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Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber chair named national Affiliate Leader of the Year Tracey Dean, the chair of the Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, was named the Affiliate Leader of the Year by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce at their annual gala, this year held in Kissamee, Fla. The Utah Chamber joined the NGLCC in 2018 under Dean’s leadership. “Our inclusion in this organization is a major step in the right direction for Utah’s LGBT community as we now gain recognition and support on a national level,” Dean wrote at the time. “The NGLCC is the business voice of the U.S. LGBT community and is the largest global notfor-profit advocacy organization specifically dedicated to expanding economic opportunities and advancements for LGBT people.” Also under Dean’s leadership, the group changed their name from Utah Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a nod to inclusion of the greater LGBTQ+ community. Dean was successful in growing the membership of the Chamber by over 150 percent. “As a business owner myself, I was looking for places to network and found I didn’t really ‘fit in’ with the traditional Chambers or other organizations. Knowing that networking is critical to business growth-I sought out alternatives and found the LGBTQ+
Chamber,” Dean said. “I was asked to join the board to expand gender diversity and I found that I had a lot of ideas — most were good (laughs). “Being able to drive the conversation and strategize on helping small businesses grow is my passion,” Dean said. Dean’s greatest accomplishment with the Chamber might be its collaboration with other local minority Chambers. “Early on, we recognized that a lot of chambers, busi-
ness alliance, and networking groups were doing similar events appealing to overlapping audiences. So we formed strategic alliances to share resources to achieve greater impact,” she said. Dean said she gaines more with the Utah Chamber than she ever imagined. “I believe I have had impact in my community, helping to develop underserved businesses, forming long lasting friendships, learning effective speaking skills, leading a group of committed volunteers, advancing the work of
Issue 330 | DECEMBER, 2021
those who came before me, and promoting the ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion. That has been more meaningful and satisfying than I can express in words,” she said. Dean invites business owners to join the Chamber. “We host events throughout the year. In person, online, morning, midday and evening,” she said. “Next up is a celebration of the season with Living Color Utah on Saturday, December 4th from 6 to 9 p.m. at Duvin Pintor in Trolley Square. Q Info at utahlgbtqchamber.org.
Dallin Oaks lies about BYU involvement in electroshock therapy while BYU president It is well documented that the Brigham Young University “University Standards Office” (today known as the Honor Code Office) forced many male students who were caught “exhibiting homosexual tendencies” to be sent for electroshock and vomit aversion therapies. The practice began in 1959 and ended in the mid-90s. In recent comments, however, Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that while he was the president of BYU from 1971 through 1980, no such therapy was happening on the campus. At the University of Virginia, Oaks participated in an event titled, “The Future of Religious Freedom: A Conversation With Dallin H. Oaks and Douglas Laycock,” presented by the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy and Rex E. Lee Law Society In the pre-speech Q&A session, Oaks was asked several questions about LGBTQ people and the church. One question was about address-
ing the past behavior of the church toward LGBTQ community members. “What have you done to address some of the things you have done in the past, including the things that you have said and overseeing the enforcement of electroshock and vomiting aversion therapy for LGB students at BYU?” an unnamed audience member asked. Oaks replied, “Let me say about electroshock treatments at BYU when I became president at BYU that had been discontinued earlier and it never went on under my administration.” In a 1998 article published by an independent BYU newspaper, two gay men who were forced to endure electroshock therapy spoke about their experiences in the early 70s. In 1976, student Max Ford McBride, under the tutelage of Dr. Eugene Thorne, head of BYU’s psychology department, ran a two-year study titled “Effect of Visual Stimuli in Electric Aversion Therapy” as a dissertation for his doctorate degree at BYU. McBride
and Thorne showed both heterosexual and homosexual porn to the men, having them press a button that would shock them through electrodes attached to their penis when they were becoming aroused. Dr. Robert D. Card, who worked in private practice and on the BYU campus, went so far as to get a patent for a device that would measure when a penis began to be aroused, which he called the penismograph. Card published a paper on his electroshock therapy techniques in 1975. It is still available on BYU’s archive site. In a follow-up question, Oaks said, “I think the solution to that is for people on one side to become better acquainted and have more respect and knowledge for the people on the other side. That’s a principle that applies to people on both sides.” Q
