I don't believe they can change. Why? No evidence that this is possible. Common sense (why on earth would someone choose to be gay? Life literally is hell for most gays until they can find a tolerant community/friendships/environment of sorts). Lastly - experience. I tried so hard to change. It reached the point where I was so desperate to change that I became suicidal. I never did accomplish it.
Aren't we ignoring the recent evidence about what CAUSES homosexuality and bisexuality in the first place?
Actually, the most striking evidence that homosexuality is not a choice, isn't necessarily a gene. There are genes which increase the chances of this happening, but the most likely cause is the environment hormones in the mother's womb (this would explain why identical twins don't necssarily have identical orientations). It was a study by Dr. Gunter Doerner (what a strange name ^_- ).
It appears that bisexual is now the orientation norm for the majority of those undergoing "reparative" therapy.
Or that was their orientation previous to the study. Dr. Robert L. Spitzer never made sure that they were only homosexual, and after all "nearly 30% reported that they were having heterosexual relations 'regularly' (and others assumedly were having them less often) at the time they began therapy."
And problems with the study:
1)How is a "45 minute phone call" really evidence that they changed?
2)"The findings were based entirely on the subjects' self-report (rather than, e.g., physiological measures of arousal), which research has shown is often very misleading."
3)"Spitzer's study has not been subject to any peer review or other normal professional tests of validity." This extremely discredits the study.
Problems with reparative therapy? It's highly dangerous. I'm not posting all the quotes here, because this post is long enough, but they are at the link at the bottom of this post.
Quotes from the doctor himself?
"In describing the study for CNN (May 9, 2001), Spitzer stated that 'Our sample was self-selected from people who already claimed they had made some change. We don't know how common that kind of change is. . . . I'm not saying that this can be easily done, or that most homosexuals who want to change can make this kind of change. I suspect it's quite unusual.'"
"n an editorial to the Wall Street Journal (May 23, 2001), Spitzer stated that 'Some homosexuals appear able to change self-identity and behavior, but not arousal or fantasies; others can change only self-identity; and only a very few, I suspect, can substantially change all four. . . . In fact, I suspect the vast majority of gay people would be unable to alter by much a firmly established homosexual orientation.'"
* Spitzer told the Advocate (July 17, 2001) that 'the kinds of changes my subjects reported are highly unlikely to be available to the vast majority" of GLBT people, and that only "a small minority" -- perhaps 3% -- might have a "malleable" sexual orientation. He also charged in that interview that his research was being "twisted by the Christian right.'"
http://www.covenantnetwork.org/chgther.html
EDIT: Like to reiterate - "perhaps 3% -- might have a 'malleable' sexual orientation..."
Those three percent are probably bis. In all of the reports of his studies, I have never heard Spitzer mention bisexuals. This means he probably doesn't acknowledge their existence (many people who think homosexuality must be cured do not). So in actuality, there are probably no homs who can change.
