More Ex-Gay Survivors Share their Stories
Gabriel Arana spent three years as a patient of Joseph Nicolosi, former president of the National Association for the Research and Treatment of Homosexuality. Gabriel, a Cornell University 2006 PhD graduate in linguistics, recently chose to tell his story in the Cornell Daily Sun.For three years I had weekly sessions with Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, president of the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). Dr. Nicolosi thought that homosexuality was a pathology, a sublimated desire to reconnect with one’s lost masculinity. The theory: under-attentive fathers and over-attentive mothers create gay children. The purpose of therapy was to put me in touch with my masculine identity and thereby change my sexual orientation.He goes on to talk about the now infamous Spitzer study and how he was asked by Nicolosi to take part in it. Dr.
I would like to say that I resisted therapy throughout, but the truth is that I liked and respected Dr. Nicolosi. And the theory sounded plausible (I was too young to know that plausible does not mean true). It is a period in my life that I do not think about often, not because it hurts especially but because it has become increasingly irrelevant.
Nicolosi asked me to participate in it, but instructed me not to reveal that he had referred me; while he wanted his organization’s views represented, he did not want to bring into question the study’s integrity.Read all of Gabriel's The Red Line.
hat tip to Dave Rattigan at Ex-Gay Watch.
The other day I received an e-mail from Chris Tyler, a man who grew up in a Mormon family and tried for the longest time to go ex-gay. He put up 13 audio podcasts on YouTube in which he shares his story. It is amazing the time and care he put into these recordings.
The list grows almost daily of men and women who are choosing to come forward to share their stories with thoughtfulness and vulnerability. Many of these ex-gay survivors explore what they were looking for and why. You can read more narratives of people who tried to go ex-gay and found it was not possible or necessary and in many cases actually caused more harm than good.
Labels: ex-gay, ex-gay survivor, media
posted by Peterson Toscano @ 5:37 PM
2 Comments:
Somehow.. I believe many of those stories will help alot of people not needing trying to become exgays at all..
Its a great work.
And as last time. You got a rather lengthy facebookmail.
All the love from Sweden
In all of the few ex-gay testimonies, there are tons of ex-gay survivor ones. That shows volume of how ex-gay ministries just do not work. I will admit I am getting annoyed with them.
One sad news now, I may have to suspend my other blog "Reflections Asia" until further notice. Without additional writers from Asia-Pacific, it is really hard to maintain. I already have my hands full at both Ex-Gay Watch and my personal blog. Praying for writers.
As always, take care my brother.
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