UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Drawing the straight line : social movements and hierarchies of evidence in sexual reorientation therapy debates Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5wp957bq Author Waidzunas, Thomas John Publication Date 2010 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Drawing the Straight Line: Social Movements and Hierarchies of Evidence in Sexual Reorientation Therapy Debates A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology (Science Studies) by Thomas John Waidzunas Committee in Charge: Mary Blair-Loy, Chair Steven Epstein, Co-Chair Lisa Cartwright Andrew Lakoff David Serlin 2010 Copyright Thomas John Waidzunas, 2010 All rights reserved The Dissertation of Thomas John Waidzunas is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair ___________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2010 iii DEDICATION To all people who have ever struggled with conflict over sexual orientation. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page……………………………………………………………………………iii Dedication……………………………………………………………………………...…iv Table of Contents………………………………………………………............................v List of Figures……………………………………………………………...…………….vii List of Tables………………………………………………………………...………….viii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………….....……....ix Vita………………………...…………………...………………………………….....…xiii Abstract…………………………………………………………………...……………..xiv Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 The Clash of Detractors and True Believers: Approaching the Study of Hierarchies of Evidence in Reorientation Debates Chapter 1…………………………………………………………………………………72 The Treatment of Psychogenic Homosexuality: Rise of the Psychoanalytic Case Study and the Behaviorist Phallometric Test (1948-1970) Chapter 2…………………………………………………………………......................133 From Spitzer to Spitzer: Maintaining a Stationary Perspective while the World Changes (1970-2000) Chapter 3………………………………………………………………………………..198 To Represent Those who Represent Themselves: Spitzer‘s Ex-gay Study, Rapidly Marginalized, Has Impact Nonetheless (2001-2003) Chapter 4………………………………………………………………………………..257 Take the Study and Run: Making and Unmaking ―Effectiveness‖ in the Wake of Spitzer‘s Publication (2003-2005) v Chapter 5………………………………………………………………………………..311 Forging Divergent ―Truths‖ of Sexual Reorientation: Anti-Reorientation Counter-mobilization and Lingering Same-Sex Attractions (2005-2008) Chapter 6………………...………………………….…………………………………..361 Mapping the Boundaries of Science and Sexual Orientation: The American Psychological Association Task Force as Prevailing Cartographer (2007-2009) Conclusion…………..………...………………………………………………………..415 The Evidence is Remarkably Queer: Opposing Social Movements and the Relevance of Trust References………………...……………………...….………………………………….463 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1…………………………………..…………………………………………...181 Pro-LGBT Position Statements Approved per year by US Professional Associations (1970-2000) Figure 3.1…………………………………………………..……………………….…..227 Spitzer‘s bar graph labeled ―PRE and POST frequency of 20-point intervals of the Sexual Attraction Scale‖ Figure 3.2………………………………………..……………………………………..228 Spitzer‘s table labeled ―Percentage of Male and Female Participants at PRE and POST on 10 Dichotomized Measures.‖ vii LIST OF TABLES Table 0.1……………………………………………………………………………..…..52 ―Prevalence of Homosexuality Among Females and Males Separated by Sexual-Orientation Component‖ adapted from Savin-Williams, ―Who‘s Gay? Does it Matter?‖ Table 2.1…………………………………………………..…………………………....180 Pro-LGBT Policy Statements Approved by US Professional Associations (1973-2010) Table 3.1…………………………………………………………………..……………218 Meanings of ―Harm‖ and ―Benefit‖ attributed by former clients of reorientation therapies in Shidlo and Schroeder 2002. Table 3.2………………………………………………………………..………………233 Twenty six commentaries in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, published along with the Spitzer study. Table 6.1…………...………………………………………………………..………….392 Data from NARTH‘s ―Compilation and Overall Average Outcome of Recent Surveys of Reorientation Therapy Consumers‖ viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While my name appears as the sole author of this dissertation, it is without a doubt a social product. This dissertation would not have been possible without the contributions of many people with whom I have had the opportunity to work. Along with my own efforts, this work is the product of countless amounts of correspondence and discussion, and it has relied on extensive logistical and financial support. I would first like to thank my mother and father for the love, support, and understanding that they have provided over the years and during the production of this work. I would next like to thank the respondents who graciously participated in this study and provided public statements on a highly contentious issue. I am also grateful to the organizations Beyond Ex-Gay, Exodus International, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), and the American Psychological Association for allowing me to attend and observe conferences to study claimsmaking. Regarding financial and logistical support, I am particularly grateful to be the recipient of a dissertation improvement grant from the Science, Technology, and Society Program of the National Science Foundation. This grant has allowed me to travel around the United States to interview respondents and to attend conferences. I am also thankful for the support of both the Sociology Department and the Science Studies Program at University of California, San Diego. Both provided me with funding to work on the dissertation and to travel as well. I would like to express enthusiastic appreciation to the staff of the UCSD Science Studies Program, including Kimberly Bondad and Carol ix Larkin, and the staff of the UCSD Sociology Department, including Beverly Bernhardt, Emmanuel Dela Paz, Christine Earley, Shannon Goodison, Stephanie Navrides, Tanya Pohlson, Katrina Koopman Richards, and Susan Taniguchi, not only for their help on this project, but for their support over the years. I must also thank the staff of Filter Coffee House in San Diego, where I wrote much of this dissertation. I would like to express thanks and appreciation to many of my colleagues and friends in graduate school, both in sociology and in science studies, as well as other programs, who have been tremendously helpful in the production of this work. I would particularly like to thank Marisa Brandt, Erin Cech, Kimberley De Wolff, Meghan Duffy, Michael Evans, Jason Farr, Ted Gideonse, Laura Harkewicz, Lyn Headley, Monica Hoffman, April Huff, Raquel Jacob-Almeida, Katherine Kenny, Kristopher Kohler, Brian Lindseth, Eric Martin, Kevin Moseby, Marie Murphy, Katrina Peterson, Martha Poon, Cynthia Schairer, Jonathan Shafran, Cynthia Taylor, Eric Van Rite, and Alexandra Vinson, all of whom have provided valuable discussion and support. I would also like to thank my good friend and colleague Carolyn Bottler for her many insights, support, and inspiration, as well as my good friends Terry Vaughn and Rashad Wright for their support and for many discussions on topics related to this work. I have had a wonderful dissertation committee to work with that has provided me with extensive support and feedback in developing this project. Mary Blair-Loy, who graciously agreed to chair the committee when Steven Epstein transferred to Northwestern University, has given me tremendous support over the years in graduate school as a mentor and teacher, and she has greatly enhanced my understanding of gender, culture, and the sociology of inequalities more broadly. She has also provided x expertise on religion, and has been important for helping me remain accountable to principles of symmetry in the work. I have learned a tremendous amount from Andrew Lakoff about the study of the ―psy-sciences,‖ and I appreciate his guidance on this project, as well as in the broader fields of science studies, sociological theory, and technology studies. David Serlin has provided valuable encouragement and perspective, and his expertise on technology and the body has been very important for this work. I am also grateful for the opportunity to work with Lisa Cartwright, who has provided valuable guidance on the study of health and illness, as well as feminist science studies approaches. I would like to thank additional UCSD faculty members, many of whom have informed this work, for their teaching, support, and feedback. These include Rebecca Klatch, John Evans, Martha Lampland, Robert Westman, Christena Turner, Thomas Medvetz, Andrew Scull, Chandra Mukerji, Cathy Gere, Naomi Oreskes, Ivan Evans, and Nancy Cartwright. The UCSD ―Student‘s Choice Speaker‖ event also provided me with the opportunity to present some portion of this work to Sheila Jasanoff and Michelle Murphy, both of whom provided very useful feedback. This program also permitted me to discuss the work with Ian Hacking, who provided valuable insights. I appreciate the feedback of attendees of the UCSD Gender/Inequalities