Research published today in the BMC Psychiatry journal shows that a sixth of registered British therapist and psychiatrists have attempted to 'cure' patients of homosexuality. Shockingly one psychiatrist who responded to the study justified offering 'cures' saying: 'the physical act for male homosexuals is physically damaging and is the main reason in this country for AIDS/HIV. It is also perverse.'
This is an interesting snippet.
Overtly the UK is far more hospitable to gay people than most states in the US. In the US anti-gay psychiatry is usually thought to be driven by the vast religious culture of the country. Here in the UK, on the other hand, there is very little public expression of religion, but we still find something like this happening.
One reason I propose is that there are still "customers" for this quackery. Homosexual people who want to be "cured." Where does that self-hatred come from? Given the general non-religiosity of the country, I suppose its possible all the clients come from the remaining religious base.
Or could it be from the incredible self-stigma some (perhaps many) British gays impose on themselves.
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