As the leaders of some ex-gay groups are admitting that they are wrong to repress bieng gay do you think?

Question

that the rest will agree?
I had to ask like this as there's not enough room up top
http://www.bilerico.com/2007/06/003512.php

Bob j - if you feel like a goat then you don't need to inform the world about your private life and idk! I have a link you may find interesting though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPzso1OOTPM

Marc, some people go to stuff like this due to society's pressure and homophobic pressure, some people and religions pressure people to be straight

76 - the problem is a combination of society pressuring people to conform and to be straight, plus ex-gays and homophobes/religious loons use the ex-gay stuff to attack gays who don't want to change with

More like annoyed Eaton that people fall for this and that there's still troubles

Answer 1

They will only agree when they appear foolish to do otherwise.

An example of this is when the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who has a long history of working against gay people, wrote in his blog in March 2007 that scientific research "points to some level of biological causation" for homosexuality & "I am absolutely confident that a large number of homosexuals are telling the truth when they say they did not choose that orientation." After dismissing scientific research on homosexuality being innate and biological, he now says science should be used to pinpoint the cause of homosexuality and have expectant mother's children tested and, if the baby is homosexual, have the child's sexual orientation changed to heterosexual.

Regarding the "ex-gay" agenda, John Paulk, a person who said that he became an "ex-gay" and married an "ex-lesbian," became the spokesperson for the "ex-gay" group Exodus International. He became the ex-spokesperson when he was photographed at a Washington DC gay bar. Paulk denied that he visited the bar, but later changed his story and said that he didn't know that it was a gay bar and only entered to use the restroom. Paulk stayed for over an hour and purchased drinks for other bar patrons.

One of the founders of the "ex-gay" group Exodus International, Michael Bussee, left the group after falling in love with another "ex-gay." They had a commitment ceremony and were together until his partner died more than a decade later. Bussee said he hadn't "met one who went from gay to straight. Even if you manage to alter someone's sexual behavior, you cannot change their true sexual orientation."

The current president of Exodus, Alan Chambers, said in a June 2007 interview that he has “come to resent the term ‘ex-gay’", "he still struggles at times with homosexual temptation" & "By no means would we ever say change can be sudden or complete.”

Answer 2

I am a midwestern guy who lives in the San Francisco area and is friends with many gay and lesbian people. I have been approached by gay men quite often since I was a teenager. I have a gay brother and a gay aunt, who is now gone back to being "straight" after a decade-long relationship with a woman.

I firmly believe that almost all gay men are born that way, and most gay women. I believe that abuse from men can make a woman gay, but not vise-versa.

The thing that I'll get flamed for here is my belief that most gay men are absolutely not happy with, or proud of, their sexuality. I believe that "Gay Pride' is a kind of in-your-face bravado, and that, if you got a gay guy alone and asked him, "If you could wave a wand and change yourself into a heterosexual right now, would you do it?" the answer would almost always be "yes."

Gay men are scoffed at, in most states a gay couple cannot attain the rights of a hetero couple, the sex is sometimes painful and dangerous, the pleasures of parenthood are denied to them, it tears families apart, creates tension in the workplace, etc.etc.etc.

As long as these things are true---and these things will likely always be true to some extent, gay men are going to try to become straight. Que sera sera.

By the way, a thirty percent success rate is better than Alcoholics Anonymous, or any drug-treatment program. Most drug treatment programs have about a 15% success rate after 2 years. I am not meaning to directly compare apples and oranges here, but changing a person's personality and lifelong orientation is not easy.

Chester---look at how much discomfort this is causing you! I am on your contacts list, and am e-mailed every time you ask a question. I would never advocate your enrolling in such a program, but please try to understand that many others are struggling with these issues, and where there is a struggle, there will be people trying to organize a way to deal with it. Good, well-intentioned people.

Answer 3

When Exodus International brags about a 30% success rate, a rate that would be considered a failure in almost any other endeavor, and they admit that many of the people who do not have a successful conversion are worse off then before, you get to the point that the raw burden of fact will force you to admit you may not be pursuing the best coarse of action.

Also it's been a little under 30 years we are now seeing the results of a full generation of data on the subject. You can only bury your head so deep in the sand.

Also be aware that a lot of this sudden "admitting" of failure is due to the fact that they are seeking recognition from the AMA and APA. There is a complex vetting process and if they persisted in lying they will not even get past the first stage of hearings on the subject.

Answer 4

Perhaps when some of them are sued by families of those who have committed suicide, as well as others who have been psychologically damaged due to their false anti-gay harm and programming, the others might lay off and and apologise. Maybe they'll just shrink into nothingness, hoping nothing happens to them.

What's sadder is the claim that only 56% of US people believe that gays can't change their sexuality - wow! Is that due to the religious right and these groups having spread such a strong and false message, or just plain ignorance?

Good luck to anyone coming to terms with their sexuality, whatever it may be! May they find peace and love. Rob

Answer 5

If a heterosexual person becomes gay over his or her life, nobody seems to have a problem with it, so I don't see why anybody should have a problem with the fact that there are gays who become hetero. Why does the LGBT movement make such a big deal about it? Do you feel you are being threatened by that?

Many people who want to become heterosexual fail I guess, but I'm sure there's also those who change, because they want to, because they feel better that way, so can you please live and let people live without having to generalize that ALL of this ex-gay thing is bullshit? You have the rainbow as a symbol for the diversity of people, so accept the diversity.

People who are hetero become gay
gay people become hetero
bi people become hetero
bi people become homo
homo people become bi
heteros stay hetero
homos stay homo
etc. etc.

what's your problem?

Answer 6

We can only hope. This is definately a major development in the movement for acceptance. However, there is still a lot of bigotry to overcome. I still have hope though, that we will see equality and acceptance come about in my lifetime.

Answer 7

I "think" that the reality of the situation is beginning to show and the fact that those Groups don't do anything but "reCloset" homosexuals, they don't change them, is finally beginning to sink in.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_repar.htm

Answer 8

Why can't peeps just get on ffs, there's bigger probs than where you put your tool kit at night!

Answer 9

What's the big deal if someone under their free will seeks to gain information and explore different sides of their life? No one is forcing these people to go, no one is telling them they can't change.

What's wrong for people to get help if that's what they think is best for their life?

Wouldn't it harm you and the gay cause more if this did work?

Answer 10

To many ex-ex's to make sense, getting one of me headaches.