At the Journey into Manhood program, gay men fork over $600 for a weekend retreat where they attempt to curb their same-sex orientation though exercises and activities administered by a staff whose only qualification is having gone through the program themselves.
Vice was allowed access as Journey into Manhood prepared for a new batch of struggling gays. And you get the sense pretty quickly that they have no idea what they’re talking about. The use the “Jack and the Beanstalk” myth to represent every boy’s journey into manhood. See, Jack is “estranged from his mother a little bit at he goes off and experiences his masculinity.” The beanstalk is obviously a phallic symbol (?), the giant is his shadow, and the gold represents the “gold in him.”
All in all, it’s impossible to even get snarky about. Mostly it’s just sad.
You’ll also hear from Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, who is illegally practicing on minors in the State of California
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One interviewee reasons, “I always considered myself a heterosexual man. Just with a lot of…issues.” Right.
Another notable segment is towards the end of the piece when everyone starts to talk about promiscuous gay life, admonishing the sinful lifestyle, all with a little gleam longing in their eyes.
In the following parts, Vice will travel to the annual Gay Christian Network Conference, speak with former “ex-gay” leaders including John Smid of Love in Action, who is now married to his gay partner, and hear from people who’ve survived various programs.
Watch part one here:
CoachS
I was going to make some snide comments and then I started thinking… what’s so bad about being gay that causes these guys to want to change it. I mean – to spend $600 and go into the woods with a crew of people who think the hand they’ve been dealt is so awful is like choosing to attend a “Debbie Downer” convention. If I weren’t gay, I wouldn’t have found the guy that makes me happy beyond happy. If they’d just open their eyes… and their hearts, they might discover that it’s a blessing not a curse. We are who we are. Embrace it. Be confident. Lift others up. Don’t give in, don’t “go along”, don’t worry about other’s opinions. Seems to me that’s what manhood is about. No snide remarks. Just sad to watch this. Sad for these guys… and the men they could be.
Gigi Gee
These poor guys. Self-loathing closet cases like Joseph Nicolosi should be stripped of their medical licenses for selling lies and false hope to these men. So-called “reparative” therapy is harmful and dangerous. It should be banned.
Giancarlo85
@CoachS: Seems like they were taken advantage of by these groups who are just in it for the money. I feel sad for them too. Reparative therapy is extremely dangerous and has been banned in several states, including California. It should be banned nation-wide for good.
Saint Law
Too sad. Already broken by their Church and Parents most of them got out on to the commercial scene only to be passed over as too homely, or to suffer romantic disappointment and sexual unfulfillment.
And so they revenge themselves on their failed hopes by embarking on a ludicrous, fraudulent and dangerous ‘therapy’.
I couldn’t stop myself laughing tho. I mean ‘journeying in to manhood’ by acting in panto?
Saint Law
Sighed and nodded at the reveal that Nicolosi’s son works at his ‘institute’. Reminded me of Scalia and his son, the gay priest who is also prominent in the ‘ex-gay’ movement.
What is it about a certain type of Catholic paterfamilias that compels them to destroy their boy children’s integrity and agency?
Moritz
I hear them talk about the promiscuity they see in the gay scene. All the one night stands and hookups. That is true of some gays in large urban areas. Just as it is also true of the heterosexuals who live there.
What these kids haven’t figured out is that there are as many ways to be gay as there are to be straight. You can choose to not sleep around, and wait for the person you will love. That is what I did, and we have been together for almost 36 years now. You can choose your own destiny and not go along with any herd mentality. Not that I think that promiscuity represents most of gay male life, or that it is wrong for people who are built that way.
These guys seem to be suffering from depression and blaming it all on the fact that they are gay. That sounds pretty ridiculous to me. Take some responsibility for your own life and figure out what is really making you sad, then seek help from real mental health professionals, not these ass-hats.
gaym50ish
@Moritz:
Gay men are not promiscuous because they’re GAY — they’re promiscuous because they’re MEN. When you remove women from the equation, there’s not likely to be anyone who will say NO when there’s a mutual attraction. Straight can only WISH that were the case with the women they meet.
Giancarlo85
Where are all the walking contradiction right wingers on here to defend these conservative “ex-gay” brainwashing camps?
jwtraveler
@gaym50ish: Gay men are promiscuous; straight men sneak around, cheat on their wives and girlfriends, have affairs and mistresses and have sex with prostitutes. Seems to me that gay men are more honest and are not hurting anyone else.