My fellow blogger Peterson Toscano has teamed up with Christine Bakke to start a new community for ex-gays, "Beoynd Ex-Gay." This from their website:
We believe that ex-gay experiences cause more harm than good. Certain people who currently identify as ex-gay say they are content as such. We don’t seek to invalidate their experience. For us such a lifestyle was not possible or healthy.
Not that it was all bad: Some of us received positive help through our ex-gay experiences. We grew to understand our sexuality better and in some cases even overcame life-controlling problems.
There's not anger or hatred there, just open hearts and open arms for others that they want to help either avoid the pain that they've endured or walk them through it and facilitate the healing process.
If you have gone through therapy with the goal of "curing" your same-sex attraction or are currently "struggling" with it, I highly recommend you hook up with these folks.
Peterson will also be appearing on the Tyra Banks show that will be brodcast on April 12--check it out.
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How can one be an 'ex-gay' if you're born with it? Being an 'ex-gay' definies denial. It's just as if I said, "Well, I don't want to be Italian anymore...so I'll join the "ex-Italian" community to fix myself.
ReplyDeletePure brainwashing.
I agree that being an "Ex-gay" is just rubbish and brainwashing. But, people have the right to be in control of their life I suppose, even if that control is built on a lie. I'll respect their decisions.
ReplyDeleteThe only sad thing for me is that these people spend so much of their lives avoiding and denying what they are, that at the end of their life, they will only be able to say, "...I never enjoyed life... and now it's gone..". They may even find a person of the opposite sex to marry and life a straight life with, but will they truly find fulfillment?
I went through the same thing, and with 3 suicide attempts during my adolescent years (not for being gay, but for fear of rejection from my family and friends, which did happen when I came out), I'm very glad that I stuck around long enough to experience the 32 year marriage to my partner, Kent. I would have missed out on so much love and fulfillment if I had killed myself so long ago, or spent the rest of my life denying what I am.
As Walt Whitman said, "If you can't be yourself, what is the point of being anything at all?"
Bill,
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the more moving comments anyone has ever posted here. I'm very glad you are still around to do so.