If there’s one phrase that burns our ears more than any other it’s “I hate being gay.” How can someone hate being gay? Being gay’s great! Of course, for many gay folk, being gay’s not so great. For a first person account of self-hatred, check out this article by a young man named Kyle Rice (pictured) over at The Advocate.
A Pentecostal Christian Republican, Rice recently enlisted in the ex-gay movement to find a so-called cure for his homo ways. In it, Rice writes:
I looked into “ex-gay” ministries and joined such a program offered by a local church. It has taught me that with God’s help I can change my desires. A friend of mine went through another church’s program, and he’s changed. He’s now happy and in love with his girlfriend. I pray the same will happen to me someday.
While we give the ex-gays a lot of shit, such talk really does break out little gay hearts. While we’re not the most religious people, we do wish that religious people could find the courage to discover new readings of the Bible (yes, there’s more than one) and learn to reconcile their conflicting emotions.
If you’re down to see things from another person’s point of view, follow the link and give the article a read.
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CORRECTION: Much to our chagrin and visual confusion, the original picture posted was not the same Kyle Rice as the one pictured above. We must admit, they do look pretty similiar. Regardless, apologies to all. Kyle Rice the photographer is no ex-gay. We’re not even sure if he is gay, but he’s still a talented photographer.
KJ
You guys aren’t the most religious types? Get out of here!
There’s a time to give ex-gays shit, and a time to let them take the arduous journey to full acceptance. If all of our experiences were homogenous, then we wouldn’t be a very interesting and diverse commnity, would we?
NYSailorScout
You’re totally right, KJ. This is what he has to go through. I just wish he realized that though he might be straight, repressing his homosexuality won’t…….ah, forget it. He will find his way home, no matter what side of the fence it is.
Jonathon
How very sad. Too bad this cutie hasn’t realized it’s the church that has the problem, not him.
I can only hope he learns to accept and love himself with time. Also I hope that he avoids the pit of the “Brokeback marriages” that the so-called “ex-gay” folks promote.
KJ
It’s a bit sadder after reading the article in which he acknowledges he’s gay, and then refuses to accept it. But hey! He’s miles ahead of where I was when I was 19; I would never have written an article in The Advocate, with my picture, acknowledging my same-gender sexual attraction. Also, a huge change in the past many years is the growing community of out GLBT Christians who grew up in evangelical or fundamentalist settings who have reconciled their sexuality and spirituality and are evidence that being out is not a renunciation of faith (I suppose it can be, but that’s the topic for a different thread.).
Kyle, if you’re following your story on the web, check out “Evangelicals Concerned” (www.ecwr.org). All out are in free!
srcastic
You have the wrong Kyle Rice pictured and linked. The author of the Advocate article was a different Kyle Rice.