Posted on May 11th, 2008 by Dave Rattigan
Gay bloggers recently had a field day with ex-gay counsellor David Pickup’s “Increasing Manhood” video, one even speculating whether it was a spoof, in the vein of Donnie Davies.
Unfortunately, Pickup (right) and his campaign to undermine the masculinity of gays — while supposedly helping them to 
discover their true manhood — are very much for real. Pickup is a member of the “therapeutic team” at Healing for the Soul, the ex-gay ministry of Jayson Graves (left). And who is Jayson Graves? Well, he is a lot of things but what surprises us most is that he is also a board member of Exodus International.
It is not hard to discern the ex-gay genre into which Pickup fits. He is Training Coordinator for an LA chapter of the controversial Mankind Project (New Warriors in Training), and his own Workout program is similarly testosterone-fuelled, leaning heavily on the work of NARTH’s Dr. Joseph Nicolosi.
To get a sense of Pickup’s philosophy of homosexuality and masculinity, one need look no further than this personal ad he placed on Bodybuilding.com in 2000. These things have a tendency to disappear off the Web, so I reprint it here in full, with comments:
My name is David. Let’s get the stats out of the way. I’m 6′2′, 240, 49c, 34w, 18a, all-around big muscular man. I’m 44, and look about 35. Yep, I’m in great shape.
As we’ll see, this kind of detail is apparently key to Pickup’s perception of masculinity. He denies there’s anything homoerotic about this. It’s just something gay men (and, frankly, most straight men) can’t understand without turning it into something sexual — in his opinion. Read more…
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Filed under: Exgay Ads, Exodus, Therapy
Posted on May 10th, 2008 by Dave Rattigan
- John Corvino on the importance of dialogue
- Jonathan Rowe dismantles World Net Daily’s latest screed
- Former ex-gay leader interviewed on GCN Radio
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Filed under: Uncategorized
Posted on May 8th, 2008 by Eugene Wagner
Chris Tyler grew up in a devout Mormon family. In this podcast series (part one is below; the rest of the series can be accessed through his YouTube channel) he chronicles his time in ex-gay therapy and the subsequent process he went through in coming to a place of self-acceptance.
Chris’ whole story may go into more detail than some are interested in sitting through (the podcast is broken up into 14 ten-minute segments). Those who come from similar backgrounds (Mormon, evangelical or otherwise) will identify with the emotions he describes as he is first coming to grips with the reality of his attractions, as well as the arduous process he goes through as he gradually disentangles himself from the deeply ingrained fears that accompany the deeply conservative mindset he grew up with.
Hat tip: Good As You
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Filed under: Former Exgays
Posted on May 6th, 2008 by Dave Rattigan
Sawed-Off Films has released preview footage of the new documentary This Is What Love In Action Looks Like.
The film is an examination of the controversial Memphis-based Love In Action (LIA), a ministry whose actions became notorious in 2005 when 16-year-old Zach was enrolled in their residential ex-gay program against his will.
Zach, now 19, is one of several participants in the documentary. Following his ordeal at LIA, the harrowing run-up to which was uniquely documented on his MySpace blog, Zach refused to talk at length about his experience. In This Is What Love In Action Looks Like, he revisits the events of 2005 in detail for the first time.
Watch the film’s opening 10 minutes below, then click here to see an earlier extended preview.
HT: BTB.
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Filed under: Education/Youth, Live-In Programs, Media, Religion
Posted on May 2nd, 2008 by Dave Rattigan
- New report on effectiveness of ex-gay therapy shows “robot-like parroting” of rhetoric, according to Jim Burroway
- In case you missed it, Christian TV host Azariah Southworth came out gay
- Cornell PhD student Gabriel Arana reminisces about three years of therapy under Dr Joseph Nicolosi
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Filed under: Uncategorized
Posted on May 1st, 2008 by Pam Ferguson
Exodus Vice President Randy Thomas wrote an article titled “Grace and Gay Men” that recently appeared in the Focus on the Family webzine Boundless. While doing my best to read it with an unbiased eye, I’ll admit that Randy’s erratic blogging and commenting behavior make that difficult. For whatever reason, the man wipes out his entire blogging history on a repeated and regular basis (which makes accountability for past statements nearly impossible).
Also, it has been my experience that Randy is incapable of allowing for or conducting any open and honest discussion with people who disagree with him. Whether he is willing to admit it or not, those sorts of behaviors take away from the credibility of his content and portray him as disingenuous when he talks about loving homosexuals as Jesus would.
The article is prefaced by a disclaimer that is almost long enough to be a piece on its own. I understand the need for a disclaimer now and then, but Randy writes three paragraphs justifying what he is about to say. Number one, someone important at Exodus can attest to how distraught he has been while writing; second, he has thrown caution to the wind against the good advice of a friend who fears he will be perceived as pro-gay; last, gay men are dying of AIDS so it’s time to toughen up and be forthright about how much he cares about all the gay men dying while headed straight for hell. In my opinion, the long disclaimer, just like Randy’s web etiquette, detracts from the sincerity and impact of the entire piece.
Following the disclaimer, there is a sort of mini-essay in which Randy addresses the Body of Christ and its reluctance to demonstrate love and grace to gay men during the initial days of the AIDS pandemic.
I did not and do not think it is appropriate to stigmatize a large group of men whom the Lord loves, dismissing them as unworthy of our love.
And,
Even today, the overarching consistent message coming from the Christian community has been one of stigmatization and warning.
Randy goes on to write an article about gay men that’s full of stigmatization and warning, spending a fair amount of print convincing the reader of his own depravity in the late 80s. It strikes me as suspect when he talks about friends seeming to drop dead during that time frame with no knowledge of what was killing them. This was 1988. Read more…
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Filed under: Exgay Activists, Exodus, Lifestyle, Religion
Posted on April 30th, 2008 by Yuki Choe
Parents And Friends Of Ex-Gays And Gays (PFOX) recently published an article by an unknown Erica Heny* about Gender Identity Disorder (GID) from an African-American perspective. The article “The Emperor’s New Gender” likens people living with GID to the foolish emperor in the well-known Hans Christian Andersen tale. Ms. Heny goes on to compare trans folk with African-Americans wishing their skin was white to avoid prejudice and slavery.
Assuming a gender identity that is in contradiction to one’s biological reality begs a suspension of disbelief, like that required when watching a theatrical production. People with gender identity disorder believe – and expect everyone else to believe – a fairy-tale that simply isn’t true.
Unfortunately, this is not about a fairy tale. Ms. Heny seems unaware of research conducted over the last decade to suggest that GID is an inborn condition which defines MtFs as females and FtMs as males. She states that people with GID are delusional, but let’s take a look at the psychological evidence.
Male to Female’s have female neuron numbers, Female to Males have male neuron numbers (PDF):
The number of SOM neurons in the BSTc of the transwomen [MtF] was similar to the other women (P=0.83). In contrast, the neuron number of a transmen [FtM] was found to be in the male range.
Read more…
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Filed under: PFOX, Science
Posted on April 28th, 2008 by Dave Rattigan
Check out this ex-gay musical from the Gay Christian Network (GCN) 2007 conference. It opens with a hilarious parody of the famous Gilbert and Sullivan number The Major-General’s Song:
I am the very model of an ex-gay individual,
I’ve no more gay attractions (okay, maybe a residual)
My favorite line has to be this one:
I think of God, not Gaynor, when I hear someone say “Gloria,”
I always stay a block away from local gay emporia
Hat-tip: Andrew Sullivan.
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Filed under: Change, Former Exgays, Movies, Music
Posted on April 26th, 2008 by Dave Rattigan
- Exodus Vice-President Randy Thomas is laying low in the blogosphere again
- Ex-gay woman finds true freedom in gay-affirming church (hat-tip: TWO)
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Filed under: Uncategorized
Posted on April 25th, 2008 by David Roberts
ABC’s 20/20 will be showing an updated version of an old theme; gaging how people view public displays of affection. This time the couples are gay and the reactions range from reasonable to overbearing.
The setting is NJ for lesbian wives and Alabama for a gay couple. Guess where the 911 call happens.
Tonight at 10pm ET.
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Filed under: Lifestyle, Media, Television
