In June I penned a column, "The Fall of the Ex-Gay Myth," which predicted that so-called "ex-gay" programs would crumble from internal rot. "It's time for the discredited 'ex-gay' myth to simply go away and be rightfully viewed as an experiment that was tried and failed," I wrote at the time.
In the months since this column was written, the decline of these "pray away the gay" organizations has only accelerated. Here are the top 10 ex-gay-related stories of 2011:
1. Bachmann Scandal: Nothing brought the idiocy of reparative therapy into the spotlight more that Truth Wins Out's undercover operation that proved that the clinic of Marcus Bachmann, husband of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), practiced this form of discredited therapy. Prior to the investigation, Marcus had lied to the American people by denying that his practice engaged in such quackery. The story made a mockery out of such practices and was featured in media across the globe.
2. John Smid: Love in Action "ex-gay" ministry leader John Smid went public with a startling confession: "I've never met a man who experienced a change from homosexual to heterosexual." The honest words of this "ex-gay" poster boy sent shockwaves through the entire "ex-gay" industry. Observers of these groups asked: if Smid's hardcore regimen of prayer and therapy did not work for him, whom would it work for?
3. Exodus SOS: Ex-Gay Watch's David Roberts reported that a Nov. 16 secret summit took place in New York City, where Exodus President Alan Chambers desperately plotted how to "keep Exodus International from social and financial oblivion." The report discussed how an ill-advised real estate deal and increasingly convoluted messages have brought Exodus to the precipice of total failure.
4. Rekers Study Unmasked: Prior to getting caught with an escort from RentBoy.com, Dr. George Rekers was the "ex-gay" industry's most prominent therapist. Much of Rekers' reputation was based on a study where he cited the alleged sexual conversion of a boy named "Kraig." Box Turtle Bulletin's Jim Burroway undermined this claim by discovering that "Kraig" had grown up to be a gay man and that his family alleged that the therapy with Rekers had led to his suicide. This story, covered in an excellent series on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, demolished a key pillar of "ex-gay" research.
5. Exodus iPhone App: Exodus International created an "ex-gay" iPhone app to promote people using their mobile phones to "pray away the gay." It was so obnoxious that the website Fierce Mobile Content listed it in the top 5 most offensive apps of 2011. Fortunately, Truth Wins Out launched a 160,000-signature Change.org petition drive to persuade Apple Inc. to remove the "ex-gay" iPhone app.
6. Lisa Miller Saga: Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins had a Vermont civil union in 2000, and Miller then gave birth to a daughter, Isabella, conceived through artificial insemination. Miller became a born-again Christian and fled to Virginia with her daughter. When a judge handed custody of Isabella to Jenkins, Miller fled the country with her daughter. Kenneth L. Miller, 46, of Stuarts Draft, Va., was recently arrested for assisting Lisa Miller as she absconded to Nicaragua. This story is not yet finished and may ensnare anti-gay figures that may have aided and abetted international kidnapping. Keep your eye on this story!
7. Sergio Viula: This man was the leading provider of "ex-gay" quackery in Brazil. In an interview he gave to the Secular Humanist League of Brazil, Viula called such programs "brainwashing" and said, "In fact, ex-gays don't exist -- it's pure self-suggestion."
8. Ex-Gay Goes International: As the "ex-gay" industry fails at home, they are opportunistically searching for fresh markets to exploit overseas. A perfect example occurred in Hong Kong, which hired a therapist, Hong Kwai-wah, to cure gay people by urging them to take cold showers when aroused. The controversial hire caused protests from Hong Kong to New York City.
9. Dr. Warren Throckmorton: This Christian therapist from Grove City College has surprisingly emerged as a leading critic of "reparative therapy." A former member of The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), his knowledge of this topic has made him a ruthlessly effective foe of NARTH's quack-like theories. Even more damaging, he has created a competing therapy model that gives LGBT Christians the option to come out of the closet or hold on to their fundamentalist beliefs -- but it does not lie to them by promising that they can pray away the gay.
10. PFOX Lawsuit: Greg Quinlan, President of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX), appeared on television and fabricated an incident that never occurred: "Truth Wins Out if you look further, including Wayne Besen. He's asked for people, you know, somebody needs to run Greg over. He needs to be hit with a bus. Somebody should inject him with AIDS." As a result of Quinlan's fake story, I am preparing a defamation lawsuit against PFOX that will play out in 2012.
Follow Wayne Besen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Truthwinsout
As a straight, married woman in Minnesota (who does identify as a Christian), I can only tell you that the support and love we have received from the Christian community (no, not all), who have learned for the first time through Kirk's story WHAT reparative therapy is, have easily understood how horrible it is, and how awful it is that it is being done in the name of God, is much greater than you would think.
The problem is that the religious whack jobs have have had the microphones, and unfortunately, we've let them speak for us for far too long. I think that time is coming to an end or at least I hope it is. When those who aren't in a battle for their rights finally stand up for those who are, then we shall see even more progress, because it's not just a "gay" fight. It's a human rights fight. One that none of us can afford to lose.
Thank you, Wayne. I hope to meet you some day!
Maris Murphy
Gay is good. No repair is required.
But I suppose a cissexist reparative therapy that doesn't work doesn't really get cisGL folk as animated as heterosexist reparative therapy.
Sincerely,
a rather ignored trans lesbian.
Mainstream christianity will move on. I guarantee that 50 years from now, christians will see themselves as having led the fight for equality. If the tragic history of the ex-gay movement is brought up, they will assure us that the leaders of these movements were simply not "real" christians, and they will wash their hands of it.
There are still people who call themselves feminists (but then again, so do I) who believe that you can train yourself into the sexual orientation of your choice. (Which I do not, which is a pity, because it'd really improve my dating pool if I could win over girls to team sappho.)
Which does bring to mind another important point. So much work has been done to discredit the ex-gay movement, yet gender identity disorder (GID) is still in the DSM, and trans people are still viewed by many as being pathological. By all indications, GID will simply be renamed in the next version of the DSM instead of being removed.
As we celebrate the demise of so many organizations within the ex-gay movement, the transgender community has once again been left behind.
As a trans lesbian, it's doubly frustrating.
Thanks
In the same vein,individual choices or opinions concerning gayness should have no effect on whether all adult people, gay straight or other, may enjoy the same legal rights in our society. It makes no difference whether bering gay is "caused" by genes, hormones, choice or just naturally occurs. Theer is no secular basis for discriminating against this segment of the populaiton.
Just surprises me what the do hold on to. Not a value added eitherway to me
A deficient need at best. Not a being need as "Maslows Hierarchy of Needs" would say
The groups that peddle this garbage to the public are doing so because gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people make them uncomfortable and don't fit into their flawed and outdated concept of the world. If they convince the public (including LGBT folks) that gays can be made straight, then these groups don't have to adjust their view of the world to reflect reality.
I know firsthand that sexual orientation can't be "chosen". I tried for twenty years of my adult life to choose to be straight, and it didn't work.
I am very happy to see these groups failing, and add my thanks to Wayne and his organization to the pile of gratitude already heaped on them!
If you've been in this Christian lifestyle, maybe you can answer a question I've always wondered about. They say homosexuality is a sin, and they want to deny GLBT people rights because of that. Isn't adultery a sin, too? How come they don't think people who commit adultery shouldn't be allowed to marry again? And what about the rights of other sinners? Should thieves be denied housing ? Should people who don't honor their parents be refused employment? Aren't we are all sinners according to their religion, so why is one group singled out for worse treatment that anyone else? Any insights?
and what about success stories?
(and thank you for your example)