Maddow Takes On My So-Called Ex-Gay Life

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

April 19 2012 2:30 PM EST

May 26 2023 3:14 PM EST

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Gabriel Arana spoke to Rachel Maddow about his shocking revelation that Dr. Robert Spitzer, a respected authority on LGBT health, told him he regretted giving credence to the "ex-gay" movement.

Arana's recent piece in The American Prospect was a big blow to "ex-gay" programs, which attempt to turn gay people straight. Arana described speaking to Spitzer, who in 2001 wrote a piece that suggested some gay people could change their orientation. Spitzer told Arana he regretted that decision and that it was mostly taken out of context. Spitzer, ironically, was one of the doctors in 1973 that helped remove homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association's list of mental disorders.

Watch Arana and Maddow discuss the doctor below.

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