So, a lot of my friends are gay rights activists and try to encourage others to accept their sexuality and embrace it. I myself have a few different friends having trouble admitting to being gay and I do my best to help them figure things out. In our age group, we all feel very strongly about flaunting our sexuality and taking pride in our differences, and that's a great thing.
At the beginning of this article, I was painted a picture of a man who was "busy contemplating queer theory, marching in gay rights rallies and urging young people to celebrate (not just accept) their same-sex attractions." I appreciated this, because I agree that it's something that should be celebrated and it's good to know that there are other people in the world who feel so strongly.
Further into the article though, I read that he "was fast becoming the leading voice for gay youth until the day, in July 2007, when he announced that he was no longer gay." Reading that sentence confused me quite a bit. How do you believe in something so strongly and then renounce it completely all of a sudden? The article didn't really give a reason for why he suddenly changed gears and I was actually really angered by it. I think that's kind of a huge part of the story. He went from hating Christian fundamentalists to becoming one.
I'm wondering if one of his two personas is a lie, but the question is, which? And why? Reading this article is making me seriously question the motives people have for doing things, like becoming an activist or protesting. What do you guys think? What could make someone change their mind so radically? Or, even better, do you think maybe one of his opinions is a lie? Or that this one won't last?
3 comments:
Compelling questions, Jillian. I hope some of your classmates weigh in...
This was easily the most interesting article I've read in a really long time. I went to this sexuality conference a couple monthes ago called True Colors. one of the workshops I went to there was this Ex-Gay survivor. He was a gayman that had spent the majority of his young adult years and over 30,000 in and out of ex-gay treatment. It's really insane some of the things he went through. He paid for everything from starvation and being beaten, to having excorcisms remove the "gay spirit" in him. And now he travels around giving workshops about acceptance, and warning away from the false advertisement of changing your sexuality. The impression I got from the workshop left me with a deep repulsion for that kind of place, so it was shocking to read about a transition of a seemingly happy and self-loving gay man to an ex-gay. You questioned as to what could have catalyzed that kind of switch, and I'm wondering the same thing. In the article Glazte seems to think his near-death experience is the cause for his newfound spirituality. And that's certainly true, I'm sure we've all heard of people changing completely after close encounters with death. But I feel like its more than that, because there are plenty of religious people who still believe in gay rights. You know how people always say that school bullies, or really extroverted people are secretly really insecure on the inside? That's what I was thinking when I was reading about Michael's case. When he's described during his time at XY, he's pictured as much more assured than the rest of the people he worked with, from telling fundamentalists to burn in hell, to insisting that they include the caption that "everyone is happier" after coming out. Perhaps, all the while he still was searching for an identity, and was not actually as comfortable in himself as he seemed. It's really sad, especially since he seemed to be such a role model for struggling gay men. What a painful shock it must have been when he switched sides. The most infuriating part for me to read was his negativity about the It Gets Better campaign, which, as a straight person, is still one of the most moving things I've seen. Who am I to say what he feels, but I think a lot of people claiming to be ex-gay are really just in a state of deep denial.
I think I have to agree with Tarpley that claiming to be an ex-gay is really, really intense denial. No one chooses to be gay, they just are; no one chooses to be straight, they just are. Sexuality is a part of who each and every one of us is, and rejecting it seems like much more of a sin to me than accepting it. I suppose a near death experience, or something of the sort, can drastically alter one’s thinking, however I can’t believe that a person would so truly and completely, reject everything they had stood for. I found this a depressing and upsetting article to read. Using religion as a reason to say that homosexuality is wrong bewilders me; can we really say that G-d – an entity that may or may not even exist – says it s wrong for people to find happiness in their love? And can we really use the Bible - which also says that tattoos, round hair cuts, touching pigskins (there goes football, mixed fabrics (sorry polyester), wearing gold, eating shellfish, fortune telling, divorce, and so, so much more shall not be permitted – as a legitimate guide to how humankind should behave? It really astounds me how a person can turn their live around like this, and in all honesty, I almost feel bad for this man, as he is without a doubt shutting out a part of who he is.
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