Netflix's 'Pray Away' Is A Humanizg Look At 'Gay Conversn' Therapy Survivors | HuffPost Entertament

Contents:

• NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' IS A HUMANIZG LOOK AT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS
• FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY
• NETFLIX’S ‘PRAY AWAY’ DOCUMENTARY WILL REMD YOU THAT GAY CONVERSN IS STILL GOG ON
• NETFLIX FILM ‘PRAY AWAY’ DOCUMENTS AB BY GAY CONVERSN THERAPY
• GAY CONVERSN THERAPY DOC ‘PRAY AWAY’ RELEAS EMOTNAL TRAILER (EXCLUSIVE)
• STREAM IT OR SKIP IT: ‘PRAY AWAY’ ON NETFLIX, A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE DEVASTATG IMPACT OF CONVERSN THERAPY & THE ‘EX-GAY’ MOVEMENT
• ‘PRAY AWAY’ REVIEW: ATONG FOR AN ANTI-GAY STANCE

NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' IS A HUMANIZG LOOK AT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS

Featured promently are former “ex-gay” figur like John Plk and Julie Rodgers, who expla how they me to embrace reparative ― or “gay nversn” ― therapy, only to nounce the practice and acknowledge their te LGBTQ selv later. The are victims of homophobia and transphobia, who are also perpetrators of homophobia and transphobia. The Amerin Medil Associatn, the Amerin Psychologil Associatn and the Amerin Amy of Pediatrics have all discreded the “ex-gay” movement spired two Hollywood films, “Boy Erased” and “The Mistn of Cameron Post.

While havg an enunter wh a young gay rights activist, he fds himself lookg at his own practice of nversn therapy very differently. In Boy Erased, the son of a Baptist pastor stggled wh how beg outed as gay ptur his relatnships a nversative small town and then beg sent to a nversn therapy program led by a lear he don’t see eye-to-eye wh.

Cameron gets sent by her nt Ruth to God’s Promise, a gay nversn therapy center for teenagers that is n by the strict Dr.

FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY

Lydia Marsh and her brother Reverend Rick who claims that his sister’s methods cured him of his own homosexualy.

It's a movement that's born out of a larger culture of homophobia and transphobia that still persists the majory of Christian church today. It wasn't until the suici of his iend, who was also part of the "ex-gay" movement, that he reevaluated everythg.

Interview highlights clu extend web-only answers and have been eded for length and clary: Interview Highlights Thomas on how he joed the "ex-gay" movement and Exod Internatnal I was out of the closet the '80s. They also had a group for the gays, and unrneath all of that olns there was this toxic theology that said that you need to overe homosexualy. Stolakis on what the ex-gay and nversn therapy movement looks like today Conversn therapy and the ex-LGBTQ movement has always been practiced lolly.

NETFLIX’S ‘PRAY AWAY’ DOCUMENTARY WILL REMD YOU THAT GAY CONVERSN IS STILL GOG ON

It's bee very lennial-driven bee there are younger people who've grown up homophobic and transphobic environments who are ready and willg to take the place of people like Randy. The first thg that Netflix’s Pray Away documentary do is remd viewers that gay nversn therapy is not a thg of the past. Dgs, alhol, homosexualy.

It’s shockgly siar to the ttimony given by the lears of the ex-gay movement over thirty years ago, several of whom are featured Pray Away after leavg the movement and formally apologizg to the LGBTQ muny.

NETFLIX FILM ‘PRAY AWAY’ DOCUMENTS AB BY GAY CONVERSN THERAPY

John Plk, for stance, was the poster child for the “former homosexual” who succsfully nverted to the straight liftyle. He appeared wh his wife Anne on the ver of Newsweek magaze 1998, and both of them appeared on talk show after talk show to reunt how both of them were gay, but ma a nsc effort to change.

GAY CONVERSN THERAPY DOC ‘PRAY AWAY’ RELEAS EMOTNAL TRAILER (EXCLUSIVE)

Plk soon joed the board of the Christian anti-homosexualy group known as Exod Internatnal, which was found 1976 and disband 2013. Bee I was dishont, ed people the dience—people that were stgglg wh homosexualy or had gay feelgs—to feel like, ‘There mt be somethg wrong wh me, bee I’m not like him.

'” Plk left Exod 2003, three years after he was photographed gog to a gay bar. (Plk’s wife Anne cled to be terviewed for the documentary and ntu to spread anti-gay msagg as the head of a new Christian ex-gay mistry.

STREAM IT OR SKIP IT: ‘PRAY AWAY’ ON NETFLIX, A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE DEVASTATG IMPACT OF CONVERSN THERAPY & THE ‘EX-GAY’ MOVEMENT

Her story is particularly tragic—after g out to her mom at 14, she was forced to see a man named Ricky Chelette who ran another relig ex-gay therapy anizatn lled Livg Hope. Rogers fally left the ex-gay movement after bearg wns to an emotnal, televised group therapy ssn 2013, which survivors of the ex-gay movement unload their trma onto Exod print Alan Chambers.

Chambers, too, was so shaken by the stori shared by the “ex-ex-gays” that he and others disband Exod that year, issug a public apology to the LGBTQ muny. You n’t help but wonr if McCall, like the ex-gay lears before him, will ever look back on that phone ll and acknowledge how much damage he likely ed. You'll overe your homosexualy.

‘PRAY AWAY’ REVIEW: ATONG FOR AN ANTI-GAY STANCE

As explored the documentary, barely any lears had any kd of trag psychology, unselg or human the scen, the film shows a symbtic fancial relatnship formed between select psychologists and the nversn therapy movement: Exod required credibily, and psychologists required se you missed:Matt Damon's e of a gay slur any ntext 2021 is unacceptable and embarrassgIn rearchg "Pray Away, " director Kriste Stolakis disvered "the vast majory of nversn therapy anizatns are actually n by LGBTQ folks who claim that they have changed themselv, " she tells USA TODAY. In the same mographic, an timated 57, 000 youths will face nversn therapy om a relig adviser or pastoral film also featur a current lear of the nversn therapy movement, Jefey McCall, who found Freedom March, a lennial--driven "ex-gay" group.

" An endg pot the film strik like lightng: As long as homophobia and transphobia exist more generally, nversn therapy won't vanish.