Dr. Phil's Poison Pill

While hope for LGBT Americans is on the horizon with the inauguration of the Obama/Biden administration, we need to continue to be vigilant in opposing the poisonous messages that our enemies continue to disseminate. A recent example is the noxious message put out on the Dr. Phil Show which gave a platform to Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family and Joseph Nicolosi, fraudulent proponents of reparative therapy, who routinely depict transgender individuals as would be sexual predators. Never mind that every legitimate medical and mental health association condemns their claims. Dr. Phil could apparently care less and allowed these disingenuous individuals to peddle their false teachings. My friend Wayne Besen has a new column that takes Dr. Phil to task. Here are some highlights:

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I'm confused as to why people are still "confused" about transgender Americans. For years, they have said that the birth sex on the outside does not match the opposite sex they believe is on the inside. Modern science confirms that sexuality has as much to do with what is inside our heads as what is between our legs. This concept is not rocket science, nor is it difficult to understand. There is nothing homogeneous about our species, and this includes sexuality and gender.

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Unfortunately, talk show hosts are still using this issue for cheap laughs or to boost ratings. The latest example is the annoying and supremely talentless Dr. Phil. The talking (very large) head had an opportunity to educate the public by presenting the latest science. Instead, he shamefully chose sensationalism over professionalism by offering a platform to notorious anti-gay activists who used his show to promote quack theories with no scientific standing. Dr. Phil actually had the nerve to refer to Glenn Stanton, who is affiliated with Focus on the Family, and the laughable Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, as "experts" on gender and homosexuality.

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Dr. Nicolosi is the same "expert" who believes gay men can become more masculine by drinking Gatorade and calling friends "dude." Stanton is tied to Focus on the Family, an organization that has been accused by scientists throughout the world of distorting their work. Of course, none of this mattered to Dr. Phil. Instead of exploring this issue in-depth, "the mouth of the south" sunk to new depths. On the show, he exploited Toni, a loving mother of a transgender child, by ambushing her with the aforementioned disreputable hacks.

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I question why Dr. Phil offered a platform to men so at odds with every respected medical and mental health association in the country? And why didn't Dr. Phil inform viewers that these men were considered fringe religious figures with peculiar views on sexuality?

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Our enemies care nothing for the truth. Instead they cling to religious extremism and the distortion of medical and mental health science. Hopefully, the new administration will usher in an atmosphere where such lies are less welcome. In the meantime, we must be vigilant to continue to tell the truth about our enemies while they tell lies about us.