Professor ******** ********
WGST 202
13 April 2010
Ex-Gay Movement: A Movement Like Any Other?
Exodus International was founded in 1976 as a nonprofit, interdenominational Christian organization, and has grown into the world’s largest ex-gay organization. Exodus’s mission is to educate the population about the teachings of Jesus Christ, and how they relate to homosexuality. At its core, Exodus is an organization of ministers and church consolers who offer consoling to lead people away from the gay lifestyle. Those who claim to have been saved from homosexuality by church consoling are known as ex-gays. There has been much debate concerning the ex-gay community and whether or not the treatment to turn someone from gay to straight has any actual merit. Personally, I find the idea of gays being turned straight to be offensive, but I firmly believe that the LGBT community as a whole needs to extend a hand to ex gays and organizations like Exodus. Despite our differences, both communities have a lot of interest in discovering the truth about homosexuality, and both communities deserve the tolerance of each other.
The first time I encountered the ex-gay movement was surfing the internet for more information about my own developing homosexuality. I think I was in my last couple years of high school because by then I had already accepted my own sexuality and no longer had any desire to change it. Had the timing been different, the idea of becoming an ex-gay might have been pretty tempting, but that was not my fate I suppose, and I don’t wish to dwell any further on the subject. Regarding my first encounter though, it was just a link on a Wikipedia article that first introduced me to the whole notion of ex-gays. At first, I was revolted. I had finally, just learned to cope with my sexuality, and here were these jerks jumping around telling the world “No, it’s okay! We can change!” It seemed like a betrayal to me. How could someone who had went through what I went through turn their back on the only people who would have supported them the way they naturally were?
After my initial discovery of ex-gays I read a few studies that were unflattering to the ex-gay movement, and I sort of pushed them from my mind. Now, years later, after coming to Eastern and really starting to get a proper education on these issues, I looked into ex-gays again. Exodus’s home website is a VERY interesting place. The website has a section where ex-gays can share their stories with the world, and some post updated journals on their struggle to shed the homosexual lifestyle. Reading these stories has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride. On the one hand I see so much wrong with the things they are saying. The misconceptions about gays being shallow and materialistic, the belief that gay people cannot stick with monogamous relationships; all things that I heard before, but never from people who had once been actively involved in a gay community. On the other hand, I’m starting to see that perhaps some of these people truly believe what they are saying. And that is a profound thought.
Ex-gays and LGBTs have one thing in common at least. We both just want to know the truth. There are things that LGBTs think they know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that ex-gays believe the complete opposite of, with the same conviction. If I can sit here and know, down in the depths of my heart, that I can live a moral, decent, and happy life as a homosexual, surely the beliefs of the ex-gays is equally powerful ? And if it is, what do they know that I don’t? What do they think they know that I don’t? Something profound has happened in their life that has caused them to see the world completely different than how I see it, and isn’t that worth investigating?
But the LGBT community has no patience for ex-gays. They’re traitors, after all. Their preaching is some of the best ammunition for the arsenal of heterosexism. That’s a pretty big obstacle to overcome. It is really difficult to give respect to a group of people who destroy everything you work for. Difficulty is no excuse though. If we cannot accept that these people used to be gay, and no longer are, how can we ask heterosexuals, who have no concept of homosexuality, to just believe that we are in love with the same sex and we cannot; will not change that? Science has not proven sexual rigidness or fluidity, so it is unfair to say that people cannot turn to a life of heterosexuality.
When it comes to human sexuality, a lot of what we assume is still just theory and speculation. So much of the world has put so many taboos on sex, it’ s very difficult to get factual information on certain subjects. Because we do not know, we must be willing to be objective with many different ideas, even ones that seem offensive or ridiculous. Ex-gays and LGBT people can learn to respect one another, just like different religions and political factions must respect each other also. If we don’t, we are only holding ourselves back by spreading more hatred, and denying ourselves someone who might turn out to be among our best allies.
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