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{{Short description|Movement discouraging homosexuality}} | |||
The '''ex-gay''' or '''exodus''' movement claims that ] can become ] or otherwise "leave homosexuality behind" through counselling, ], and other ] if they choose to do so. The movement is primarily based in the ] (though it exists in other countries such as the ]), and is largely led by ] ] (see also ]). The movement's claims are highly controversial. | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}} | |||
The '''ex-gay movement''' consists of people and organizations that encourage people to refrain from entering or pursuing ], to eliminate ] desires and to develop ] desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship. Beginning with the founding of Love In Action and ] in the mid-1970s, the movement saw rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s before declining in the 2000s.<ref>Greg Johnson, Still Time to Care: What We Can Learn from the Church's Failed Attempt to Cure Homosexuality, Zondervan, 2021.</ref> | |||
== Ex-gay Groups == | |||
It relies on the involvement of individuals who formerly identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or ] but no longer do; these individuals may state either that they have eliminated their attraction to the same sex altogether or that they ] from acting on such attraction. | |||
=== Love In Action === | |||
After the collapse of ] in 2013, a small number of ex-gay ministries continue as the Restored Hope Network. The movement's ongoing impact on conservative religious discourse can be seen in an aversion to use of the term ''gay'' to refer to sexual orientation and its substitute with the language of "same-sex attraction".<ref>Johnson, Still Time to Care</ref> | |||
Love in Action, or LIA, was founded in 1973 by ], who claimed to be a former homosexual, and Rev. ], a heterosexual. It was the first group to publicize cases of homosexuals who had allegedly been converted or learned to abstain from homosexuality or homosexual feelings, which were perceived as sinful and in violation of ] moral code. After Evans' friend Jack McIntyre committed suicide out of despair concerning his inability to change, Evans left the project and denounced it as dangerous. He was quoted by the '']'' (], ]) as saying: "They're destroying people's lives. If you don't do their thing, you're not of God, you'll go to hell. They're living in a fantasy world." | |||
There have been various scandals related to this movement, including some self-claimed ex-gays<ref>, Newsweek</ref> having been found in same-sex relationships despite having denied this, as well as controversies over gay minors being forced to go to ex-gay camps against their will, and overt admissions by organizations related to the movement that ] does not work. | |||
=== Exodus International === | |||
A large body of research and global ] indicates that being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is compatible with normal mental health and social adjustment. Because of this, major mental health professional organizations discourage and caution individuals against attempting to change their ] to heterosexual, and warn that attempting to do so can be harmful.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/just-the-facts.aspx |title=Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation & Youth |access-date=April 2, 2011 |publisher=American Psychological Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Ross |first=Brian |last2=Schwartz |first2=Rhonda |last3=Mosk |first3=Matthew |last4=Churchman |first4=Megan |last5=Saenz |first5=Arlette |date=12 July 2011 |title=Bachmann Silent on Allegations Her Clinic Offers Gay Conversion Therapy |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/michele-bachmann-silent-allegations-clinic-offers-gay-conversion/story?id=14057215 |access-date= |work=]}}</ref> | |||
Exodus International is probably the largest ex-gay group. Founded in 1976, it is an ] organization which, according to its own description, "has grown to include over 100 local ministries in the USA and Canada" and is "linked with other Exodus world regions outside of North America, totaling over 135 ministries in 17 countries." Exodus promotes a "system of support" comprising a church, a therapist and a support group. | |||
== Characteristics == | |||
Exodus International had its biggest scandal in 1979 when Michael Bussee (one of the co-founding members who had helped organize the 1976 conference that led to Exodus' inception) left the group to be with Gary Cooper, also a co-organizer of that conference and a staff member at the local Exodus ministry where they both worked. Later they held a life commitment ceremony. Their story is one of the focuses of the documentary ''One Nation Under God'' (1993), directed by Teodoro Maniaci and Francine Rzeznik. | |||
Various ex-gay organizations have working definitions of change. Prior to disbanding and renouncing the idea of a cure,<ref name=nytexodus>{{cite news|last=Mullany|first=Gerry|title=Group That Promoted 'Curing' Gays Ceases Operations|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/us/group-that-promoted-curing-gays-ceases-operations.html|access-date=June 20, 2013|date=June 20, 2013|work=The New York Times}}</ref> ] described change as, "attaining abstinence from homosexual behaviors, lessening of homosexual temptations, strengthening their sense of masculine or feminine identity, correcting distorted styles of relating with members of the same and opposite gender".<ref name=Change>{{cite web|title=What's your "success rate" in changing gays into straights? |url=http://exodus.to/content/view/43/87/ |access-date=March 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628162102/http://www.exodus.to/content/view/43/87/ |archive-date=June 28, 2006 }}</ref> ] defines change as, "any degree of change toward greater peace, satisfaction and fulfillment, and less shame, depression and darkness", and emphasizes that for most people, heterosexuality is not the ultimate goal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peoplecanchange.com/WhatWeMean.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618012841/http://www.peoplecanchange.com/WhatWeMean.htm|url-status=dead|title=What Do We Mean by Change|archive-date=June 18, 2006}}</ref> When the term ''ex-gay'' was introduced to professional literature in 1980, E. Mansell Pattison defined it as describing a person who had "experienced a basic change in sexual orientation".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Initial empirical and clinical findings concerning the change process for ex-gays |last=Throckmorton |first=Warren |author2=Pattison, M. L. |date=June 2002 |publisher=] |volume=33 |journal=Professional Psychology: Research and Practice |url=http://www.drthrockmorton.com/article.asp?id=1 |issue=3 |pages=242–248 |doi=10.1037/0735-7028.33.3.242 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504130831/http://www.drthrockmorton.com/article.asp?id=1 |archive-date=May 4, 2008 }}</ref> Some ex-gays advocate entering (or remaining) in a heterosexual marriage as part of the process. Some in ]s acknowledge that their sexual attractions remain primarily homosexual, but seek to make their marriages work anyway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/003/2.50.html |title=No easy victory |publisher=Christianitytoday.com |date=March 11, 2002 |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> | |||
Some people no longer identify as gay since they became Christians or with prayer, without going to ].<ref name="christianpost.com">{{Cite web |last=Showalter |first=Brandon |last2= |first2= |date=2019-05-22 |title=Ex-LGBT men, women to share stories of transformation at 2nd Freedom March in Washington, DC |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/ex-lgbt-men-women-to-share-stories-of-transformation-at-2nd-freedom-march-in-washington-dc.html |access-date= |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Abbie E. Goldberg, ''The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies'', SAGE Publications, USA, 2016, p. 385</ref> | |||
Like Love In Action, Exodus recovered from the scandal. Their website and literature today contain testimonials such as this one by Bob Davies: | |||
== Objectives == | |||
:God continued to work in my own life. Much to my surprise, I discovered that homosexuality was not my "real" problem. The illicit same-sex desires were only an outward symptom of deeper emotional wounds that needed healing. Through LIA's support group, I was able to openly confess such struggles as insecurity, fear and envy of other men. | |||
{{One source section | |||
| date = September 2021 | |||
}} | |||
Aside from achieving a degree of change in sexual orientation, the ex-gay movement pursues several broad goals and these include: | |||
* coordination with individuals and organizations, particularly opponents of gay and lesbian civil equality to influence public perception and public policy; | |||
:Because I had never "acted out" my homosexual feelings with other men, there were some struggles to resist the allure of the unknown. I heard many stories of other people's involvement in sin. Quite frankly, some of their illicit adventures sounded like fun. I had to resist thoughts like, "You got tired of so much impersonal sex? I wish I could say the same thing. Then I'd be ready to give it up!" | |||
* offering gays and lesbians a procedure that is claimed to solve many of their problems by making them heterosexual; | |||
* promotion of ex-gay movement leaders as legitimate representatives in gay cultural/political discourse; | |||
* the destigmatization of therapeutic attempts to change sexual orientation to undermine the ]'s long-standing position that homosexuality is not a mental disorder.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ex-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study and Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics, and Culture|last1=Drescher|first1=Jack|last2=Zucker|first2=Kenneth|publisher=Harrington Park Press|year=2006|isbn=9781560235569|location=New York}}</ref> | |||
==Motivation of participants== | |||
:God also opened my eyes to see the tremendous devastation that sin had brought into these men's lives. Unknown to all of us, some of them were already infected with the HIV virus (). | |||
The American Psychological Association reported that some ex-gay groups may help counteract and buffer minority stress, marginalization, and isolation<ref name="therapeuticresponse">APA Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. (2009). "Report of the Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation". Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Accessed August 2, 2011</ref> in ways similar to other support groups, such as offering social support, fellowship, role models, and new ways to view a problem through unique philosophies or ideologies.<ref name=Levine>Levine, M., Perkins, D. D., & Perkins, D. V. (2004). Principles of community psychology: Perspectives and applications (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.</ref> Additionally, the same researchers also found that people joined ex-gay groups due to: a lack of other sources of social support; a desire for active coping, including both cognitive and emotional coping; and access to methods of sexual orientation identity exploration and reconstruction.<ref name=therapeuticresponse /><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Folkman | first1 = S. | last2 = Lazarus | first2 = R. S. | year = 1980 | title = An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample | journal = Journal of Health and Social Behavior | volume = 21 | issue = 3 | pages = 219–239 | doi = 10.2307/2136617 | jstor = 2136617 | pmid = 7410799 }}</ref><ref name=ponticelli>{{cite journal | last1 = Ponticelli | first1 = C. M. | year = 1999 | title = Crafting stories of sexual identity reconstruction | journal = Social Psychology Quarterly | volume = 62 | issue = 2 | pages = 157–172 | doi = 10.2307/2695855 | jstor = 2695855 }}</ref><ref name=wolkomir>{{cite journal | last1 = Wolkomir | first1 = M | year = 2001 | title = Emotion work, commitment, and the authentication of the self: The case of gay and ex-gay Christian support groups | journal = Journal of Contemporary Ethnography | volume = 30 | pages = 305–334 | doi = 10.1177/089124101030003002 | s2cid = 146353286 }}</ref> The same report found that some<ref name=ponticelli /><ref name=wolkomir/><ref name=erzen>Erzen, T. (2006). Straight to Jesus: Sexual and Christian conversions in the ex-gay movement. Los Angeles:University of California Press.</ref> have described the ex-gay groups as, "a refuge for those who were excluded both from conservative churches and from their families, because of their same-sex sexual attractions, and from gay organizations and social networks, because of their conservative religious beliefs".<ref name=therapeuticresponse /> According to the APA report, "Ex-gay groups appear to relieve the distress caused by conflicts between religious values and sexual orientation and help participants change their sexual orientation identity, but not their sexual orientation".<ref name=therapeuticresponse /> The APA goes on to report that some<ref name=ponticelli/> believed that by, "taking on 'ex-gay' cultural norms and language and finding a community that enabled and reinforced their primary religious beliefs, values, and concerns",<ref name=therapeuticresponse /> they could resolve identity conflicts by: | |||
*Adopting a new discourse or worldview. | |||
*Engaging in a biographical reconstruction. | |||
*Embracing a new explanatory model. | |||
*Forming strong interpersonal ties.<ref name=therapeuticresponse /> | |||
One of the APA's sources for the report<ref name=wolkomir/> found that, "ex-gay groups recast homosexuality as an ordinary sin, and thus salvation was still achievable".<ref name=therapeuticresponse /> Another one of their sources<ref name=erzen/> is summarized as having observed that, "such groups built hope, recovery, and relapse into an ex-gay identity, thus expecting same-sex sexual behaviors and conceiving them as opportunities for repentance and forgiveness".<ref name=therapeuticresponse /> The APA report warns, however, that "some groups may reinforce prejudice and stigma by providing inaccurate or stereotyped information about homosexuality".<ref name=therapeuticresponse /> | |||
==Ex-gay organizations== | |||
Davies says he has found comfort in warm hugs from heterosexual men -- this kind of male ] has been perceived by some as a substitute for homosexual activity among self-described ex-gays (see ]). Finally, Davies describes how he met and married a female member of his church. While he fears that "many more battles" are ahead, he believes that he can overcome these battles with the help of God. This story is typical for many ex-gays. | |||
] conference]] | |||
The first contemporary ex-gay ministry, ], was formed in 1973.<ref>{{cite web |title=History Of The Ex-Gay Ministries |url=https://www.truthwinsout.org/history-of-the-ex-gay-ministries/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814011326/https://www.truthwinsout.org/history-of-the-ex-gay-ministries/ |archive-date=Aug 14, 2014 |access-date=August 12, 2014 |website=]}}</ref> Three years later, with other ex-gay organizations, it formed ], the largest ex-gay organization and the largest organization under the ].<ref name=nytexodus/> In May 1983, during a conference in the Netherlands, a European chapter was founded.<ref>David J. Bos, 'Homo-af: De opkomst van "de ex-homoseksueel" in Nederland. In: David Bos & John Exalto (eds.), ''Genot en gebod: Huwelijk en seksualiteit in protestants Nederland na 1800.'' Utrecht: KokBoekencentrum 2019, pp. 128-155.</ref> In June 2013, the Exodus board decided to cease operations, with president ] apologizing for the pain and hurt the group had caused and saying that he no longer believed sexual orientation could be changed.<ref name=nytexodus/> Chambers apologized for what he identified as regrettable techniques, and the narrow message of a cure and marriage rather than a relationship with Christ for all.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/alan-chambers#_=_ |title=Alan Chambers |access-date=January 22, 2014 |publisher=Relevant Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831130004/http://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/alan-chambers#_=_ |archive-date=August 31, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Shortly after, Chambers and his wife started Speak.Love., an organisation for promoting conversations on sexual orientation for all. In September 2014, Speak.Love. was merged into Chambers' personal website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://alanchambers.org/update-love-chambers-zondervan/ |title=UPDATE: Speak. Love., The Chambers, and ZONDERVAN! |publisher=AlanChambers.org}}</ref> ], however, no longer affiliated with Exodus International,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exodusglobalalliance.org/exodus-international-c1447.php |title=Exodus International |publisher=Exodusglobalalliance.org |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref> has continued operations. | |||
Other ex-gay organizations cater to specific religious groups, such as ] for Catholics, ] for the ], ] for Jews, ] for Catholic and Protestant Christians and OneByOne for ]. | |||
=== Homosexuals Anonymous, Quest Learning Center === | |||
Some groups follow a specific technique, such as ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ha-fs.org |title=Homosexuals Anonymous Fellowship Services – Home |publisher=Ha-fs.org |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> modeled after the ] twelve-step program. Other ex-gay organizations include ]. | |||
Seventh Day Adventist ] (who had been dismissed as a minister in 1974 for having sex with another man) founded the groups Quest Learning Center and Homosexuals Anonymous in 1979 and 1980 respectively; both are ex-gay organizations. In 1985, he wrote two books, ''Homosexuality'', and ''Homosexuality: An Open Door''. In 1986, he was discovered to be engaging in sexual acts with his Quest patients. He claimed that the nude massages of other men should desensitize them against homosexual desires. | |||
In the United States, the organization The Changed Movement<ref name="out">{{cite news |last1=Padgett |first1=Donald |title=Ex-Gay 'Freedom to March' Rally in Nation's Capital Was a Major Flop |url=https://www.out.com/news/2021/6/07/ex-gay-freedom-march-rally-nations-capital-was-major-flop |access-date=August 18, 2021 |work=Out |date=June 7, 2021}}</ref> hosts public "Freedom March" events where ex-gays discuss their changes.<ref name="christianpost.com"/><ref>Chandelis R. Duster, , NBC News, USA, 5 May 2018</ref> | |||
In 1987, he was ousted from Homosexuals Anonymous for sexual activity, and in 1995 a similar scandal happened with his newly founded group FaithQuest Colorado (according to the ''Denver Post'', Cook had engaged in ], practiced long and grinding hugs, and asked patients to bring homosexual pornography to sessions so that he could help "desensitize" them against it). The Seventh Day Adventist church finally severed all ties with Cook. Homosexuals Anonymous survived without Cook. | |||
== People == | |||
=== Courage Trust (United Kingdom), now defunct === | |||
=== People associated with the ex-gay movement === | |||
<!--The phrase "associated with" is vague. Let's divide this section into more appropriate categories, like: (1) supporters of the ex-gay movement or (2) people whose views are quoted by EGM supporters. --> | |||
Courage Trust was formed in ] to "heal" homosexuals. It collapsed in ] when the group's founder, Jeremy Marks, wrote in the journal "Lesbian and Gay Christians", "I have come to the conclusion that we have been quite wrong to dismiss all same sex love (other than platonic) as sinful." At that time the group was holding weekly meetings in ] for about 150 men. | |||
*] is the program director of Genesis Counseling<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/exodus-freedom-speaker-warns-of-the-gay-gospel-28160/ |title=Exodus Freedom Speaker Warns of 'The Gay Gospel' |date=June 25, 2007 |first=Lillian |last=Kwon |publisher=The Christian Post |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119073647/http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070625/28160_Exodus_Freedom_Speaker_Warns_of_'The_Gay_Gospel'.htm |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |access-date=May 27, 2018 |url-status=unfit}}</ref> and the author of six books on human sexuality.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://joedallas.com/about-joe// |title=Joe Dallas l Genesis Counseling l Sexual Addiction Recovery |publisher=Joedallas.com |access-date=March 24, 2021}}</ref> | |||
=== True Freedom Trust (United Kingdom and Irish Republic) === | |||
*] wrote about his experience with homosexuality in his book, ''Eternal Victim, Eternal Victor''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Eternal Victim/Eternal Victor: Making the Case for Victory|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781562291624|isbn=1-56229-162-9|author=DL Foster|url-access=registration|year=2001}}</ref> He describes himself as going through a process by which he became "saved and sanctified". McClurkin has been criticized for stating homosexuality is a curse.<ref name="WPost" /> He speaks openly about sexual issues since becoming the biological father of a child with a woman to whom he was not married.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week836/profile.html|title=PROFILE: Donnie McClurkin (Interview) |publisher=PBS Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly|date=May 6, 2005|author=Lawton, Kim}}</ref> He uses these experiences in his concerts and speaking engagements. In 2004, he sang at the ].<ref name="WPost">{{cite news|title=Donnie McClurkin, Ready to Sing Out Against Gay 'Curse'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42982-2004Aug28.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 29, 2004|author=Richard Leiby}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackfilm.com/20050121/reviews/donniemclurkin_dvd.shtml|title=The Donnie McClurkin Story:From Darkness to Light|publisher=Donnie McClurkin|date=November 23, 2004}}</ref> The appearance generated criticism for the event organizers and McClurkin for his statements on homosexuality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=lgbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=23914 |title=News :: LGBT |publisher=EDGE Boston |date=October 24, 2007 |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> | |||
*] was an American clinical psychologist, founder and director of the Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic in ], California, and a founder and former president of the ] (NARTH).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.narth.com/menus/officers.html|access-date=October 11, 2013|title=NARTH|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803174911/http://www.narth.com/menus/officers.html|archive-date=August 3, 2004}}</ref> | |||
*] is an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and physicist. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of NARTH.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.narth.com/docs/senatecommittee.html|title=Dr. Jeffrey Satinover Testifies Before Massachusetts Senate Committee Studying Gay Marriage|access-date=August 21, 2011|date=April 28, 2003}}</ref> | |||
*] was an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, physician, educator, and author. He helped found NARTH in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.narth.com/docs/soctribute.html |title=A Tribute to Charles W. Socarides |access-date=August 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811131953/http://www.narth.com/docs/soctribute.html |archive-date=August 11, 2011 }}</ref> | |||
=== People who no longer support the ex-gay movement === | |||
On the collapse of Courage Trust in ], True Freedom Trust became the sole remaining ex-gay group operating within the ]. This ]-based group was formed in ] by Canon L. Roy Barker and Martin Hallett, a Church of England cleric and a layman who renounced homosexual sex on scriptural grounds. The body claims to have 1200 supporters and 13 support groups for gay men and lesbians and their families in Britain and Ireland, in ], ], ], ] (Irish Republic), ], ], ], ], ] Central, ] South East, ], ] and ]. | |||
{{Main|Ex-ex-gay}} | |||
*], then leader of ]'s '']'' conference and chairman of the board for ] North America, was spotted visiting a Washington, D.C. ] in September 2000. He was photographed outside of the bar from behind by ],<ref name="paulk">{{cite news |last=Evangelical Press with additional reporting by Jody Veenker |title=Ex-Gay Leader Disciplined for Gay Bar Visit |url=http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2000/octoberweb-only/53.0.html |publisher=Christianity Today |date=October 1, 2000 |access-date=August 29, 2007 |archive-date=September 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923172432/http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2000/octoberweb-only/53.0.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and later stepped down from the two organizations.<ref name="besen">{{cite book |last=Besen |first=Wayne |author-link=Wayne Besen |title=Anything but Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth |year=2003 |publisher=Harrington Park Press |isbn=1-56023-445-8}}</ref> In 2013, he formally apologized for his involvement in promoting the ex-gay concept and for the harm his work had done.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brydum |first=Sunnivie |url=http://www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2013/04/24/john-paulk-formally-renounces-apologizes-harmful-ex-gay-movement?page=0,1 |title=John Paulk Formally Renounces, Apologizes for Harmful 'Ex-Gay' Movement |publisher=Advocate.com |date=April 24, 2013 |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref> | |||
*], because he adhered to Conservative ] beliefs, spent seventeen years as part of the ex-gay movement attempting to alter his ] through conversion therapy and faith-based ex-gay programs. In addition to receiving pastoral counseling, conversion therapy,<ref>John Dicker: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113233419/http://www.csindy.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:10756 |date=January 13, 2016 }}, ''Colorado Springs Independent'', January 29, 2004</ref> and discipleship training, he attended several ex-gay programs, including Life Ministries in ] (1983–1991)<ref>Michael Luo. "Some Tormented by Homosexuality Look to a controversial Therapy", ''The New York Times'', February 12, 2007.</ref> and the residential ex-gay program ] in ], ] (July 1996-October 1998).<ref name="Dos Equis">Christine Dinsmore: , ''Out'', July/August 2006, Stand: July 10, 2006, bei christinedinsmore.com</ref> In April 2007, Toscano and ] co-founded Beyond Ex-Gay, an organization that supports people who feel they have been wounded by such organizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beyondexgay.com/ |title=Beyond Ex-Gay Group for survivors of Ex-Gay ministries |publisher=Beyondexgay.com |access-date=November 12, 2011}}</ref> | |||
*] is a former Australian evangelist in the ] and an author whose book describes his experience in Australia's first ex-gay program.<ref name=book>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anthonyvennbrown.com/shop/15-things-ive-learnt-about-human-beings-and-success-pdf/|title=15 Things I've Learnt About Human Beings and Success PDF|date=May 9, 2012}}</ref> Venn-Brown co-founded ] which offers support to ] people from church backgrounds and who have been displaced from the ex-gay movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freedom2b.org/|title=freedom2b - Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex from Christian backgrounds|first=Chris|last=Knight}}</ref> In 2007 he co-ordinated the release of a statement from five Australian ex-gay leaders who publicly apologized for their past actions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soulforce.org/article/1296 |title=Former "Ex-Gay" Leaders in Australia Apologize, Claim That Ex-Gay Conversion Does More Harm Than Good |publisher=Soulforce.org |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928083709/http://www.soulforce.org/article/1296 |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
*] was the leader of Love In Action in Memphis. He resigned that position in 2008,<ref>{{cite web|last=Branston |first=John |url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/fly-on-the-wall/Content?oid=1143603 |title=Fly on the Wall | The Fly-By |publisher=Memphis Flyer |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> and in 2010 apologized for any harm that he had caused, noting that his teen program "further wounded teens that were already in a very delicate place in life".<ref>{{cite web|author=Jason says |url=http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/australia-news/new-south-wales-news/2010/03/30/ex-gay-leader-apologises/23288 |title=Ex-gay leader apologises | Star Online |publisher=Starobserver.com.au |date=March 30, 2010 |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> He has announced that he is still homosexual and admitted never seeing a man successfully converting to heterosexuality in his group.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gracerivers.com/gays-repent/ |title=Where is the repentance? |publisher=Grace Rivers |date=October 7, 2011 |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> | |||
*] is a past president of the ]. He wrote and produced the documentary ''I Do Exist'' about ex-gay people,<ref name="idoexist">{{cite web|url=http://www.drthrockmorton.com/idoexist.asp|title=I Do Exist FAQs|year=2008|access-date=August 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809060211/http://www.drthrockmorton.com/idoexist.asp|archive-date=August 9, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> but subsequently came to "believe that categorical change in sexual attractions, especially for men, is rare"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wthrockmorton.com/2011/11/04/a-new-test-of-orthodoxy/ |title=A new test of orthodoxy |publisher=Wthrockmorton.com |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> and repudiated some of the claims he made in the film.<ref name="idoexist"/> | |||
==Controversy== | |||
True Freedom Trust is a founder member of Exodus International Europe. | |||
=== Sexual orientation change efforts === | |||
{{main|Sexual orientation change efforts}} | |||
Prior to disbanding, ] recommended to their members that they undertake ], such as ].<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928010931/http://exodus.to/content/view/34/117/ |date=September 28, 2007 }}, ]. Retrieved July 4, 2007.</ref> Exodus warned against going to counselors who tell a patient that they "can definitely eliminate all attractions to your same gender, or that you can definitely acquire heteroerotic attractions".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://exodusinternational.org/2010/01/find-the-right-counselor/ |title=How to Find the Right Counselor for You – Exodus International |publisher=Exodusinternational.org |date=January 11, 2010 |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028091038/http://exodusinternational.org/2010/01/find-the-right-counselor/ |archive-date=October 28, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ] did not advocate any particular form of therapy,<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.evergreeninternational.org/Myths.htm |title= Myths |work= EvergreenInternational.org |publisher= ] |quote= Evergreen does not advocate any particular form of therapy. |url-status= usurped |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120724193920/http://www.evergreeninternational.org/Myths.htm |archive-date= July 24, 2012 }}</ref> and warned that "therapy will likely not be a cure in the sense of erasing all homosexual feelings".<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.evergreeninternational.org/therapy.htm |title= Therapy |first= Jason |last= Park |year= 2007 |work= EvergreenInternational.org |publisher= ] |url-status= usurped |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120724193910/http://www.evergreeninternational.org/therapy.htm |archive-date= July 24, 2012 }}</ref> | |||
== 1998 campaign == | |||
Sexual orientation change efforts are controversial and the American Psychological Association reported that, "the available evidence, from both early and recent studies, suggests that although ] is unlikely to change, some individuals modified their ] (i.e., individual or group membership and affiliation, self-labeling) and other aspects of sexuality (i.e. values and behavior)".<ref name="therapeuticresponse"/> Virtually all major mental health organizations have adopted policy statements cautioning the profession and the public against treatments that purport to change sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/gill-v-office-of-personnel-management/2009-11-17-doma-aff-herek.pdf |title=Expert affidavit of Gregory M. Herek, PhD |access-date=November 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116003328/http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/gill-v-office-of-personnel-management/2009-11-17-doma-aff-herek.pdf |archive-date=November 16, 2011 }}</ref><ref name=royal2009>Royal College of Psychiatrists: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118043716/http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/RCPsychposstatementsexorientation.pdf |date=November 18, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="DOMA2011">" Second, while sexual orientation carries no visible badge, a growing scientific consensus accepts that sexual orientation is a characteristic that is immutable"</ref> | |||
The largest ex-gay campaign to date happened in 1998 in the USA, when several ministries funded commercials and advertisements to inform people that they could "walk away from homosexuality". Prominent ex-gays, such as ], were featured in the 1998 advertisements and on the cover of '']'' with his "ex-lesbian" wife Anne. ], another ex-gay, who is HIV positive, was said to have engaged in unprotected homosexual acts without disclosing his disease. | |||
In 2012, the ] (the North and South American branch of the ]) released a statement cautioning against services that purport to "cure" people with non-heterosexual orientations as they lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people, and noted that the global scientific and professional consensus is that homosexuality is a normal and natural variation of ] and cannot be regarded as a pathological condition. The Pan American Health Organization further called on governments, academic institutions, professional associations and the media to expose these practices and to promote respect for diversity. The World Health Organization affiliate further noted that gay minors have sometimes been forced to attend these "therapies" involuntarily, being deprived of their liberty and sometimes kept in isolation for several months, and that these findings were reported by several ] bodies. Additionally, the Pan American Health Organization recommended that such malpractices be denounced and subject to sanctions and penalties under national legislation, as they constitute a violation of the ethical principles of health care and violate ] that are protected by international and regional agreements.<ref name="PAHO">{{cite web|title="Therapies" to change sexual orientation lack medical justification and threaten health|url=http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6803&Itemid=1926|publisher=Pan American Health Organization|access-date=May 26, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523040848/http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6803&Itemid=1926|archive-date=May 23, 2012}} archived here .</ref> | |||
John Paulk was photographed at a ] in ] in September 2000 by Wayne Besen of the Human Rights Campaign. Many activists, including Wayne Besen, were quick to tout this photo as proof that the ex-gay poster-boy had fallen and had returned to a homosexual lifestyle. However, the touted photograph was a picture of John Paulk from behind walking from the location, dressed in casual business attire. Thus this photograph was hardly the smoking gun that had been hoped for. | |||
In March 2018, the ] voted by 435 to 109 members of parliament to stop conversion therapies in memberstates of the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=30751|title=EU-Parlament stärkt LGBTI-Grundrechte|website=queer.de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://schwulissimo.de/politik/245183/EuropaeischesParlamentverurteiltdieHeilungvonHomosexuellen.htm |title=Schwulissimo.de: Europäisches Parlament verurteilt die "Heilung" von Homosexuellen (german) |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303050904/http://schwulissimo.de/politik/245183/EuropaeischesParlamentverurteiltdieHeilungvonHomosexuellen.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/03/01/european-parliament-condemns-gay-cure-therapy-and-tells-eu-member-states-to-ban-it/|title=European Parliament condemns gay 'cure' therapy and tells EU member states to ban it|date=March 1, 2018}}</ref> | |||
Pressing further into the details of the incident, it became clear that John Paulk was stressed and overworked, and decided to visit the establishment for a drink. No evidence of a return to a homosexual lifestyle was apparent in the incident. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Afterwards he visited with Dr. James Dobson in person to discuss the matter, who responded graciously. There was no major falling out between Focus on the Family and John Paulk, although all parties decided given Mr. Paulk's workload that it was time for him to pursue a different career. While John Paulk is not as involved with ex-gay ministries as he has in the past, his wife, Anne Paulk, has continued to be part of the movement, writing articles, giving radio interviews, and releasing a new book, ''Restoring Sexual Identity: Hope for Women Who Struggle With Same-Sex Attraction''. Both John and Anne Paulk and their three children have settled down in Oregon. | |||
===Controversy over teenagers=== | |||
==Dissenting views== | |||
A controversial aspect of the ex-gay movement has been the focus of some ex-gay organizations on gay teenagers, including occasions where teenagers have been forced to attend ex-gay camps by their parents. A 2006 report by the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce outlined evidence that ex-gay and conversion therapy groups were at the time increasingly focusing on children.<ref name="taskforce">{{cite web | |||
|url = http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/YouthInTheCrosshairs.pdf | |||
|title = Youth in the crosshairs: the third wave of ex-gay activism | |||
|access-date = August 29, 2007 | |||
|author = Cianciotto, J. | |||
|author2 = Cahill, S. | |||
|year = 2006 | |||
|publisher = National Gay and Lesbian Task Force | |||
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171017093713/http://www.thetaskforce.org/static_html/downloads/reports/reports/YouthInTheCrosshairs.pdf | |||
|archive-date = October 17, 2017 | |||
|url-status = dead | |||
|df = mdy-all | |||
}}</ref> Several legal researchers<ref>Hicks, A (1999) ; Retrieved January 29, 2011</ref> have responded to these events by arguing that parents who force their children into aggressive conversion therapy programs are committing ] under various state statutes.<ref>Talbot, T. ''Reparative therapy for homosexual teens: the choice of the teen should be the only choice discussed'', 27 J. Juv. L. 33. 2006.</ref><ref>Cohan, J. ''Parental Duties and the Right of Homosexual Minors to Refuse "Reparative" Therapy'', 11 Buff. Women's L.J. 67, 2002.</ref> | |||
One case of ] involved ]. Duff was admitted to Rivendell Psychiatric Center in West Jordan, Utah on December 19, 1991, at age 15, after being involuntarily transported there at her mother's behest.<ref name="10p">{{cite news |publisher=10 Percent |location=San Francisco |date=June 1994 |title=Setting Them Straight |last=Mirken |first=Bruce |pages=54–60}}</ref><ref>PRESS CLIPSVillage Voice (New York, NY), October 6, 1998, 1595 words, by Andy Hsiao</ref> Duff was subjected to a regimen of ], including ],<ref name="HolmlundWyatt2005">{{cite book|author1=Chris Holmlund|author2=Justin Wyatt|title=Contemporary American Independent Film: From the Margins to the Mainstream|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9sYDqH2FAcsC&pg=PA190|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-25486-1|page=190}}</ref> ], ] drugs, ], therapeutic messages linking lesbian sex with "the pits of ]",<ref>"Gender identity problems; Gays angered about doctors forcing issue" The Houston Chronicle, August 2, 1995, Wednesday, 2 STAR Edition, HOUSTON; Pg. 3, 1310 words, CAROLE RAFFERTY; Knight-Ridder Tribune News</ref> ] techniques, unreasonable forms of punishment for small infractions, and "positive ]" group sessions in which patients demeaned and belittled each other for both real and perceived inadequacies.<ref name="10p"/><ref name="advocate">{{Cite news|work=]|date=November 11, 1997|pages=55–59|last=Pela|first=Robert L.|title=Boys in the dollhouse, girls with toy trucks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rmMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT65}}</ref><ref name="lambda">{{Cite news|publisher=The Lambda Update|title=Lambda Update|date=Fall 1993|page=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~usclrev/pdf/072502.pdf | pmid = 12731502 | volume=72 | title=Controlling desires: sexual orientation conversion and the limits of knowledge and law | year=1999 | journal=South Calif Law Rev | pages=1297–400 | last1 = Cruz | first1 = DB| issue = 5 }}</ref><ref>CHURCHER, Sharon (1998) "GOING STRAIGHT". Sunday Mail (], Australia), September 6, 1998, Sunday, NEWS; Pg. 40, 1274 words</ref> On May 19, 1992, after 168 days of incarceration, Duff escaped from Rivendell and traveled to ], where she lived on the streets and in safe houses.<ref>Ladie Terry. (1994) 'ORPHANS' SPEAK OUT. San Jose Mercury News (California) Tuesday MORNING FINAL EDITION. December 13, 1994. EDITORIAL; p. 7B</ref> In 1992, Duff initiated legal action against the facility and her mother.<ref> by Steven K. Wisensale. Retrieved July 10, 2007.</ref> | |||
Most ] groups and most ]s sharply dispute the movement's claims, and see ] as immutable and sexual attitudes as being largely formed before ]. Many ] groups have stated that there are no scientifically rigorous studies to evaluate whether ex-gay treatments are beneficial and that no studies substantiate their claims of sexual orientation change. Some of these groups have also stated that attempts to change one's sexuality are potentially harmful. | |||
The ex-gay organization ] was involved in a controversy surrounding a teenager. In July 2005, '']'' ran a feature story about 16-year-old Zachary Stark, whose parents forced him to attend an ex-gay camp run by the group.<ref>{{cite news | |||
The ] (APA) states that human beings cannot choose to be either gay or straight, and that sexual orientation is not a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed. In fact, the Association goes even further, stating that | |||
|first=Alex | |||
|last=Williams | |||
|title=Gay Teenager Stirs a Storm | |||
|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E4DA1E3DF934A25754C0A9639C8B63 | |||
|work=New York Times | |||
|date=July 17, 2005 | |||
|access-date=October 6, 2007 | |||
}}</ref> In July 2005, Stark was released from the camp. An investigation of the camp by the ] did not uncover signs of child abuse.<ref>{{cite web|last=Palazzolo |first=Rose |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=878912&page=1 |title=Ex-Gay Camp Investigation Called Off |work=ABC News |date=June 28, 2005 |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref> In September 2005, ] authorities discovered that unlicensed staff had been administering ]. A settlement was reached shortly thereafter. LIA closed the camp in 2007. | |||
==See also== | |||
: "Even though most homosexuals live successful, happy lives, some homosexual or bisexual people may seek to change their sexual orientation through therapy, sometimes pressured by the influence of family members or religious groups to try and do so. The reality is that homosexuality is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable." ] | |||
{{Portal|Human sexuality}} | |||
* '']'' | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
== References == | |||
The APA has also stated that | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
==External links== | |||
: "Clinical experience suggests that any person who seeks conversion therapy may be doing so because of social bias that has resulted in internalized ], and that gay men and lesbians who have accepted their sexual orientation positively are better adjusted than those who have not done so." | |||
<!-- PLEASE do not add links, they likely will be better as sources or send to dmoz --> | |||
* , presents issues related to the ex-gay movement from a conservative Christian perspective | |||
*, a ] documentary | |||
== Further reading == | |||
Some critics of the movement believe that sexuality ''is'' changeable in later life, but that homosexuality is not ]ful (see ''']''') and condemn the ex-gay movement on the grounds that it is unnecessary and promotes hatred of homosexuals and internalized ], or both. | |||
* | |||
* | |||
{{Sexual identities}} | |||
Because of several well-publicized failures, the ex-gay movement has been extensively ridiculed by gay rights activists, who charge that the suppression of homosexuality only leads to inappropriate outbursts thereof and contributes to fear and suffering. Author and former ] spokesperson Wayne R. Besen has extensively covered the ex-gay movement and describes it in his book ''Anything But Straight: Unmasking The Scandals and Lies Behind the 'Ex-Gay' Myth'', which also deals with so-called ] of homosexuality. It was Besen who photographed John Paulk in a gay bar and who investigated witnesses in the case of Michael Johnston (see below). | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ex-Gay movement}} | |||
==References== | |||
] | |||
#"Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality" in American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved February 9, 2004 from http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html | |||
== External links == | |||
===Ex-Gay Websites=== | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* links to and quotations from advocates and opponents of the ex-gay movement | |||
* , a video produced by Warren Throckmorton interviewing several individuals who are now ex-gay | |||
* , an article that discusses 48 studies of homosexuality with the question in mind, "Is change possible?" Many of the tables are referenced from Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse's ''Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate'' | |||
* , blog from a 22 year old moving through the ex-gay movement | |||
http://www.metanoiaonline.org/ Metanoia Ministries Online | |||
also espouses an exodus from homosexuality. | |||
===Sites Critical of Ex-Gays=== | |||
* , weblog critical of the ex-gay movement | |||
* , book homepage by Wayne Besen (contains summaries) | |||
* , ] entry | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 00:25, 21 December 2024
Movement discouraging homosexuality
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that encourage people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires and to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship. Beginning with the founding of Love In Action and Exodus International in the mid-1970s, the movement saw rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s before declining in the 2000s.
It relies on the involvement of individuals who formerly identified themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual but no longer do; these individuals may state either that they have eliminated their attraction to the same sex altogether or that they abstain from acting on such attraction.
After the collapse of Exodus International in 2013, a small number of ex-gay ministries continue as the Restored Hope Network. The movement's ongoing impact on conservative religious discourse can be seen in an aversion to use of the term gay to refer to sexual orientation and its substitute with the language of "same-sex attraction".
There have been various scandals related to this movement, including some self-claimed ex-gays having been found in same-sex relationships despite having denied this, as well as controversies over gay minors being forced to go to ex-gay camps against their will, and overt admissions by organizations related to the movement that conversion therapy does not work.
A large body of research and global scientific consensus indicates that being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is compatible with normal mental health and social adjustment. Because of this, major mental health professional organizations discourage and caution individuals against attempting to change their sexual orientation to heterosexual, and warn that attempting to do so can be harmful.
Characteristics
Various ex-gay organizations have working definitions of change. Prior to disbanding and renouncing the idea of a cure, Exodus International described change as, "attaining abstinence from homosexual behaviors, lessening of homosexual temptations, strengthening their sense of masculine or feminine identity, correcting distorted styles of relating with members of the same and opposite gender". People Can Change defines change as, "any degree of change toward greater peace, satisfaction and fulfillment, and less shame, depression and darkness", and emphasizes that for most people, heterosexuality is not the ultimate goal. When the term ex-gay was introduced to professional literature in 1980, E. Mansell Pattison defined it as describing a person who had "experienced a basic change in sexual orientation". Some ex-gays advocate entering (or remaining) in a heterosexual marriage as part of the process. Some in mixed-orientation marriages acknowledge that their sexual attractions remain primarily homosexual, but seek to make their marriages work anyway.
Some people no longer identify as gay since they became Christians or with prayer, without going to conversion therapy.
Objectives
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Aside from achieving a degree of change in sexual orientation, the ex-gay movement pursues several broad goals and these include:
- coordination with individuals and organizations, particularly opponents of gay and lesbian civil equality to influence public perception and public policy;
- offering gays and lesbians a procedure that is claimed to solve many of their problems by making them heterosexual;
- promotion of ex-gay movement leaders as legitimate representatives in gay cultural/political discourse;
- the destigmatization of therapeutic attempts to change sexual orientation to undermine the American Psychological Association's long-standing position that homosexuality is not a mental disorder.
Motivation of participants
The American Psychological Association reported that some ex-gay groups may help counteract and buffer minority stress, marginalization, and isolation in ways similar to other support groups, such as offering social support, fellowship, role models, and new ways to view a problem through unique philosophies or ideologies. Additionally, the same researchers also found that people joined ex-gay groups due to: a lack of other sources of social support; a desire for active coping, including both cognitive and emotional coping; and access to methods of sexual orientation identity exploration and reconstruction. The same report found that some have described the ex-gay groups as, "a refuge for those who were excluded both from conservative churches and from their families, because of their same-sex sexual attractions, and from gay organizations and social networks, because of their conservative religious beliefs". According to the APA report, "Ex-gay groups appear to relieve the distress caused by conflicts between religious values and sexual orientation and help participants change their sexual orientation identity, but not their sexual orientation". The APA goes on to report that some believed that by, "taking on 'ex-gay' cultural norms and language and finding a community that enabled and reinforced their primary religious beliefs, values, and concerns", they could resolve identity conflicts by:
- Adopting a new discourse or worldview.
- Engaging in a biographical reconstruction.
- Embracing a new explanatory model.
- Forming strong interpersonal ties.
One of the APA's sources for the report found that, "ex-gay groups recast homosexuality as an ordinary sin, and thus salvation was still achievable". Another one of their sources is summarized as having observed that, "such groups built hope, recovery, and relapse into an ex-gay identity, thus expecting same-sex sexual behaviors and conceiving them as opportunities for repentance and forgiveness". The APA report warns, however, that "some groups may reinforce prejudice and stigma by providing inaccurate or stereotyped information about homosexuality".
Ex-gay organizations
The first contemporary ex-gay ministry, Love in Action, was formed in 1973. Three years later, with other ex-gay organizations, it formed Exodus International, the largest ex-gay organization and the largest organization under the Exodus Global Alliance. In May 1983, during a conference in the Netherlands, a European chapter was founded. In June 2013, the Exodus board decided to cease operations, with president Alan Chambers apologizing for the pain and hurt the group had caused and saying that he no longer believed sexual orientation could be changed. Chambers apologized for what he identified as regrettable techniques, and the narrow message of a cure and marriage rather than a relationship with Christ for all. Shortly after, Chambers and his wife started Speak.Love., an organisation for promoting conversations on sexual orientation for all. In September 2014, Speak.Love. was merged into Chambers' personal website. Exodus Global Alliance, however, no longer affiliated with Exodus International, has continued operations.
Other ex-gay organizations cater to specific religious groups, such as Courage International for Catholics, North Star for the LDS Church, JONAH for Jews, Joel 2:25 International for Catholic and Protestant Christians and OneByOne for Presbyterians.
Some groups follow a specific technique, such as Homosexuals Anonymous, modeled after the Alcoholics Anonymous twelve-step program. Other ex-gay organizations include Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays.
In the United States, the organization The Changed Movement hosts public "Freedom March" events where ex-gays discuss their changes.
People
People associated with the ex-gay movement
- Joe Dallas is the program director of Genesis Counseling and the author of six books on human sexuality.
- Donnie McClurkin wrote about his experience with homosexuality in his book, Eternal Victim, Eternal Victor. He describes himself as going through a process by which he became "saved and sanctified". McClurkin has been criticized for stating homosexuality is a curse. He speaks openly about sexual issues since becoming the biological father of a child with a woman to whom he was not married. He uses these experiences in his concerts and speaking engagements. In 2004, he sang at the Republican National Convention. The appearance generated criticism for the event organizers and McClurkin for his statements on homosexuality.
- Joseph Nicolosi was an American clinical psychologist, founder and director of the Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic in Encino, California, and a founder and former president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH).
- Jeffrey Satinover is an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and physicist. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of NARTH.
- Charles Socarides was an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, physician, educator, and author. He helped found NARTH in 1992.
People who no longer support the ex-gay movement
Main article: Ex-ex-gay- John Paulk, then leader of Focus on the Family's Love Won Out conference and chairman of the board for Exodus International North America, was spotted visiting a Washington, D.C. gay bar in September 2000. He was photographed outside of the bar from behind by Wayne Besen, and later stepped down from the two organizations. In 2013, he formally apologized for his involvement in promoting the ex-gay concept and for the harm his work had done.
- Peterson Toscano, because he adhered to Conservative Christian beliefs, spent seventeen years as part of the ex-gay movement attempting to alter his sexual orientation through conversion therapy and faith-based ex-gay programs. In addition to receiving pastoral counseling, conversion therapy, and discipleship training, he attended several ex-gay programs, including Life Ministries in New York City (1983–1991) and the residential ex-gay program Love in Action in Memphis, Tennessee (July 1996-October 1998). In April 2007, Toscano and Christine Bakke co-founded Beyond Ex-Gay, an organization that supports people who feel they have been wounded by such organizations.
- Anthony Venn-Brown is a former Australian evangelist in the Assemblies of God and an author whose book describes his experience in Australia's first ex-gay program. Venn-Brown co-founded Freedom2b which offers support to LGBT people from church backgrounds and who have been displaced from the ex-gay movement. In 2007 he co-ordinated the release of a statement from five Australian ex-gay leaders who publicly apologized for their past actions.
- John Smid was the leader of Love In Action in Memphis. He resigned that position in 2008, and in 2010 apologized for any harm that he had caused, noting that his teen program "further wounded teens that were already in a very delicate place in life". He has announced that he is still homosexual and admitted never seeing a man successfully converting to heterosexuality in his group.
- Warren Throckmorton is a past president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association. He wrote and produced the documentary I Do Exist about ex-gay people, but subsequently came to "believe that categorical change in sexual attractions, especially for men, is rare" and repudiated some of the claims he made in the film.
Controversy
Sexual orientation change efforts
Main article: Sexual orientation change effortsPrior to disbanding, Exodus International recommended to their members that they undertake sexual orientation change efforts, such as conversion therapy. Exodus warned against going to counselors who tell a patient that they "can definitely eliminate all attractions to your same gender, or that you can definitely acquire heteroerotic attractions". Evergreen International did not advocate any particular form of therapy, and warned that "therapy will likely not be a cure in the sense of erasing all homosexual feelings".
Sexual orientation change efforts are controversial and the American Psychological Association reported that, "the available evidence, from both early and recent studies, suggests that although sexual orientation is unlikely to change, some individuals modified their sexual orientation identity (i.e., individual or group membership and affiliation, self-labeling) and other aspects of sexuality (i.e. values and behavior)". Virtually all major mental health organizations have adopted policy statements cautioning the profession and the public against treatments that purport to change sexual orientation.
In 2012, the Pan American Health Organization (the North and South American branch of the World Health Organization) released a statement cautioning against services that purport to "cure" people with non-heterosexual orientations as they lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people, and noted that the global scientific and professional consensus is that homosexuality is a normal and natural variation of human sexuality and cannot be regarded as a pathological condition. The Pan American Health Organization further called on governments, academic institutions, professional associations and the media to expose these practices and to promote respect for diversity. The World Health Organization affiliate further noted that gay minors have sometimes been forced to attend these "therapies" involuntarily, being deprived of their liberty and sometimes kept in isolation for several months, and that these findings were reported by several United Nations bodies. Additionally, the Pan American Health Organization recommended that such malpractices be denounced and subject to sanctions and penalties under national legislation, as they constitute a violation of the ethical principles of health care and violate human rights that are protected by international and regional agreements.
In March 2018, the European parliament voted by 435 to 109 members of parliament to stop conversion therapies in memberstates of the European Union.
Controversy over teenagers
A controversial aspect of the ex-gay movement has been the focus of some ex-gay organizations on gay teenagers, including occasions where teenagers have been forced to attend ex-gay camps by their parents. A 2006 report by the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce outlined evidence that ex-gay and conversion therapy groups were at the time increasingly focusing on children. Several legal researchers have responded to these events by arguing that parents who force their children into aggressive conversion therapy programs are committing child abuse under various state statutes.
One case of emancipation involved Lyn Duff. Duff was admitted to Rivendell Psychiatric Center in West Jordan, Utah on December 19, 1991, at age 15, after being involuntarily transported there at her mother's behest. Duff was subjected to a regimen of conversion therapy, including aversion therapy, hypnosis, psychotropic drugs, solitary confinement, therapeutic messages linking lesbian sex with "the pits of hell", behavior modification techniques, unreasonable forms of punishment for small infractions, and "positive peer pressure" group sessions in which patients demeaned and belittled each other for both real and perceived inadequacies. On May 19, 1992, after 168 days of incarceration, Duff escaped from Rivendell and traveled to San Francisco, where she lived on the streets and in safe houses. In 1992, Duff initiated legal action against the facility and her mother.
The ex-gay organization Love in Action was involved in a controversy surrounding a teenager. In July 2005, The New York Times ran a feature story about 16-year-old Zachary Stark, whose parents forced him to attend an ex-gay camp run by the group. In July 2005, Stark was released from the camp. An investigation of the camp by the Tennessee Department of Children's Services did not uncover signs of child abuse. In September 2005, Tennessee authorities discovered that unlicensed staff had been administering prescription drugs. A settlement was reached shortly thereafter. LIA closed the camp in 2007.
See also
- American Family Association v. City and County of San Francisco
- Detransition
- Ego-dystonic sexual orientation
- Environment and sexual orientation
- Ex-ex-gay
- National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality
- Restored Hope Network
- Sexaholics Anonymous
- Side A, Side B, Side X, Side Y (theological views)
References
- Greg Johnson, Still Time to Care: What We Can Learn from the Church's Failed Attempt to Cure Homosexuality, Zondervan, 2021.
- Johnson, Still Time to Care
- Ex-Ex-Gay Pride, Newsweek
- "Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation & Youth". American Psychological Association. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
- Ross, Brian; Schwartz, Rhonda; Mosk, Matthew; Churchman, Megan; Saenz, Arlette (July 12, 2011). "Bachmann Silent on Allegations Her Clinic Offers Gay Conversion Therapy". ABC News.
- ^ Mullany, Gerry (June 20, 2013). "Group That Promoted 'Curing' Gays Ceases Operations". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
- "What's your "success rate" in changing gays into straights?". Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
- "What Do We Mean by Change". Archived from the original on June 18, 2006.
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External links
- Ex-GayTruth.com, presents issues related to the ex-gay movement from a conservative Christian perspective
- Cure for Love, a National Film Board of Canada documentary
Further reading
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Gender identities | |||||||||
Sexual orientation identities |
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See also |