After a large outcry, Prince George’s County Public Schools this week decided to discontinue promoting a video which endorsed so-called “ex-gay” therapy as a possible solution to gay students who are the victims of bullying.
In a report published in the Washington City Paper, students in a number of middle-school health classes were shown the film titled “Acception,” which uses a larger message about bullying to seemingly disguise its ex-gay therapy purpose.
The creator of the film, Christopher Doyle, is a board member of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX).
In one portion of the film, an actress playing the role of a student named Maria explains how she overcame her attraction to other women. When she turned to her family for help, her feelings of attraction to others of the same sex eventually disappeared.
After the Washington City Paper contacted them about the video, the school board decided to discontinue its use, but officials still refuse to admit that its ex-gay therapy content was the reason.
“We pulled the video because there was too much focus on alternative lifestyles,” spokesperson Briant K. Coleman told the paper.
Last year, the State of California banned the use of “reparative therapy” to change the sexual orientation of minors because of proven negative psychological effects.
Watch the “Maria” segment of the video below.
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