Homophobic 'researcher' Paul Cameron in all of his repulsive glory

“If you isolate sexuality as something solely for one’s own personal amusement, and all you want is the most satisfying orgasm you can get—and that is what homosexuality seems to be—then homosexuality seems too powerful to resist. The evidence is that men do a better job on men, and women on women if all you are looking for is an orgasm . . . Marital sex tends toward the boring end. Generally, it doesn’t deliver the kind of sheer sexual pleasure that homosexual sex does.” - Paul Cameron, Rolling Stone, March, 18, 1999

Not many people in the lgbt community or the world know who Paul Cameron is.

But we all should.

Paul Cameron is the grandfather of all anti-gay junk science.

When the religious right compares us to pedophiles, when they claim that we have a short life span, when they talk about how "how homosexuality has dangerous physical and medical consequences," it's his discredited "data" that they are inferring.

Paul Cameron is probably singlehandedly responsible for every lie, every distortion, every bastardization of science that has plagued the lgbt community since the onset of the AIDS crisis.

His bad research techniques and tactics has led him to be dismissed from major scientific groups, as well as censured by conservatives and liberals alike.

Unfortunately these techniques and tactics also gave the religious right a "scientific component" to attack the lgbt community. If there was no Paul Cameron, there would be no Peter LaBarbera, no Matt Barber, no Linda Harvey, etc., etc.

The following clips are of Paul Cameron in Poland this year, where he was barred from speaking at a university after his dubious history was made known.

I think you can see the ugly homophobia that has tainted his research from the beginning, especially with his fascination with anal sex in the gay community (of course he omits how heterosexuals also participate in this activity), and his claim that he has been the victim of a conspiracy of "ad hominem" attacks.

The "real fun" starts at 2:45 in this clip when he begins talking about how gays have a supposedly high rate of molesting children.



Now in second this clip, he goes into full detail about anal sex, making sure to imply that it is solely "gay behavior." He also talks about how the attacks against him have been unfair because all he is doing is presenting data that the gay community also presents. He also tells a huge bold-faced lie (as if his entire presentation isn't a lie) when he says that gays aren't showing any evidence that his work is inaccurate.



Of course Cameron omits several things. There is a reason why he has to go to foreign countries to present his "studies." He is a laughing stock in the United States. While religious right groups fully exploit the so-called results behind his studies, they are careful not to call him by name. There is a reason for that.

Let's take a quick look at his history:

"Right now, here in Lincoln, there is a 4-year-old boy who has had his genitals almost severed from his body at Gateway in the rest room with a homosexual act… It’s really awkward. I could see where Gateway would want to suppress this. I could see where the parents would want to suppress it. It could be just a rumor. But enough things have happened recently so that such a thing doesn’t have to be invented.” - Paul Cameron told this story to a group in 1982 in Lincoln, NB in an attempt to kill a human rights ordinance. The police discovered the story to be false but the ordinance was defeated.

And let's not forget the condemnations rained down on him by the medical community:

“(Cameron) misrepresents my findings and distorts them to advance his homophobic views. I make a very clear distinction in my writing between pedophilia and homosexuality, noting that adult males who sexually victimize young boys are either pedophilic or heterosexual, and that in my research I have not found homosexual men turning away from adult partners to children . . . I consider this totally unprofessional behavior on the part of Dr. Cameron and I want to bring this to your attention. He disgraces his profession.” - Dr. A. Nicholas Groth in 1984 after discovering that Cameron distorted his work.

"Paul Cameron (Nebraska) was dropped from membership for a violation of the Preamble to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists - American Psychological Association, 1983

The science and profession of psychology in Nebraska as represented by the Nebraska Psychological Association, formally dissociates itself from the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron in his writings and public statements on sexuality. Further, the Nebraska Psychological Association would like it known that Dr. Cameron is not a member of the Association. Dr. Cameron was recently dropped from membership in the American Psychological Association for a violation of the Preamble to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists - Nebraska Psychological Association, 1984

Dr. Paul Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented sociological research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism" - American Sociological Association, 1985

The Canadian Psychological Association takes the position that Dr. Paul Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism and thus, it formally disassociates itself from the representation and interpretations of scientific literature in his writings and public statements on sexuality. - Canadian Psychological Association, 1996

And while we are at it, let's not forget those on the right who dismiss Cameron's work:

"Given what I now know, I believe there are flaws with Paul Cameron's study. One cannot extrapolate from his methodology and say that the average male homosexual life span is 43 years." - former Ronald Regan Cabinet member William Bennett criticizing Cameron's "gay lifespan study." - New Republic (1998, February 23, page 4)

This article has been removed due to the inaccuracies surrounding the research of Paul Cameron. - A posting on the webpage of Ex-gay group Exodus International

Paul Cameron has been censured and attacked not because his "research" is controversial, but because it is wrong. He ranks right up there with folks who think that the Earth is flat. His organization, the Family Research Institute, has been declared an official hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

And not because it embraces the belief that homosexuality is a sin. According to Mark Potok, the director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Cameron's group has that designation because Cameron consciously lies about the lgbt community.

The sad fact that Cameron has credibility anywhere (not matter where it is) is testament to people's need to believe that their beliefs are somehow superior to others' beliefs.

This unfortunate need to feel superior has plagued mankind from the beginning of time. And, as in the beginning of time, there will always be people like Paul Cameron to exploit it.

More about Paul Cameron's lies here and here.

And despite all that has been said about Cameron's lies, this link shows that he still has a degree of credibility with some people, including Peter LaBarbera, Concerned Women for America, and the Family Research Council.