The program Casos de Família aired this Wednesday (29) on SBT addressed the topic: “What do you mean, is there a gay cure?” And it brought, in addition to people who call themselves ex-gays, the case of a gay boy who was kicked out of home by his mother.
Throughout the attraction, the guests and the audience disseminated certainties and preconceptions – as well as “I want him to become a man, I don't accept gays” and “homosexuality is something learned” – and only at the end did the psychologist Anahy D'Amico gave a light at the end of the tunnel.
The program also brought the presence of Marisa Lobo, “Christian psychologist” who argues that gays can stop being gay through psychology and who knows countless cases of ex-homosexuals. She said: “I never induced anyone to change their sexual orientation (sic), I just accepted the request for help.”
In the attraction, Christina Rocha stated that anyone who wants to undergo reorientation must have the right. She got the message that, with ex-gays saying they are happy in their straight life and with an openly gay person who faces difficulty in acceptance, the solution for the lives of those who suffer prejudice is to change their sexual orientation – and not the prejudice that haunts the society.
Let's look at the considerations:
– “HomosexualISM is something learned”, said “ex-gay” Fernando
The “ex-gay”, who is now married to a woman, declared that homosexuality (the “ism” has been abolished since the WHO excluded the group from the list of mental disorders in the 90s) is something learned. Even psychologist Anahy responded: “And where do you learn to be gay?” Following Fernando's thoughts, the education that society preaches is heteronormative, so everyone “should” be straight – and not gay. You simply said that there are no gay children.
– “At 15, I became a transvestite. I stayed until I was 27”, says “ex-gay” Fernando
In his speech, Fernando – who says he is ex-gay, despite having actually been a transvestite – confused gender identity with sexual orientation. Confusion is common, as if the two categories were interconnected or the same. It is necessary to emphasize that he identified with the female universe/gender, but this does not necessarily mean that he would feel desire for men. There are lesbian transvestites, bisexual transvestites, straight transvestites and asexual transvestites.
– “I raised a male child. I want him to be a man and not gay”, said mother of openly gay man
And who said that homosexuals are not men? Yes, a homosexual man is a man in the same way as a straight man. The common and absurd speech above was reproduced throughout the program, without any interference from Anahy or the presenter. On the contrary, Christina asked the boy: “Since when have you had feminine mannerisms?” He said it was always like that, but said his mother started realizing he was gay when he was 12 years old.
– “The love between the two is remarkable”, said psychologist Marisa Lobo
It seems mocking, but she was referring to the relationship between the mother who threw her son out of the house and who rejects the possibility of him returning. The same mother who said: “I have a criminal son, I’ll do everything for him, but I don’t accept my gay son.” Christina, instead of being outraged by her mother's stance, looked at her son and asked: “Do you think you can stop being gay?”, as if the solution to the conflict was for him to stop being homosexual. The boy said no: “I was born like this and I will die like this”.
– “What are the reasons that lead a person to want to be ex-gay?”, asks Christina to Marisa
The Christian psychologist just forgot to mention why “ex-gay” people seek possible sexual reorientation. She just said that they suffer from it. According to psychologist Maria Julia Chinalia, many people want to stop being homosexual to be more accepted by their family and society – and not because of a personal desire. After all, if gays didn't suffer prejudice, would there be any reason to want to change who you are? So, what can be cured, homosexuality or homophobia?
– “How did they become ex-
homosexuals don’t matter”, says Marisa
Yes, it matters, mainly due to reports of abuse of “techniques” that hurt and injure the health and dignity of human beings. There are reports of people being shocked, encouraged to vomit and forced to self-harm. Psychologist Carlos Eduardo Simonelli says that no psychologist should work trying to transform the patient into something else they are not. “The focus is on valuing human beings precisely as they are.”
– The cure is from intolerance
The program benefits from the presence of psychologist Anahy, who should act more on the attraction and not let prejudice gain more space than clarification. At the end of the program she said: “Sexuality is about desire and desire does not follow logic, it does not follow ritual, it does not follow dogma, morals and religion. You cannot say that there is a cure, because it is not a disease. And if it's not a disease, what will it cure? What we need to take care of is intolerance, we have to be tolerant of differences.” It was good, but it was little in the face of so much public misinformation.
