Myth Busting: Gay Molesters

By Brooklyn Brady

How do you combat a myth? If MythBusters can be believed, what you need is any one of the following: a home-made cannon that can shoot a delicious wasabi pea through a concrete wall, a subwoofer so loud it can implode your car, or a test dummy willing to take-one-for-the-team every damn time. Sadly, I don’t have any one of those things. instead, I’ll present then evidence.

Myth: ‘Gays are more likely to be child abusers and pedophiles’.

The Argument:

Positioning gay men as sinister creatures of the underworld, hell-bent on devouring your children has been one of the most enduring anti-LGBT myths fuelling public fears about homosexuality. The notion that gay men will sexually abuse your children if given the chance also forms the basis for the enduring idea that homosexuals should not be allowed to work with children.

1970s America. Anita Bryant successfully campaigned to repeal a county order prohibiting anti-gay discrimination. Bryant named her organisation ‘Save Our Children’ and warned the wider community (who ate it up) that “a particularly deviant-minded [gay] teacher could sexually molest children”. At this point in time, Bryant’s view was echoed by the majority of Americans. In a 1970 national survey, more than 70% of respondents agreed with the assertions that “Homosexuals are dangerous as teachers or youth leaders because they try to get sexually involved with children” or that “Homosexuals try to play sexually with children if they cannot get an adult partner”.

Out of this climate arose psychologist, Dr. Paul Cameron, who from the early 1980s onward has worked tirelessly to spread his message regarding the link between homosexuality and child molestation. In no uncertain terms, Dr. Cameron claims that based on his own survey research, “homosexuality and child molestation go hand-in-hand”. He also continues to advocate for the death penalty for homosexuals. It is important to note that Dr. Cameron’s views are not supported by the majority of his peers or the governing research bodies. Indeed, Dr. Cameron was publicly expelled from all major psychological research organisations, including the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Sociological Association (ASA) on the basis of failure to cooperate in ethical reviews and misrepresentation of research data. In 1985, the ASA released a statement asserting that “Dr. Paul Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented sociological research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism… [and] repeatedly campaigned for the abrogation of the civil rights of lesbians and gay men, substantiating his call on the basis of his distorted interpretation of this research.”

In more recent years, a Washington-based organisation called the Family Research Counsel have been developing horrifying legit-looking materials that they claim provide scientific evidence to support their claim that gay men are, in fact, much more likely to abuse children compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Here’s what Peter Sprigg, spokesperson for the Family Research Counsel, had to say on the matter in their 2010 guide to ‘The Top Ten Myths About Homosexuality’ (not worth a read): “Fact: The percentage of child sexual abuse cases in which men molest boys is many times higher than the percentage of adult males who are homosexual, and most men who molest boys self-identify as homosexual or bisexual… There is clearly a subculture among homosexual men that openly celebrates the idea of sexual relationships between adult men and underage boys, whether pre-pubescent or adolescent.”

Numerous prominent researchers have come out publicly to condemn the FRC’s misrepresentation of their research findings and distance themselves from any and all of the FRC’s anti-LGBT rhetoric. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, states “It is disturbing to me to see special interest groups distort my scientific observations to make a point against homosexuality. The information they present is misleading and incorrect.”

The Facts:

So, let’s have the facts. Dr. Gregory Herek, a professor at the University of California, Davis, and one of the world’s leading researchers on prejudice against sexual minorities, reviewed the evidence provided by the FRC and systematically highlighted their misrepresentation of research. In light of all empirical evidence to date, Herek concluded that there is no evidence that gay men molest children at higher rates than heterosexual men. In another review of the scientific literature, Dr. A. Nicholas Groth wrote: “The research to date all points to there being no significant relationship between a homosexual lifestyle and child molestation. There appears to be practically no reportage of sexual molestation of girls by lesbian adults, and the adult male who sexually molests young boys is not likely to be homosexual”.

Both Herek and Groth point out that in many instances, linking child molestation or pedophilia to any adult sexual orientation may be missing the point. Presently, we understand sexual offenders who act against children to fall within two subtypes: the fixated type, and the regressive type. Fixated child molesters are most common, and typically cannot be considered homosexual or heterosexual because “he often finds adults of either sex repulsive” and often molests children of both sexes. Less common are regressive child molesters, who are generally attracted to other adults, but may “regress” to focus on children when confronted with stressful situations. Of regressive offenders, Groth found that the majority self-identify as heterosexual.

In spite of the evidence de-bunking this particularly harmful and baseless myth, some anti-LGBT persons continue to espouse this view to the detriment of LGBT persons. For those people, a more traditional MythBusters approach may be most effective. So… Pea cannon?