The "Sissy Boy Experiment"

[fuckfrosti]

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Kirk Andrew Murphy seemed to have everything to live for.

He put himself through school. He had a successful 12-year career in the Air Force. After the service, he landed a high profile position with an American finance company in India.

But in 2003 at age 38, Kirk Murphy took his own life.

A co-worker found him hanging from the

Comments

[apis_cerana]

What Rekers encourages is disgusting, but the parents are the ones who actually abused him. Ugh. This whole thing is awful. Fucking assholes.

[dangerousdame]

As someone who just took a psych research class, how the hell did this experiment get approved? Seems like a real breach of ethics.

[sesmo]

1970s, they didn't have the ethics panels that we have now. But yes, this research is skeevy, and I will bet that the "beat your child bloody" part of the "experiment" wasn't disclosed to the research panel (and sure as hell wasn't written in the books about how the therapy "worked.")

[dangerousdame]

That makes sense, albeit horribly.

[serendipity_15]

I was about to say the same thing, from what I remember from my psych research course when we had to take the IRB computer course before we could even START it wasn't until very recently that ethics when it came to research practices even was something people took seriously.

[gildinwen]

I don't know who to rage at more. Rekers or his parents.

[gillianinoz]

The parents Absolutely absolutely the parents. Bad choices and bad advice and even homophobia only go so far. It was the parents who made his life a living hell, tortured and threatened him for YEARS.

The mother can bleat about it now, but that bitch deserves to fucking die. I wish she was the one who killed herself.

[gildinwen]

Yep. I mean it was one thing to take him there because of some sort of warped ideas of what little boys "should" do, but to then continue the abuse at home?

What the hell lady????

[mingemonster]

"Bitch", really? You can express anger without being misogynistic and wishing suicide on people

[wrestlingdog]

[chaya]

"The research has a postscript that needs to be added," she said. "That is that Kirk Andrew Murphy was Kraig and he was gay, and he committed suicide."

Where do we see homosexuality in this person? I see feminine traits. Did I miss something?

And to the mom - these "experts" gave you terrible advice, but it was you and your husband that chose to enact it even as your kid went "numb", and it was your husband that physically beat your kid. It wouldn't be considered abuse "today". It was abuse. The experts are to blame but your family isn't completely innocent either.

[frelling_tralk]

Where do we see homosexuality in this person? I see feminine traits. Did I miss something?

Sorry I don't know how to direct link to the video, but this post http://ontd-political.livejournal.com/8248246.html has a video where they say their brother acknowledged himself as a gay man in 1985, but couldn't come to terms with it because of his childhood

[chaya]

Thanks - I thought I was missing a critical part in this particular article.

[frelling_tralk]

It's very sad because in the video it's shown that the Doctor is still using "Kraig" as an example in his books of how homosexuality can be cured, hence their comment on the postscript needing to be added that he WAS gay and he killed himself :/