I Hate James Dobson

Latest Episodes:

Episode 17: Pre-Election Spooktacular Oct 28, 2024

Sometimes the only thing scarier than what goes bump in the night is what happens in Dobson-inspired books. In this very festive episode, Jake and Brooke face their fears in the most heart-wrenching, hair-raising episode yet! Join them as they unearth the tomb known as "What Does the Bible Teach About Transgenderism?" - and try to break its curse before it's too late.

Sources Cited

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Code of Ethics

Bustos, V. P., Bustos, S. S., Mascaro, A., Del Corral, G., Forte, A. J., Kim, E. A., ... & Manrique, O. J. (2021). Regret after gender-affirmation surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery–Global Open, 9(3), e3477.

Matthew 19 explained by BibRef

National Board for Certified Counselors Code of Ethics

Rabasco, A., & Andover, M. (2021). Suicidal ideation among transgender and gender diverse adults: A longitudinal study of risk and protective factors. Journal of Affective Disorders, 278, 136-143.

Thoma, B. C., Jardas, E. J., Choukas-Bradley, S., & Salk, R. H. (2023). Perceived gender transition progress, gender congruence, and mental health symptoms among transgender adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 72(3), 444-451.

Verbeek, M. J., Hommes, M. A., Stutterheim, S. E., van Lankveld, J. J., & Bos, A. E. (2020). Experiences with stigmatization among transgender individuals after transition: A qualitative study in the Netherlands. International journal of transgender health, 21(2), 220-233.

Wiepjes, C. M., den Heijer, M., Bremmer, M. A., Nota, N. M., de Blok, C. J., Coumou, B. J., & Steensma, T. D. (2020). Trends in suicide death risk in transgender people: results from the Amsterdam Cohort of Gender Dysphoria study (1972–2017). Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 141(6), 486-491.

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Episode 16: I Leave My Religious Trauma At The Door When It Comes To VeggieTales Oct 14, 2024

Finally! An actually light and fun episode! Join Jake and Brooke as they take a trip down memory lane and talk about perhaps the most well-known piece of Christian children's programming: VeggieTales. Stories are told, songs are sung, and much merriment was had by all.

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Episode 15: What Is James Dobson Up To Now? Sep 30, 2024

James Dobson continues to operate his media empires to this very day, so today Jake and Brooke take a break from his books to look at his more recent activities. This may come as a shock, but he hasn't been up to anything good.

Important Links:

Find your ballot and get involved: https://votesaveamerica.com/

Work Cited:

"Christopher Rufo Launched the Critical Race Theory Panic. He Isn’t Done." by Isabela Dias for Mother Jones

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Episode 14: The Strong-Willed Child (1978) Sep 16, 2024

"The Strong-Willed Child" is the gift that keeps on giving. Like herpes. This episode, Jake and Brooke explore the ideologies that undergird this wretched text, as well as all of Dobson's work more broadly: obedience. There's a lot less spanking in this one, it's infuriating for different reasons!

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Episode 13: The Strong-Willed Child (1978) Sep 02, 2024

Did you enjoy that break from Dobson? Thinking about how we can make the world a better place for everyone? That was nice, huh. Anyway, that's not what this episode is. Today Jake and Brooke are talking about perhaps THE Dobson book, "The Strong-Willed Child" and talking about what the hell Dobson means by "strong-willed".

Check out "The Worst of All Possible Worlds": https://www.worstpossible.world/

References:

"Before you donate to Autism Speaks, Consider the Facts" from AutisticAdvocacy.org

"Personality" from APA.org

"The Autistic Horror of Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (season 1)" by Patricia Taxxon on Youtube

"The Controversy Around ABA" from ChildMind.org

"What are the Big 5 Personality Traits" from VeryWellMind.com

"Why The Myers-Briggs test is totally meaningless" from Vox.com

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Episode 12: A Better Way Forward Aug 19, 2024

Let's not talk about James Dobson, for once! After spending 3 long episodes talking about the plague known as "purity culture", today Jake and Brooke explore what an actually healthy model of relationships and sexuality can look like. Be ready to hear the words "penis and vagina" a bunch of times.

Citations:

Braun-Harvey, D., & Vigorito, M. A. (2015). Treating out of control sexual behavior: Rethinking Sex Addiction. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL30396741M/Treating_out_of_control_sexual_behavior

Comprehensive sexuality education. (n.d.). https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/comprehensive-sexuality-education

Green, P., Psy. D., & Penrod, J., LMFT. (n.d.). Sexual diversity, sex positivity, and kink.

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Episode 11: I Kissed Dating Goodbye Aug 05, 2024

Today we are reading our first non-Dob book, though unfortunately his spirit remains with us. This book will help you not become a childless cat lady or whatever, because it wants to tell you the right way to have a relationship. I'm sure things all check out this time and there's nothing bad in this episode at all.

Citations:

Joshua Harris’s apology: https://joshharris.com/a-statement-on/

No, kids weren’t starting to have sex earlier: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4011992/

Van Der Wyngaard, J (Director). (2018). “I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye” [Film]. DOCSology.

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Episode 10: What is Purity Culture? Jul 22, 2024

Let's get into it, what an absolute nightmare. On this episode, Jake and Brooke break down what exactly 'purity culture' even means, down to its rotten roots. Horrifying histories, awful anecdotes, and blood-boiling beliefs abound in this one.

Citations (hyperlinks do not work on every platform)

About the AIDS quilt

Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs from Planned Parenthood

Can Antibiotics Affect My Birth Control? From Planned Parenthood by Attia

Purity Culture and Its Effect on Mental Health from VeryWellMind by John Loeppky

Rickabaugh, T (2022), Leaving Church, Learning Love: Experiences of Queer Women in Purity Culture. University of Missouri.

Sex and HIV Education (2023) from the Guttmacher Institute

The FAQs: What You Should Know about Purity Culture from TheGospelCoalition by Joe Carter

The Flaw at the Center of Purity Culture from The Atlantic by Angie Hong

The Impact of Christian Purity Culture is still being felt – including in Britian from TheConversation by Christabelle Thwaites

The Racist Link Between Purity Culture and Christian Nationalism and Why It Matters In Elections from Reckon.news by Anna Beahm:

What is Purity Culture from Lindakayklein.com

Why Nearly Every 2000s Disney Channel Star Wore a Purity Ring from Cracked.com by Carly Tennes

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Episode 9: Bringing Up Girls Jul 08, 2024

James Dobson does it again: he wrote another book that makes me want to crawl out of my skin and die. The hits really don't stop coming, huh. This time, we are reading the toxic sludge known as "Bringing Up Girls". This is the start of a series about Purity Culture, the Evangelical philosophy that says holding hands is basically the same as having an affair (and both will earn you a scarlet A). Hold on to your lunches because this gets downright disgusting.

References:

“An Ecological Approach to Obesity and Eating Disorders. Chapter 10: Prevalence of Eating Disorders in Men versus Women.”

Randy Wilson’s Page on the FRC website

The Colorado law Dobson misconstrues so he can fear-monger about queer people

FotF Media Commitment (previously Covenant)

Why Abstinence Only Education suuuuucks

Dobson’s challenge

Legkauskas, V., & Stankevičienė, D. (2009). Premarital sex and marital satisfaction of middle aged men and women: a study of married Lithuanian couples. Sex Roles, 60, 21-32.
Legkauskas, V., & Jakovlevaitė, V. (2005). Rizikingo seksualinio studentų elgesio ir jų psichosocialinių savybių ryšys [Relationship between risky sex behaviors and psychosocial characteristics of students]. Psichologija, 32,35–46.
Rochlen, A. B., McKelley, R. A., Suizzo, M. A., & Scaringi, V. (2008). Predictors of relationship satisfaction, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction among stay-at-home fathers. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 9(1), 17.
Levenson, R. W., & Gottman, J. M. (1985). Physiological and affective predictors of change in relationship satisfaction. Journal of personality and social psychology, 49(1), 85.
DeClaire, J., & Gottman, J. M. (2001). The relationship cure: A five-step guide for building better connections with family, friends, and lovers. Crown Publishers.

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Episode 8: How I Became an Evangelical Jun 24, 2024

Let's get personal! On this episode, Jake takes Brooke and Jordan through his experience becoming an Evangelical in order to understand how anyone could get sucked into Dobson's obvious lies. We talk about everything from AWANA to Adventures in Odyssey, from bell choirs to Christian rock bands, from racist chipmunks to youth group lock-ins.

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Episode 7: James Dobson Hates Me Jun 10, 2024

Happy pride month, heathens! Today, Jake and Brooke are joined by our first very special guest: Jordan! Together, we are taking a step back to marvel at Dobson's illustrious career as a professional homophobe. We trace Dobson's denial of homophobia, his active homophobia, and the hydra of political organizations he has created. Turns out, sometimes conspiracy theories are true: Dobson literally conspired in secret with others to push homophobic and misogynistic policies at every possible level of government.

Works Cited (hyperlinks do not work on every podcast player, my apologies)

“A Nation Shaken by the Sandy Hook Tragedy” broadcast by Dobson – Dec 17, 2012

After Obergefell

“Ballot measures in 11 states, all successful, aided the president’s reelection bid and helped to swing the momentum, for a time, to the side of the anti-gay Right.” - https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/revolution-anti-gay-activists-threaten-uprising-if-supreme-court-approves-marriage-equality/

Dr. Dobson's September Newsletter – Sept. 2019

Evangelical Broadcaster Seeks “Pro-Family” Lobby by Russell Chandler

Family Policy Alliance Financial Reports 2020 & 2019

Focus on the Family focuses on homosexuals

FRC fighting conversion therapy bans

FRC’s connection to FPCs

Gallagher, S. “Where Are the Antifeminist Evangelicals? Evangelical Identity, Subcultural Location, and Attitudes toward Feminism.” Gender and Society (2004)

“God will destroy America for legalizing sexual perversions”

Homosexuality and Dr. Dobson: What’s at Stake in American Christianity?

Moslener, Sara, Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence (2015)

SPLC on FRC

The Homosexual Community: Small number, big influence

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Episode 6: Bringing Up Boys Part 2 May 27, 2024

Here's where things get interesting. In this episode, Jake and Brooke explore Bringing Up Boys from a cultural perspective, then do a deep dive into one of the most harmful chapters James Dobson has written - and that's saying something. There's stuff in this episode that will shock you, I promise. (Is it in bad taste to make a conversion therapy joke? No I'm gay, I can get away with it.)

References

Umberto Eco, "Eternal Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt," The New York Review of Books, June 22, 1995.

Kruglanski, A. W., Szumowska, E., & Kopetz, C. (2021). The Psychology of Extremism. In The Psychology of Extremism (pp. 1-11). Routledge.

Stone, Peter. “US ‘university’ Spreads Climate Lies and Receives Millions from Rightwing Donors.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Sept. 2023, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/06/prageru-climate-change-denier-republican-donors.

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Episode 5: Bringing Up Boys - Part 1 May 13, 2024

Buckle up boys and girls (and NO ONE ELSE!), things get unhinged this time around. Jake and Brooke talk all about Dobson's commercially-successful trash fire called Bringing Up Boys. There's cringe, there's trauma, there's holy bones - this episode has it all.

Sources:

"Animal Sex: How Anglerfish Do It" (2015) from LiveScience.com

Studies about how human sexual dimorphism is vastly over-blown:

Lise Eliot, Adnan Ahmed, Hiba Khan, Julie Patel. Dump the 'dimorphism': Comprehensive synthesis of human brain studies reveals few male-female differences beyond size. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2021; 125: 667 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.026
Marwha, D., Halari, M., & Eliot, L. (2017). Meta-analysis reveals a lack of sexual dimorphism in human amygdala volume. Neuroimage, 147, 282-294.
“Bill Nye Saves the World: The Sexual Spectrum.” Season 1, episode 9. (2017).

"One Day of ‘Take a Child to Work’ Is Short on Substance : Boys are now being invited to join the formerly all-girl event. But it’s doubtful kids find our jobs worth imitating. It may be better to just share the pride of accomplishment." Los Angeles Times (1995)

Johnson, L.B. (1991). On the front lines: Police stress and family wellbeing. Hearing before the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families House of Representatives: 102 Congress First Session May 20 (p. 3248). Washington DC: US Government Printing Office.

Neidig, P.H., Russell, H.E. & Seng, A.F. (1992). Interspousal aggression in law enforcement families: A preliminary investigation. Police Studies, Vol. 15 (1), p. 3038.

Leopold, T. (2018). Gender differences in the consequences of divorce: A study of multiple outcomes. Demography, 55(3), 769-797.

"The Coming Attack on an Essential Element of Women's Freedom" (2023). by Kimberly Wehle, The Atlantic

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BONUS: What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women - Uncut May 06, 2024

This is the full conversation between Brooke and Jake of "What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women" - a title I hope to never say or write again. This episode is for the podcast aficionados who want 90 minutes of uninterrupted Dobson talk. So if you're a masochist, enjoy! New episodes resume next week :)

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Episode 4: What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women - Part 2 Apr 29, 2024

We back to finish out Dobson's confusing and upsetting book What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women. In episode 1 we covered women's top 4 problems (according to Dobson): low self-esteem; fatigue; loneliness, isolation, and boredom; and lack of romantic love in marriage. Today, we are covering the rest of them and trying to understand why Dobson thinks it's a great idea to trick a teenage girl into doing free manual labor for you. Gosh what a freak.

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Episode 3: What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women - Part 1 Apr 15, 2024

I'm just as frustrated with this title as you are, I promise.

In this episode, Jake and Brooke talk about Dobson's feminist manifesto, What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women. I'm sure we are all so glad to have Dobson mansplain women's problems to us, I'm sure he's super insightful about it.

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Episode 2: Dare to Discipline Apr 01, 2024

In this episode, Jake and Brooke dive into Dobson's first book, Dare to Discipline, aka the reason you were spanked as a kid. And oh boy, Dobson comes out swinging in this one.

Content warning for: child abuse, violence, and overly long explanations of operant conditioning.

References and further reading:

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Episode 1: Who is James Dobson? Mar 17, 2024

On this premiere episode, Jake and Brooke travel through the sordid history of Dr. James Dobson, clinical psychologist turned Evangelical figurehead. Join us as we begin to discover all of the many reasons why I hate James Dobson.

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