Last month, Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) scored a court coup when a judge recognized former homos as being qualified protected sexual identity class. PFOX was so elated, they issued a press release about it! But none of that means PFOX is actually getting behind laws that would keep their kind from, uh, being discriminated against.
PFOX’s 2002 lawsuit against the National Education Association (which refused them booth space at a convention) was all about the group’s displeasure with being discriminated against. When a judge issued a ruling in the case, PFOX director Greg Quinlan said, “All sexual orientation laws and programs nationwide should now provide true diversity and equality by including former homosexuals. I have experienced more personal assaults as a former homosexual than I ever did as a gay man.”
So how come PFOX is now advocating against anti-discrimination laws that would keep them from being “targeted” again? The long answer would include a discussion about hating thy self. The short answer? “PFOX doesn’t so much advocate for ex-gays as it does advocate against gays.”
terrwill
More rightwing-nutbag sub-human scumbags spewing poo out of their vile filty mouths. Once again they get tripped up by their own disgusting antics. I guarantee you follow any one of those “ex-gays” and within a week you would find them barebacking with an anonymus partner in a cruise area……..
Robert, NYC
So now the court has officially recognized another class of people….the “asexuals” which is what so called “ex-gays” have become. Don’t believe for a minute they go out and find women to bang to prove they’re “cured”. They don’t and those who say they do are psychopathic liars, delusional ones at that.
Look at the supposedly straight Peter LaBarbera,founder of Americans for Truth, a right wing organization to promote everything negative about gay orientation, gay sex, you name it, and a married, deeply closeted man who frequents gay clubs to observe men getting it on under the pretext that its used for research to highlight the dangers of gay sex among other things. He doesn’t do lesbian venues oddly, you think he would if he’s “straight”. If we were truly straight, he’d be out cruising the straight swingers’ venues and sex clubs now wouldn’t he to observe the risky behavior in the form of wife swapping and threeways a lot of them indulge in, really good examples of the sanctity of marriage wackos? Why keep going back to gay clubs over and over, isn’t once enough? Rumor has it he has one of the largest if not the largest collections of gay porn on the planet. I wonder why he hangs on to it, doesn’t discard it? If I were his wife, I’d be heading for the divorce court.
Jason
So “straight” and “ex-gay” are protected classes and are beloved by Jesus and all the conservatives.
Hmm…
terrwill
@Robert, NYC: There is nothing wrong with Peter LaBarbera going undercover to Gay bars to observe and research the dangers of Gay sex. I frequently do the same thing venturing into straight bars to research the dangers of hetrosex. You know the kind that results in existince of a subhuman scumbag like Peter LaBarbera……………..
Robert, NYC
@terrwill:
But why keep on going, if you’ve seen it once, why would you want to see more of it, prurient interest perhaps? Why aren’t so called “straights” venturing into straight clubs and sex clubs to do research then, especially the religious wackos? What kind of dangerous behavior have you encountered in straight venues then, aside from barebacking and swallowing?
Robert, NYC
@terrwill:
But why keep on going, if you’ve seen it once, why would you want to see more of it, prurient interest perhaps? Why aren’t so called “straights” venturing into straight clubs and sex clubs to do research then, especially the religious wackos? What kind of dangerous behavior have you encountered in straight venues then, aside from barebacking and swallowing? What exactly is your purpose for observing straights getting it on though, risky behavior aside?
B
Robert, NYC said about some ex gay or homophobe, “Rumor has it he has one of the largest if not the largest collections of gay porn on the planet.”
Is this guy the character in San Francisco I read about who was buying something with a credit card and misheard “you’re approved” as “you’re a prude”? He replied, “I’ll have you know that I have one of the finest pornography collections in the city.”
Robert, NYC
@B:
I think that’s the one,yes.
terrwill
@Robert, NYC: I kinda think you missed the point of my post by a country mile! Ya eva hear of sarcasm? 😛
drresol
*yawn*…I’ve met a few of these supposed “ex-gays” before in the religious circles I grew up in. Aside from having fun suggesting it was an abreviation for “extreme-gays”, it doesn’t take long to realize it’s all about splitting hairs over labels and definitions. With most of their theories of homosexuality being chosen and treatment methods debunked and frowned upon by the psychology community, it became increasingly damn-near impossible for them to continue suggesting they could cure someone of homosexuality and reboot their brain as a heterosexual. Soooo…
They came up with the label “ex-gay” to give their agenda an easier sell. It’s an indirect admission that they can’t cure homosexuality nor create a heterosexual; but instead posits a new sexual identity. One in which someone still has homosexual feelings but abstains from them completely; they may also mimic heterosexuality (even getting married and have kids), but not necessarily have opposite-sex attractions (this part, BTW, is encouraged but not required). It sounds crazy and self-contradicting, but you have to remember their reasoning hinges on the idea that homosexuality is defined more by the act than an identity. Ie, if you can get someone to stop saying they’re gay and stop doing “gay things”, then they’re not gay anymore (they’re not “practicing”).
Robert, NYC
@terrwill:
Got it! What’s your take on assholes like LaBarbera though? Why would a “straight” guy keep going back over and over?
Robert, NYC
@drresol:
What I don’t get is, if they’re having so called “success” rate, i.e. getting married and having kids, why aren’t they providing the statistics of their successes compared to their failures? Why aren’t the successes going public, wouldn’t that help their cause? I suspect the number who marry and procreate are minimal at best.
Further, why don’t they try to prove their point by trying to convert a straight to a gay orientation, just for the hell of it? They’ve not produced any documented evidence to prove anything, let alone reverse sexual orientation either way. Not one of the legitimate medical or scientific journals has published any of their work. I wonder why? Why haven’t there been any controlled studies conducted by legitimate organizations, assuming they subscribe to reversing sexual orientation? The fact of the matter is, there aren’t any.
terrwill
@Robert, NYC: Because he’s the type of guy who likes to do “hands on” research ;-P
drresol
@Robert, NYC:
In response to paragraph 1…
Because they have no real success stories. The scant few they may appear to have wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny (it would be easy to prove they’ve just nailed their closet door back up). Besides…most ‘success’ stories have later been found cruising gay bars. And more besides…it’s a lucrative business. Best to keep it vague and keep the racket going as long as possible (what, you didn’t think they’d de-gay you for free, did you?). There are thousands of christian parents of gay kids who will shell out cash for books, DVDs, and seminars on this false hope. Not to mention gays raised in religious homes who will pay anything to not lose their family, friends, community, and entire belief structure.
In response to paragraph 2…
Because every reputable psychological organization has already condemned their treatment methods and called them on their BS.
Robert, NYC
@terrwill:
LOL! So true!
Robert, NYC
@drresol:
Very sad….and to think these fake organizations are never shut down for peddling this nonsense and extorting money in the process. Typical republican philosophy, screw the people if you can at their own expense and to hell with everything else, as long as their bank accounts are fat.
Russ, Tx
Re: mimiking being married and having kids. There are many gay men and lesbians out there, married heterosexually, with children. Too many times they married before they were ready to accept themselves as gay. Societal pressure has been a bitch. Those I know of ended up with either sneaking around behind their spouse’s back or in divorce. Husband, wife and the kids all get damaged in the process. Nothing improving family values there.
Any woman I loved, I’d want her to have not just affection, friendship and security- I could do all of those things- but also be appreciated sexually too, not be my life-long cover-up. Nor would I want either of us to look back at the years wasted in some “I can change him” fantasy. I spent 39 years denying what I thought was the unbearable sentence of being gay, so don’t come to me with ideas of changing or preventing my sexuality. It was miserable. Why would I want a wife having to go through its flip-side?
I wouldn’t want our daughters raised in a home where their mother couldn’t be fully wanted as a woman. What lessons in sexual self-respect is that teaching? How would we be teaching our straight sons all there is about healthy respect for women, esp. their future wives? The whole thing seems a perverse twist on being forced into the closet, except now it’s the straight wife shut away too.
To the gays out there trying to make it work for their spouse and kids, best of luck. Really. But it’s not something I could choose, or advise anyone to try.