I write frequently about the evils of the "ex-gay" industry and the charlatans like Michelle Bachmann's lisping husband who make a living peddling the lie that sexual orientation can be changed and that being gay is a "choice." I do so for several reasons. First, I remember the years of self-hate and efforts I went through to "pray away the gay" even as I remained in the closet and tried to convince myself that I wasn't really gay. Given the responses I've received to yesterday's post about Romeo and Juliet, I had lots of company in that private Hell of trying to not be gay. No one should suffer through these kinds of experiences in the future. Second, all legitimate medical and mental health associations - i.e., those not funded by Christofascists - now condemn so-called reparative therapy and it is past time that this "therapy" which is nothing more than child abuse be banned. A piece in Huffington Post provides an overview of the evils done by the now thankfully closed Exodus International and its allied snake oil merchants. Here are some highlights:
Exodus International announced that they would be closing their doors on July 1, 2013. An apology was issued for the "damage that has been caused," and an official statement was made that after four decades of working with countless people from the gay community, it was clear that sexual orientation cannot be changed.
I can't help but look at the indisputable evidence that begs -- screams -- for our attention. According to recent polls, 40 percent of our homeless youth are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Per Trevor Talks, suicide rates are three to four times higher among LGBT youth. In addition, reparative therapy patients are not likely to "convert," but they do often suffer psychological damage and deep shame surrounding their sexuality. The American Psychological Association states that reparative therapy is in fact harmful, and that it "reinforces stereotypes and contributes to a negative climate for lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons."
The removal of homosexuality as a diagnosis invalidated many secular forms of reparative therapy, but religious-right groups, including Exodus International, persisted in their efforts to change sexual orientation. It is truly impossible to measure the damage that has been done to the people who had the misfortune of falling prey to such abhorrent treatment.
Exodus International and similar organizations may not be performing frontal lobotomies to try to alter one's sexual orientation, but the psychological damage that has been inflicted on countless people is indisputable. It cannot be overlooked that, in addition to the unfortunate individuals who have undergone such conversion efforts, there are innumerable people who have been influenced by this message of rejection and intolerance.
Exodus International has tormented the minds of youth and adults alike who have struggled to come to terms with their sexual identity in the face of such unforgiving religious scrutiny. How many people have pored over the teachings of this organization, pleading to God to show them how they can change and become worthy of salvation? How many parents have rejected their children, justifying their stance of tough love through the ideals of this organization? For forty years individuals, families, churches and communities have been impacted by the false and egregious teaching that homosexuality is a choice and that those who have enough stamina, enough tenacity, enough spiritual commitment, can change. The damage is irreversible.
While I applaud and celebrate the downfall of such a damaging organization, it is evident to me that merely closing the doors of Exodus International hardly begins to soothe the colossal damage that four decades of false teaching has caused. The message has been engrained in our sanctuaries and reverberated throughout our culture that being gay is a choice. This is the time when all those who celebrate the ending of the existence of Exodus International must dig their toes in and promote organizations that are actively seeking to repair the relationships destroyed by misconception. . . . .
Stand up, speak out and fight for equality and acceptance for all.
What makes the whole saga even more sad is that the "ex-gay" industry was and continues to be fueled by those who (i) want to make a buck off of the sufferings of others and/or (ii) are afraid to think for themselves and make their own moral choices and instead cling to selective passages of writings of ignorant nomads for 2500+ years ago.
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