Our Gay Oppressors

Via Roy Edroso, who limns the lamentable tale better than I would be able, we find Dr. Helen doing a Zola routine with a heartfelt J'accuse!, explaining how the APA are a bunch of discriminatory muthafuckas for--get this!--failing to give their official approbation to the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. (Word to the wise: It is foolish to concoct an acronym that rhymes with "Darth" if you wish you avoid Faustian-Luciferian connotations.)

Her post is delightfully entitled: "If You're Gay--You'd Better Stay that Way." And yes, it pains me to see a presumably literate person substitute an em dash for a comma in what ought to be an if/then construction. But that, children, is blood under the bridge.

Dr. Helen climbs and dives around a thesis like a scene straight out of Hell's Angels. She accuses the APA of the dread practice of activism for not offering its professional imprimateur to some new process of degayification, though I'm hard-pressed to determine how inaction constitutes activism while positive endoresement would not. The APA--and, needless to say, the "militant gays and lesbians"--are involved in some kind of crypto-activist conspiracy to prevent NARTH from spreading the good news that, while faggotry is, like, totally OK, if, you know, that's what you're into, if you're not totally satisfied with your gay purchase you can, like, totally get your money back.

This retail model of human sexuality is based on the (admittedly!) clever notion that if there are plenty of unhappy heteros who find psychological peace when they finally realize/admit/accept that they are, in fact, gay, then there must likewise be plenty of unhappy homos who will find psychological peace when they finally realize/admit/accept that they are, in fact, straight!

Once again needless to say, I envision an entire psychotherapeutic cottage industry growing up around what I shall hereby refer to as Evelyn Waugh Syndrome, appropriately acronymed EWS, as in, "He's got the EWS!"