I discovered a wonderful blog by an ex-ex-gay named Christine. She is one of those who, like me, was raised in a fundamentalist Christian religion and who, like me, was told how ugly and stained and nasty she must be for having same sex attractions. And that, therefore, she must get the cure! So, being a loyal person and a true believer, she began going through the programs, and like everyone else who's gone through those programs she discovered the dirty little secret at the bottom of the whole Exodus program: Ex-Gay does not mean Ex-homosexual.
Now, that might seem shocking to everyone who reads the massively funded advertising program that the political religious right throws at the "ex-gay" campaigns across the country -- "THOUSANDS HAVE CHANGED!" -- or even Exodus International President's completely undocumented claim that "hundreds of thousands have changed." (When queried to provide documentation, it always seems to be lost somewhere).
Read Christine's Journey. What I enjoyed about it was that she doesn't write from a position of meanness or anger. In fact, she admits that the programs did help her get more in touch with her true self. HER TRUE GAY SELF.
Not exactly the results the Exodus types would prefer, but one which has made her a much happier and more centered person. Welcome into the light, Christine!
(P.S. What "ex-gay" means inside the syntax bubble of Exodus is "I've decided that I don't want to be gay anymore so I'm going to act like I'm not gay and follow the ex-gay path and hope it'll go away. Meanwhile, I'll tell everyone I'm ex-gay so that the leaders can say "Look! Another one changed!" and I can be added to the tote board so that the Republican Party can use it as political ammunition against gay people." And no, I'm not kidding. This is what ex-gay is. Be not deceived.)
4 comments:
Wow. That was unreal. What a great, brave, Blog.
The reason they get away with their lies is because few people have taken the time to really investigate their world. This is something I have done. I'm not saying all of them are liars. I'm saying that they use language deceptively in order to recruit. And why are they recruiting? Because that's what evangelicals do. Ironic, isn't it, since "recruiting" is what they accuse gay people of doing.
Big congrats to Christine for becoming another enlightened soul who has risen above this fundamentalist tripe. Her blog is an excellent read too. Here's wishing her the best and hoping that more "ex-gays" can tap into the same courage that she has found. You hit the nail right on the head with your description of what it means to be ex-gay Steve.
You hit the nail right on the head with your description of what it means to be ex-gay Steve.
I feel badly for most of them. I have friends in the exgay world and so I speak with authority. It's too bad that they can't just be honest about their journey. I say if someone wants to follow that path, fine. Free country. But I object to the fact that they intentionally fuzzy with their definitions and deceptive in their advertising and publicity. Why would a group purporting to be Christian lie? What's the point of that? It only destroys their credibility.
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