I got my first launch into activism back in 2003 when a former roommate had a guy contact me about someone he suspected was a national "ex-gay" who had appeared in a Christian Right newspaper and TV blitz in 1998. It turned out that the gay in question was Michael Johnston, one time protege of Jerry Falwell and other far right gay-haters, who had been sleeping around the Hampton Roads area under a false name. Working with Wayne Besen, Johnston's fraud on the public that he had been "cured" of homosexuality was exposed and Johnston's disingenuous career as "ex-gay for pay" was ended. Despite all the proof that the "ex-gay" ministries and reparative therapy do not work, there remain those among the Christo-fascists who continue to promote these fraudulent programs to (1) make money and (2) argue that sexual orientation is a choice and, therefore, gays deserve no legal protections. How alleged "Christians" can engage in such deliberate untruths is disturbing. Now, Alternet has a story about Ted Cox's experience going undercover into one of these snake oil programs. Here are some highlights:*
Over the course of the past two years, writer Ted Cox posed as a gay man. He attended weekly meetings for several months at two churches in California and a two-day camp at a ranch in northern Arizona in February, both geared toward one end: turning homosexual men and women straight. Last week, I sat down with my friend, Cox, to hear about his experience going undercover in Christian gay-to-straight therapy programs.
TC: I first heard about gay-conversion therapy from a segment on The Daily Show, called Diagnosis: Mystery and Jason Jones interviews one of the most infamous names in ex-gay therapy who's Richard Cohen. What bothered me about the segment is that they didn't touch on the religious background behind these programs. There is no such thing as atheist, agnostic or non-religious groups trying to make gay people straight. Evangelical Christians, especially, tend to be heavily involved in this movement.
*
They promote this idea that they can make you straight. That's their public message. As you dig deeper, you find out that people are actually suppressing their sexuality.
*
TC: This camp bills itself as an intense 48-hours immersive, experiential retreat. The idea is that there's an emotional burden to fix. It's called Journey into Manhood, run by a group called People Can Change. They bill themselves as non-religious. The organizer of the camp is a Mormon, Rich Wyler.
*
I became sad because I saw men reenact traumatic events from their childhood. The paperwork tells you [camp staff members] are not acting as professionals so you have no idea how ethical this is, how safe—psychologically—any of these programs are. I felt sad that their pain was being used to exploit them to make them feel like that was the reason they were gay.
*
SC: You're breaking a confidentiality agreement by speaking to me about the camp. Why take that chance? TC: I had to. If I don't talk about this, this is going to keep happening. I met one man who is married and has children and he would go online to hook up with other men and he was having anonymous sex with strangers and then going home to his wife. Another man was married and making phone calls to gay-sex chat lines and his daughter discovered the bill. A lot of these men are living lies and it affects themselves, their wives, their children. I can't stay silent about this. I feel like there's a greater good in talking about this and exposing what's going on.
*
TC: I first heard about gay-conversion therapy from a segment on The Daily Show, called Diagnosis: Mystery and Jason Jones interviews one of the most infamous names in ex-gay therapy who's Richard Cohen. What bothered me about the segment is that they didn't touch on the religious background behind these programs. There is no such thing as atheist, agnostic or non-religious groups trying to make gay people straight. Evangelical Christians, especially, tend to be heavily involved in this movement.
*
They promote this idea that they can make you straight. That's their public message. As you dig deeper, you find out that people are actually suppressing their sexuality.
*
TC: This camp bills itself as an intense 48-hours immersive, experiential retreat. The idea is that there's an emotional burden to fix. It's called Journey into Manhood, run by a group called People Can Change. They bill themselves as non-religious. The organizer of the camp is a Mormon, Rich Wyler.
*
I became sad because I saw men reenact traumatic events from their childhood. The paperwork tells you [camp staff members] are not acting as professionals so you have no idea how ethical this is, how safe—psychologically—any of these programs are. I felt sad that their pain was being used to exploit them to make them feel like that was the reason they were gay.
*
SC: You're breaking a confidentiality agreement by speaking to me about the camp. Why take that chance? TC: I had to. If I don't talk about this, this is going to keep happening. I met one man who is married and has children and he would go online to hook up with other men and he was having anonymous sex with strangers and then going home to his wife. Another man was married and making phone calls to gay-sex chat lines and his daughter discovered the bill. A lot of these men are living lies and it affects themselves, their wives, their children. I can't stay silent about this. I feel like there's a greater good in talking about this and exposing what's going on.
*
To me, what is especially sad about these bogus ministries is that at their core, they care nothing about those whom they are misleading. It's all about making money and using "ex-gays" as a prop in furthering their anti-gay political agenda. There is NOTHING Christian about these false ministries.
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