find evidence of psychological abuse, as legally defined, in the program. Given their pronouncements about the legal strictures as they began their investigation, the result is not surprising.

Best to all,
M.

“I would rather you commit suicide”: brainwashing gay teenagers (2)

I’ve been following the story of “Zach”, a gay teenager in Memphis whose parents have put him into a program that’s supposed to turn him straight, or desexualize him, or something. (Typically such programs hold out the promise of “converting” from homosexuality; typically their effect, if any, is simply to suppress someone’s sexuality entirely.)

The latest news, as reported at washingtonblade.com is that Tennessee Child Services is looking into (at least) licensing issues connected with the “Love in Action/Refuge” program, in the face of allegations of child (emotional) abuse following Zach’s blog entries as he faced going into the program.

Best to all,
M.

“I would rather you commit suicide”: brainwashing gay teenagers

For those of you who are unaware, here’s an introduction to the plight of “Zach”, a 16-year-old gay teenager whose parents have committed him to a Christian gay conversion program.

John Smid, director of “Love In Action”, has been quoted as saying, as part of what is called a “Final Indoctrination” from the program, “I would rather you commit suicide than have you leave Love In Action wanting to return to the gay lifestyle. In a physical death you could still have a spiritual resurrection; whereas, returning to homosexuality you are yielding yourself to a spiritual death from which there is no recovery.”

Zach asked a friend to publicize his situation, and also documented details of the program through his blog. There has since been agitation against Love in Action. There are at least two (naïvely earnest) online petitions to “Free/Save Zach”, one directed to the U.S. Congress, and one, interestingly, to “The Christian Church”.

You can find more details and commentary at PlanetOut.com.

Best to all,
M.

edit 2007-10-02: The widely-circulated quote I’ve used as a title is disputed by John Smid. The best authentication of it I’ve found online is anecdotal; its publication in the SF Weekly* precedes the Zach controversy by some ten years:

Also unable to kick his sexual appetite, Tom Ottosen, 25, plunged into a suicidal depression toward the end of his second year at Love in Action in 1993. Months earlier, Ottosen’s house leader had attempted to kill himself by swallowing an assortment of pills. Rushed to the hospital, the man lived but never returned to the ministry.

After a secret lunch-hour visit to a pro-gay counseling group in Marin, a guilt-stricken Ottosen confessed his waywardness to Smid, Love in Action’s director. As the two sat alone in a small bedroom, Ottosen told Smid of his feelings of suicide. “I wasn’t surprised at what John said. Almost word for word, he said he’d rather have me commit suicide than go back to the gay lifestyle,” recounts Ottosen. “He said if I committed suicide, I could at least save myself spiritually. That was the final icebreaker for me.”

Smid denies he encouraged the resident to kill himself. “I said he had to commit to the Lord,” the director says, “and it isn’t a good thing to walk outside what God tells you to do.”

* “Rear Window” by Vince Bielski and Marta Sanchez-Beswick Published: March 1, 1995