Former 'Ex-Gay' Lears Denounce 'Conversn Therapy' In A New Documentary : NPR

Contents:

• ‘PRAY AWAY THE GAY’ HAS GONE AWAY. WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS TRYG TO STOP IT?
• IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRAY THE GAY AWAY?
• FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY
• PRAY AWAY: THE HARROWG TE STORY OF THE "EX-GAY" MUNY THE FILM
• ‘PRAY AWAY’ REVIEW: ATONG FOR AN ANTI-GAY STANCE
• NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' LOOKS BEHD THE CURTA OF THE 'EX-GAY' MOVEMENT
• NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' IS A HUMANIZG LOOK AT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS
• NETFLIX’S ‘PRAY AWAY’ DOCUMENTARY WILL REMD YOU THAT GAY CONVERSN IS STILL GOG ON
• WHAT DO “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” MEAN?
• PRAY THE GAY AWAY PAPERBACK – NOVEMBER 27, 2017
• CAN CATHOLICS “PRAY AWAY THE GAY?”
• PRAY THE GAY AWAY
• MILO YIANNOPOULOS TO GIVE “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” SPEECH AT PENN STATE UNIVERSY
• 5 THGS I LEARNED AT A 'PRAY AWAY THE GAY' CAMP
• PRAY AWAY GO DEEP INTO THE 'EX-GAY' MOVEMENT THAT BEGAN THE '70S
• ‘PRAY THE GAY AWAY’ LIVE: ZAKAR TWS INVE AUDIENC TO THEIR LGBTQ COMEDY PLAY

‘PRAY AWAY THE GAY’ HAS GONE AWAY. WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS TRYG TO STOP IT?

Exod Internatnal, evangelilism’s flagship ex-gay mistry, shut down 2013 after former lear Alan Chambers said had ed pa and harm to too many people and that more than 99 percent of those who’d sought help there hadn’t actually experienced an orientatn change. While mistri cludg Exod Internatnal and Foc on the Fay ed to preach that homosexual sire should be elimated, most evangelil church, pastors, and mental health profsnals today emphasize chasty amid sir that might last a lifetime.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRAY THE GAY AWAY?

Even the Nashville Statement, a 14-pot manifto by the plementarian Council of Biblil Manhood and Womanhood, matas that homosexual sire may never change. The revelatns surroundg Marc Bachmann's psychotherapy practice along wh his statements equatg gay people to barbarians reflect the eply held view among too many people that homosexualy is a psychologil or moral choice that n be altered and ed should be. There are several nservative relig anizatns, like Exod Internatnal and Homosexuals Anonymo, that claim to have helped people change their sexual orientatn through prayer, unselg, or a batn of both.

Moreover, there are licensed mental health profsnals who practice what are lled reparative or nversn therapi signed to make gay people heterosexual. The bt-known group of such clicians is the Natnal Associatn for Rearch and Therapy of Homosexualy (NARTH), led by psychologist Joseph Nilosi.

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

He and his followers claim that gays and lbians suffer om a damagg blend of childhood trma, shamg their fai of orig, and chronic unmet needs for love and affectn om their same-sex parents. Reparative therapy supposedly helps gay clients bee heterosexual by workg wh them to amelrate toxic feelgs stemmg om their damaged childhoods.

Robert Spzer, a proment psychiatrist who, oddly enough, led the charge to remove homosexualy as a disease om the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual, had unrtaken rearch wh 200 women and men who unrwent reparative therapy and believed themselv to be "cured" of homosexualy, as evinced by their abily to engage sexual relatns wh the oppose sex, marry heterosexually, and nceive children. In fact, there are many reports of people unrgog treatments offered by ex-gay mistri who not only return to homosexualy but have also been trmatized by this so-lled therapy. It is important to regnize that the great majory of psychotherapy profsnals argue vociferoly that such "treatment" is uhil bee homosexualy is not an illns — rather the "illns" is our tolerance of sexual and genr behavrs fallg outsi rtrictive societal norms.

I also tell clients that reparative and nversn therapi, bis beg effective, are psychologilly harmful to gays and lbians, which is another reason I do not remend them and will not assist clients procurg such treatment.

PRAY AWAY: THE HARROWG TE STORY OF THE "EX-GAY" MUNY THE FILM

People like Marc and Michele Bachmann believe that acceptg and even celebratg gay and lbian people will evably lead to the moral cle of our society. 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. 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.

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.

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

Pray Away has only jt been released on Netflix this week, but 's been grippg dienc ever documentary, which was directed by Kriste Stolakis, tells the story of the -founrs of Exod Internatnal and the leadg figur of the ex-gay what spired to Stolakis to make the film and where are some of the film's key characters now? Much of the teachg behd suggts that those who are gay mt be sufferg om mental health problems due to eher sexual or physil abe by a parent or aquate or toxic parentg. Exod Internatnal was a non-prof, ternomatnal Umbrella anisatn, that sought to help people who wished to change their homosexual sir.

NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' LOOKS BEHD THE CURTA OF THE 'EX-GAY' MOVEMENT

The anisatn, which was formed 1976, believed that nversn therapy and the re-orientatn of sexual attractn was possible or that they uld more lloquially “pray the gay away”.

Bsee went on to bee an outspoken cric of Exod and the ex-gay movement and on 27 June 2007 Bsee - wh follow former Exod lears Jeremy Marks and Darlene Bogle issued a public apology for their rol the group. He was the founr of Foc On The Fay's ex-gay mistry Love Won Out and the former chairman of Exod Internatnal North Ameri. He later renounced his ex-gay stat, nied that nversn therapy is effective and issued an apology for the harm he had ed 2013.

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

Livg her life as an openly gay woman, Rodgers found acceptance a new Christian muny and ntu to talk about her experienc as a survivor of nversn therapy orr to help at-risk LGBTQ 2021, she also released her tobgraphy, Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story, and lnched the Outlove Project - which along wh the Trevor Project seeks to help at-risk LGBTQ youth and prevent suici and self-harm.

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

Movi|‘Pray Away’ Review: Atong for an Anti-Gay Stance ADVERTISEMENTIn this documentary, people who had promoted the ia that sexual orientatn uld be changed exprs their AwayDirected by Kriste StolakisDocumentaryPG-131h 41mThe Netflix documentary “Pray Away” profil several people who, the public sphere and the ntext of Christiany-cloaked “nversn therapy, ” peddled the ia that homosexualy uld be changed, and who now regret the sufferg they ed.

WHAT DO “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” MEAN?

Michael Bsee, a founr of Exod Internatnal, nsired one of the major anizatns that preached that sexual orientatn uld be changed, was both an early promoter and an early harms nversn therapy , and the tactics , aren’t news at this pot, and “Pray Away” is more tertg when foc on how most of s subjects eventually embraced gay and bisexual inti spe havg formerly been so public their homophobia. When Amerin documentarian Kriste Stolakis set out to make her but feature film, she knew she wanted to she a light on the “ex-gay” movement, which nsists of those that believe a person’s genr inty or sexual orientatn n be changed.

Really is a movement of hurt people hurtg other people, of what ternalized homophobia and transphobia looks like when is wield outward. Shot before the Covid-19 panmic, the film chronicl the rise — and subsequent fall — of Exod Internatnal, a nversn therapy anizatn that, acrdg to the team behd the the film, began as a Bible study group the 1970s nsistg of five evangelil men who were lookg to help one another leave the “homosexual liftyle.

But years after risg to stardom the relig right, many of the “ex-gay” lears, whose own same-sex attractns never went away, have sce e out as LGBTQ and disavowed the very movement that they helped to grow.

PRAY THE GAY AWAY PAPERBACK – NOVEMBER 27, 2017

Stolakis’ list of terviewe “Pray Away” clus Randy Thomas, the fal vice print of Exod Internatnal; Yvette Cantu Schneir, the former head of Exod’ women’s mistri; and John Plk, one of the most bt-known “ex-gay” people the world.

CAN CATHOLICS “PRAY AWAY THE GAY?”

“Somethg my team and I talked about a lot makg this film is, this really is a movement of hurt people hurtg other people, of what ternalized homophobia and transphobia looks like when is wield outward, ” said Stolakis, whose other directorial creds clu “The Typist” and “Where We Stand. ”While many former lears have renounced and spoken out agast the “pray the gay away” movement, Stolakis said “the larger culture of homophobia and transphobia, ” particularly relig muni, has allowed the movement to ntue wh younger lears, even wh the dissolutn of Exod Internatnal 2013 and the legalizatn of same-sex marriage the U.

Alone, nearly 700, 000 lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr adults have been subjected to some form of nversn therapy durg their lifetime, acrdg to a 2019 report om the Williams Instute at the UCLA School of Law.

”Wh “Pray Away” set to but more than 190 untri on Netflix this week, Stolakis wants to make one thg clear to every prospective viewer: The “ex-gay” movement was never led by jt “a uple of bad appl.

PRAY THE GAY AWAY

”“As long as that larger culture of homophobia and transphobia exists — be our church, any relig muny, our polil sphere or our culture — some versn of nversn therapy and the ex-LGBTQ movement will ntue, ” she explaed. 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 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. The first thg that Netflix’s Pray Away documentary do is remd viewers that gay nversn therapy is not a thg of the past.

MILO YIANNOPOULOS TO GIVE “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” SPEECH AT PENN STATE UNIVERSY

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. 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.

5 THGS I LEARNED AT A 'PRAY AWAY THE GAY' CAMP

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.

PRAY AWAY GO DEEP INTO THE 'EX-GAY' MOVEMENT THAT BEGAN THE '70S

(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.

‘PRAY THE GAY AWAY’ LIVE: ZAKAR TWS INVE AUDIENC TO THEIR LGBTQ COMEDY PLAY

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.