Ex-gay

The ex-gay or exodus movement is a movement, usually religious in nature, which claims that individuals may choose to change their sexual orientation from homosexuality or bisexuality to heterosexuality, with the assistance of counseling, prayer, and other techniques (see also reparative therapy). Most ex-gay organizations also target people who identify as transgender, on the basis that they consider such feelings or behaviour to be related to homosexuality, and/or express concerns that disassociating gender identity from physical sex also necessarily means disassociating sexual orientation from physical sex.

Controversies

1998 campaign & the Paulk affair

The largest ex-gay campaign to date happened in America in 1998, when several ministries funded commercials and advertisements to inform people that they could walk away from homosexuality. Prominent ex-gays, such as John Paulk, were featured in the 1998 advertisements and on the cover of Newsweek with his ex-lesbian wife Anne. Michael Johnston, another ex-gay, was also featured.

Related Topics:
1998 - John Paulk - Newsweek - Michael Johnston

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In September 2000, John Paulk was working in Washington D.C., and late at night he stopped into Mr. P's, a well known local gay bar. While there, he struck up a conversation with another man named Daryl Herrschaft who, unbeknownst to Paulk, was a member of the Human Rights Campaign, and recognized him immediately. Herrschaft called a Human Rights Campaign colleague, Wayne Besen, and told him that Paulk was there. While waiting for Besen to arrive, Herrschaft began talking with Paulk to keep him from leaving. Asked if he was gay, Paulk replied yes, but gave the pseudonym "John Clint" rather than his real name. Paulk bought Herrschaft a drink and proceeded to flirt with him, which kept him inside for the better part of an hour.

Related Topics:
John Paulk - Gay bar - Human Rights Campaign - Wayne Besen

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Finally, Wayne Besen arrived with his camera. He confronted Paulk, who immediately ran for cover, concealing his face to prevent a photograph from being taken. The other customers in the bar, not realizing who Paulk was, blocked Besen's view. Paulk was almost able to steal Besen's camera, but Besen managed to keep it out of his reach. The bouncer then kicked Besen out the main exit. Paulk asked if there were another exit he could take to avoid Besen, but there was not: he had to leave through the main exit. When he did, Besen seized the opportunity and snapped a photo. Paulk was skillful enough to conceal his face and turn his body before the flash went off, so that the photo only showed him from behind. This was an initial problem for Besen, since a photograph from behind could not be positively identified as Paulk. To confirm that it was him, Besen called up the Colorado Springs office of Focus on the Family, Paulk's employer, and received confirmation that Paulk was in Washington that night. He left a message for Paulk himself, who called him back, admitting to having been in the bar. Thus the photo was validated.

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Paulk claimed that he had only gone inside to use the bathroom, and that because there was both men and women present, he did not know it was a gay bar. However, witnesses place him there for nearly an hour, flirting with the other patrons; he never used the bathroom, and more importantly, there were no women there. The people he claimed were women were actually men dressed in drag, which he should have easily recognized, as he once worked as a drag queen.

Related Topics:
Drag - Drag queen

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Once hearing of the incident, Focus on the Family went into damage control mode. The press had picked up on the story and published it widely. Good Morning America wanted to run the story as well, but couldn't get Paulk for an interview, because Focus on the Family had sent him on vacation. Paulk now claimed that he was only stressed and overworked, and decided to visit the establishment for a drink, and despite recognizing it soon after as a gay bar, decided to stay out of sheer curiosity. This public statement, meant to prevent the public from drawing the most logical conclusion, stood as even more admission that Paulk was in fact in a gay bar.

Related Topics:
Focus on the Family - Good Morning America

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Focus on the Family obviously knew that his bathroom story lacked credibility as well. James Dobson removed him from the Board Chair position of Exodus International. He remained on the board under probationary status only, and was not allowed to attend meetings or vote. An Exodus press release soon after was openly critical of him:

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:"John's actions represent a serious lapse in sound judgment. His decision to enter a gay establishment for any reason opens him up to all kinds of speculation by both other Exodus leaders and also the gay community."

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Initial public statements released by Exodus and repeated by director Bob Davies to the media were based on John's false claim that he had unknowingly entered Mr. P's. "That statement was widely doubted by both other Exodus leaders and by the gay community," Davies said. "John's unwillingness to tell the truth from the beginning was most unfortunate, as it has further undermined his public credibility (...) We believe that John's actions ? to spend time socializing in a gay bar, and then to mislead both the public and Exodus leaders--merit some form of disciplinary action."

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Deciding that firing him completely was going too far, as it would only further undermine their credibility, Dobson decided to continue allowing Paulk to represent them, spinning the story publicly by claiming to have been stressed out and depressed from work, which left him vulnerable for what he calls "Satan's trap": the door to Mr. P's, a gay bar, the very place that made him so depressed during his drag queen days, which he went into now to re-experience the "easy camaraderie."

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John's wife Anne continues to be involved in the movement, though her claim to being an ex-lesbian is undermined by the fact that no evidence exists, other than her own testimony, that she was ever a lesbian in the first place. In the book she wrote with John, Love Won Out, she admitted that she had a very sexual relationship with a man during her college years. No evidence could ever be found that she ever had a lesbian relationship with another woman. Her testimony of what it takes to change sexual orientation is also largely inconsistent with that of her husband. She claims that Jesus made her heterosexual within six months of coming out as a lesbian, while John claims that overcoming homosexuality takes years.

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John Paulk left Exodus International in 2003.

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Love In Action and the Zach Scandal

In June 2005, a 16-year-old Tennessee male, Zach (last name omitted for privacy reasons), posted a blog entry on his myspace site, part of which includes:

Related Topics:
June 2005 - Blog - Myspace

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:"Somewhat recently, as many of you know, I told my parents I was gay... Well today, my mother, father, and I had a very long "talk" in my room where they let me know I am to apply for a fundamentalist christian program for gays. They tell me that there is something psychologically wrong with me, and they "raised me wrong." I'm a big screw up to them, who isn't on the path God wants me to be on. So I'm sitting here in tears, joing () the rest of those kids who complain about their parents on blogs - and I can't help it."

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The program Zach noted is a Love In Action-run camp known as Refuge (the combination of which quickly earned the camp the nickname LIA/R). The subsequent protests drew both extensive local media attention and international interest, with individuals from Europe, America and elsewhere getting involved. Particular attention was given to a quote attributed to the man running the program, John Smid:

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:"I would rather you commit suicide than have you leave Love In Action wanting to return to the gay lifestyle. In a physical death you could still have a spiritual resurrection; whereas, returning to homosexuality you are yielding yourself to a spiritual death from which there is no recovery."

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Attention has also focused on the rules of Love In Action which like most Christian camps includes dress codes, bans on several forms of communication with the outside world, and a ban on television. In a May 30 entry on Zach's blog he posted the rules of the Refuge Program. Under a heading called Hygiene, it says, "1. All clients must maintain appropriate hygiene, including daily showering, use of deodorant, and brushing teeth twice daily."

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In addition to the nature of the rules themselves, opposition to the course focused on Zach being sent to the camp against his wishes and against a background of existing concerns over ex-gay ministries such as Love In Action.

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Zach's original two-week stay in the Love in Action program was extended to eight weeks. On August 1, Zach deleted his old material and began a new blog, which began with the following paragraph:

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:"This isn't going to become my life. I won't let it. There's more to me than this. I've erased the original blogs. I know they're still out there somewhere, but the originals aren't. I haven't been able to see all of the news, newspaper, magazine, etc. articles and such, so I don't know exactly what to say. Currently I feel annoyed towards a lot of things. Love In Action has been misrepresented and what I have posted in my blogs has been taken out of perspective and context. I don't take back the things I've said, nor am I going to pretend like it never happened. It did. I refuse to deal with people who are only focused on their one-sided (biased) agendas. It isn't fair to anyone. I'm very frustrated with the things going on in my life now, but everyone has their issues. Homosexuality is still a factor in my life--- it's not who I am, it never has been. Those of you who really know me, know that homosexuality was always there but it didn't run my life, and it will not now."

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On August 14, Zach updated his blog, stating that LIA had not pressured him into doing anything and he got along well with most of the clients there. He said his parents no longer let him hang out with girls as friends because it was unhealthy, and that his father had asked him to stop blogging.

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Allegations and investigation

A Tennessee investigation against the camp began shortly after "Zach"'s story appeared online. As of June 28, 2005, the investigation has been dropped, with Tennessee officials citing a lack of evidence of child abuse at the facilities. "Department of Children's Services dispatched its special investigations unit to the facility, and after conducting a full investigation, determined that the child abuse allegations were unfounded," Rob Johnson, an agency spokesman, told the Associated Press. http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=878912&page=1

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"Free Zach" campaigners, who aim to have LIA/R close down, have made allegations of corruption. Another investigation by the Tennessee Department of Health resulted in their telling the unlicensed group they may have been operating illegally. Love in Action said they would change their policy in order to comply with the state, but as of late July 2005 the Department of Health had not heard back from them.

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