“Ex-Gay” Theory Challenged in Asheville
ASHEVILLE, NC - The Coalition for Equality held a community response seminar on July 15 at Firestorm Café and Books in response to Exodus International’s “Reparative Therapy” conference at Ridgecrest Center in Montreat.
The seminar, entitled Challenging the Ex-Gay Theory, was the first of a series of seminars being held through July 19, the same dates Exodus International held its meeting at Ridgecrest.
“I think (Exodus’s) intentions are harmful, because it’s cloaked in the message of love,” said Equality Asheville organizer Noel Nickel to the Asheville Citizen Times. “We’re trying to make sure that there is a full spectrum of educational aspects. People who are coming to this community need to know the whole spectrum.”
The seminar featured speaker Wayne Besen, the founder of Truth Wins Out, a nationally acclaimed expert known for exposing the hypocrisy behind ex-gay theory. It also included a guest panel consisting of Rebecca Mann, community organizer for Equality North Carolina (ENC), Sue Null of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and the Rev. Laine Calloway of the Gay & Lesbian Ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of WNC.
The seminar began with Jerri Goldberg, a board member of ENC stating that the Coalition for Equality does not agree with what Exodus International is teaching at their Ridgecrest Conference, and elected to hold a community response to debunk the pseudo-theory Exodus International is attempting to teach- the Ex-Gay Theory.
The Ex-Gay Theory is based on the principle that homosexuals can essentially, “pray away the gay,” and convert themselves to heterosexuality through prayer and behavioral modifications.
The Rev. Laine Calloway also spoke against the theory, and apologized on behalf of the church for its damage to the LGBTQ community.
“From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry,” said Calloway to the packed cafe. “I apologize in the name of the church for what has been done to your spirit.”
Calloway also emphasized the importance of knowing the scriptural arguments against homosexuality, especially in light of Exodus International’s right-wing religious agenda.
“As a gay person it is incumbent in you to know what the scripture says and how to rebut that,” said Calloway.
Immediately following the seminar Calloway led a question and answer session educating the crowd in regards to what the scriptures often used to refute homosexuality were truly intended to mean.
Calloway also reiterated the tagline of the week-long series of events, “You’re Fine Just the Way You Are.”
“You are God’s child and you are fine the way you are,” said Calloway. “You are a beautiful creation and I celebrate every one of you.”
After the introduction of the panelists, Besen took the floor and introduced himself.
Besen, who has been featured on numerous newscasts and political talk shows including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The O’Reilley Factor and NBC Nightly News spoke to a full house of enthusiastic audience members. Besen also founded Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life.
“Change is changing your behavior. Not your orientation,” said Besen in regards to Exodus International’s media campaign flaunting the possibility of change.
Besen’s key point in the presentation was for consumers to be aware that the ex-gay movement is an industry based on profiting from the vulnerability of parents of LGBTQ children by offering them the hope that their children can somehow become straight. Besen also took issue with the assumption of ex-gay theories that all homosexuals are somehow unhappy.
“This is consumer fraud, selling desperate people false hope,” said Besen to the Asheville Citizen Times.
Besen’s first order of business in challenging the ex-gay theory was to discuss the hypocrisy behind the leaders of the movement. John Paulk, a former chairman of the board for Exodus International made news when Besen photographed him at Mr. P’s, a gay bar in Washington, DC.
Michael Johnston, who was featured in It’s Not Gay, a video still promoted by the American Family Association, was chairman of the National Coming Out of Homosexuality Day and also the founded Kerusso Ministries traveled around the country condemning the depravity of homosexuality when all the while he’d been hosting gay orgies despite testing as HIV+.
Besen stated that the earlier fire and brimstone tactics touted by Exodus International and other religious right groups was no longer working and thus the ex-gay movement was born.
“We’re not trying to stop you from harming society, we’re trying to stop you from harming yourself,” said Besen explaining the ideology behind the movement.
Besen also emphasized his belief that the ex-gay theory is an industry with a political agenda even though Exodus International vehemently claims otherwise.
“I find it really amazing for a group that’s not political to keep getting photographed with politicians,” said Besen while showing numerous slides of Exodus International board members’ photos alongside right-wing politicians.
Besen then led into the meat and potatoes of his presentation, giving the audience five reasons to question the ex-gay theory.
The first reason is that Exodus International and others use anonymous sources to support their agenda. Studies never feature names or peer-reviewed studies. Besen alleged ex-gay theorists simply use the same old statistics, which have been disproved repeatedly, by simply re-packaging them as new factual information.
The second reason not to believe in the theory is to pay attention to statements made by ex-gay leaders.
In a June 2007 interview with the LA Times, Alan Chambers, the current president of Exodus International said, “By no means would we ever say change could be sudden or complete.” Joe Dallas, a speaker for the Focus on the Family’s Love Won Out tour told the LA Times, “No one has ever left therapy saying, ‘Wow, I have absolutely no homosexual thoughts.”
The third reason to question reparative therapy is to look at the statistics used in ex-gay propaganda. Besen argued that consumers are bombarded with statistics that never provide the full information of how many people were initially polled.
The fourth reason Besen used to debunk the theory was that only paid lobbyists rave about the success of reparative therapy. Besen asserted that it is impossible to find someone not on the payroll for Exodus International and other similar organizations to tell their success story.
And finally, Besen asked the audience to look into what reparative therapy actually entails. It includes a practice Besen dubbed “Denial Therapy,” which includes bathroom timers to cut down on exposure to circumstances that might provide temptation, repossession of clients’ underwear, restriction of newspapers and magazines that may provide tempting images, and even advising clients to shop an hour before stores close simply because there are less people in the store and thus diminishes the chance that a recovering homosexual might run into an attractive person of the same sex.
Even more ridiculous, denial therapy encourages clients to focus on imagining a tree when having homosexual thoughts, and even to imagine having intercourse with Jesus Christ.
Besen also targeted the National Association of Research and Therapy for Homosexuality (NARTH) dubbing them “quacks” and condemning their practice of administering “preventative therapy” to children as young as three years of age. NARTH utilizes pseudo-scientific methods of identifying homosexuals by looking for fear of tall bridges and a phobia of the telephone and asserts that defeat and failure cause homosexual fantasies or dreams.
“Like any show, the final curtain of reality comes crashing down at some point,” said Besen in closure.
For more information about Besen’s quest for the truth behind the ex-gay movement, visit www.truthwinsout.org.