Last night I watched a rerun on Lisa Ling's
Our America television show on transsexuals and then stayed around for the show on
Exodus International which for most of its existence insisted gay people could be turned straight.
It seems now the group has shut itself down and will reemerge as a new "ministry" in the future. From the
Advocate.com comes a more complete look at
Exodus and the show:
"Decades after leading U.S. mental health organizations agreed that being gay is not a disorder, a small segment of American society, driven largely by religion, has persisted in saying homosexuality is something that can and should be “cured.”
While there has always been ample skepticism about the “ex-gay” movement, recent developments indicate the movement is becoming more marginal than ever — it’s not dead, but it’s certainly in critical condition.
Stories are legion of those who’ve gone through so-called reparative therapy, seeking to turn from gay to straight, only to find the therapy is not only ineffective but downright harmful. Mainstream mental health professionals have condemned it. One state has outlawed it, and others are likely to follow. Even the president of Exodus International has renounced such therapy and says Exodus is no longer part of the ex-gay movement."
As a transgender woman, this is one battle I can sit off to the side and watch with interest. If indeed I could look in on the situation with the "supposed" lack of understanding the average gay person shows with us- it would be different. But I can't. We all know the transgender cure is the closet.
So I end up wondering what was
really behind
Exodus? It is not totally cynical of me to consider the deal as yet another money grab? I have no idea if the process was free but you don't have to look far into the financial records of the biggest evangelists to understand "spreading the gospel" is very lucrative.
Of course I don't know and to somewhat of an extent don't care but it is always good to see such a ruse such as
Exodus go down in flames. You can bet on one thing though, there are certainly any number of peeps (some in pulpits) spending long hours figuring how to pick up these pieces, hurt more people and make a buck in the process. It's
not going to matter we know we are wired this way!
In fact, years ago my Mom offered to pay for electro shock therapy to rid me of my transvestite urges. I would have just short circuited the voltage.
