Peterson Toscano's A Musing

Ex-Gay Survivor Conference--Some Buzz

The Colorado Confidential paper published a great two part interview with Christine Bakke, the fabulous co-founder of BeyondExGay.com (bXg). The article goes through some of her own personal history as an ex-gay, but more importantly her process of coming out of the ex-gay movement, moving beyond the hurt and the silence to becoming a national presence as a lesbian ex-gay survivor. Part One and Part Two

Steve Boese, the web master extrodinaire over at bXg put out a call to bXgers to share what the conference means to them. We have begun to get some powerful responses which Steve has begun to post.

David F. from Dallas writes,

I found out about the conference only last week, and immediately booked it.

I spent 8 years in ex-gay ministries, reparative therapy, and aversion therapy and finally left after a suicide attempt.

My involvement in these groups has affected every area of my life, from my belief in God to my ability to create trusting friendships and relationships. I have come a long way, but have a long way yet to go.

I'm looking forward to meeting other survivors, hearing their stories, and perhaps sharing my own story. By going to the conference, I also hope to show my support for my fellow "ex-ex-gays" and the organizations that support us.

If you are able to attend the conference or not, we would love to hear from you and what this conference means to you.

For regularly updates about the conference, to see what is happening in the media and to read what others are saying on the blogs, visit the bXg Conference page

Most of the organizers are in Irvine today to work on the preparation for the conference. I finally got to meet the wonderful Pat Walsh, director of the LGBT resource center at UC Irvine. She is actually retiring and ending her time after 23 years of service by co-sponsoring the Ex-Gay Survivor Conference with bXg and Soulforce. She never had an ex-gay experience but stands as a strong ally who has witnessed some of the damage on students she has met through the years.

Labels: bXg, ex-gay, ex-gay survivor conference

posted by Peterson Toscano @ 2:35 PM