Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) is a non-profit organization providing outreach, education, and public awareness in support of the "ex-gay" community.^[1] PFOX maintains that homosexuality is not a product of biological determination, in contradiction to the consensus of major mental health organizations. The president of PFOX is Greg Quinlan.^[2] Richard Cohen is a past president.

Background

PFOX, founded in 1998, is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Richard Cohen, who describes himself as "ex-gay", was the president of PFOX for a period of time.^[3][4] After Cohen was interviewed by Jason Jones on the March 19, 2007, episode of The Daily Show, PFOX systematically removed all references to Cohen from their website.^[3]

Greg Quinlan is described by PFOX as a "former homosexual" who came out at the age of 23. He founded the Dayton branch of the Human Rights Campaign Fund and worked as a fundraiser for the organization. He has stated that he "departed from homosexuality" in 1993, and went on to found the Pro-Family Network, an organization describes itself as advocates for conservative values, including traditional marriage.^[2]

PFOX is a signatory organization of Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality (PATH), which is "a non-profit coalition of organizations that help people with unwanted same-sex attractions (SSA) realize their personal goals for change -- whether by developing their innate heterosexual potential or by embracing a lifestyle as a single, non-sexually active man or woman."^[5] As a member, PFOX has adopted PATH's statement of principles.^[6] PFOX tends to support conservative views and is supported by the Family Research Council.

Positions

The PFOX website states: "We must seek the facts and love our children unconditionally without having to affirm their homosexual behavior."^[1] PFOX also advocates acceptance of people who identify as "ex-gay". The group is known for promoting views that transsexual people are biologically appropriate at birth. Their proposed solution is opposed to the widely accepted^{[7][Need quotation to verify]} method of sexual reassignment surgery. They propose counseling to deal with the problem.^[8][9] They also believe being gay is a political identity.^[10] PFOX does not provide nor render therapeutic services.^[11]

Activities

In December, 2007, when the Washington, D.C., State Board of Education approved new health and physical education guidelines, PFOX voiced opposition to the "grade-specific sex education and information about HIV/AIDS" on the basis that "the standards are not age-appropriate and would undermine abstinence-only messages."^[12] PFOX opposed legislation to protect transgender people from discrimination stating their concern it gave "male cross-dressers access to women's restrooms".^[13][14] On October 16, 2008, PFOX sued the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights for failing to protect "former homosexuals" under its sexual orientation anti-discrimination law. This was after the OHR stood with the National Education Association (NEA) in its refusal to provide public accommodations to "ex-gays". The court ruled in favour of the NEA, and also stated that "ex-gays" are a protected class that must be recognized under sexual orientation non-discrimination laws.^[15][16][17]

Criticism

Many of PFOX's views on the developmental causes of homosexuality and gender identity are in the minority of popular opinion. Their statement that thousands of people become "ex-gay" each year has been called into question and ex-gays are often seen, realistically, as a very small group.^[18][19]

In 2004, the National Association of Mental Health declined PFOX's application for booth space at their annual convention.^[20] In 2005, PFOX was barred from presenting a workshop at the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) Convention.^{[citation needed]} They have also been denied participation at events held by the National Mental Health Association,^[21] and the American Association of University Women.^[22] Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), which participated in 2004 and 2005 at the NPTA convention, has responded to PFOX:

PFLAG and others also find the basic premise of PFOX’s rationale confusing. If someone is not gay or bisexual, they are heterosexual. "Since this is the case," says PFLAG’s executive director Jody Huckaby, "PFOX should have no concerns."^[23]

See also

• Ex-gay
• Ex-ex-gay

References

External links

• Official website of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays
• Positive Alternatives To Homosexuality
• ReligiousTolerance.org - entry on PFOX