Ex-gay

So I am forced to go to church, and the pastor's daughter was telling me that a man talked in front of her private school, about how he used to be gay untill he found Jesus. She told me that she didn't know that gay people could stop being gay, and I can honestly say she took the same statement from my mind. What does everyone think about this?

Most of the time you can't. I read somewhere that it may be possible for some people to not feel desires towards the same sex if they try hard enough, but this is only a very very tiny percentage. Those people also probably have a noticeable attraction to the opposite sex anyway. Most people can't just wake up and not feel attracted to whoever they're attracted to anymore. If it were that easy there wouldn't be such a big rift between us and people who think we can change.

[Bunny]

One word: denial.

[musican]

ha, i think its a load of crap. trust me, i've tried to like girls, it just wont happen. I know i'm attracted to guys and i, and the rest of the world will just have to deal with it.

Anyone who tries to change themselves won't really lead a happy life. It saddens me to hear things like these

[Adam]

Yeah this is just putting them into denial, which I think would be worse.

[Wander]

Garbage. All the ex-gay ministries I've seen operate on the basis that anything other than heterosexual is undesirable, unnatural, or unhealthy. They assume that gay people cannot live satisfying lives and that they must either become heterosexual or hide themselves in order to be safe.

Sack of crap. Bullshit. Wrong. Lies. Misinformation. Generalization. Dare I say it, ignorance. The very foundation of "ex-gay ministries" is so deeply flawed that the rest is almost superfluous.

[Sapphist]

They have a documentary that deals a bit with this issue,its called "for the bible tells me so"

heres a cartoon clip from the film,and its worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj2-_tFXXT4

anyway,my opinion:

if this statement were true different ex-gay ministries would not experiment with different conversion methods and the people they "treated" would not have severe psychological problems. I read in The Advocate magazine that one study done had shown that some ministries were counting "change in homosexual behavior" as having no attractions to anyone at all. the actual rate in this study of people who reported heterosexual attractions was 5%.


so i suppose you can change if it means loving no one at all.

[simon]

denial

so some may change cause of all the shit they get or religion or what ever. they might lead a happy life but it would be happier if they stayed true to themselves

[sdc91]

Ex-gay ministries are called so because they're EX-GAY.

Not hetero-converting.

They just put you in denial, and they even claim that that's all they do.

[jbb1236]

Here is what i think happens, I've done some research on this very subject. I think there are heterosexual people who "become" homosexual; through a traumatic experience with the opposite sex. So they change their sexual orientation so as not to relive the trauma, but either way, they at one time had a meaningful sexual relationship with the opposite sex, then something really bad happened and they essentially "turned their back" on the opposite sex. Then they go "work out" their problems and bam they are straight again. Those people are the only ones that I believe can "change." But they represent such a small percentage of people it's ludicrous to consider them significant, but when represented in a smaller population, say the population who wants to change their sexual identity, all of a sudden that percent is much bigger, say the 5% range. So.......the only people I believe can "change" are those that were straight to begin with. All else are just denying what they really are.

[Derek the Wolf]

It's total BS. You can't "pray the gay away."

[MLCarr]

Go watch "But I'm a Cheerleader" and that is my opinion. (Good movie btw)

[Bunny]

Originally Posted by MLCarr

Go watch "But I'm a Cheerleader" and that is my opinion. (Good movie btw)

Oh yeah! That movie's worth watching just to see Dante Basco playing a gay dude. xD

[George]

I believe (and so does the law in quite a few places) that ex-gay therapy is psychological abuse. All it does is put thoughts in your mind that homosexual relationships are an abomination and whatnot.

The ONLY thing the bible says against homosexuals is that gay sex is wrong. But I agree with that seeing as the bible teaches that sex should be used for reproduction. However, in a modern context (and even from centuries ago) sex has been used for pleasure by even straight couples, so that argument can be counted null and void by the masses, however religious folk will claw at everything they have these days.

So yeah. Ex-gay therapy is a crock of shit.

[littledinosaurs]

I think if some people are mentally sick enough to believe the bible fully they can change themselves so they'll believe they are straight and have feelings for the opposite sex.
which is sad and they need other help than realizing their own sexuality.

[Maddy]

It's a load of crap. Those programs can force someone to change their behaviour (become celibate or have relationships with the opposite gender) but they don't change orientation, they just destroy people.

[xequar]

Ex-Gay and Reparative therapies have been denounced by the American Psychological Association and every other legitimate medical association in the U.S. and very many others beyond. There is ever-increasing evidence that homosexuality is an inborn, immutable trait, and that attempts to alter someone's orientation can cause a person serious harm.

And I fully believe them.

I tried a lot of the "pray away the gay" crap for a long time, and trust me, it's all a load of crap. It's nothing more than a creation of extremist religious forces to solicit funds from concerned parents and homophobes and fill their coffers.

[kh23172]

There's a difference between being ex-gay, and "changing" from gay to straight (sexual attraction wise). If you think about it, the difference is there.

[George]

Originally Posted by kh23172

There's a difference between being ex-gay, and "changing" from gay to straight (sexual attraction wise). If you think about it, the difference is there.

Well 'changing' from one orientation to another is merely you learning what you are. You can't actually 'change'.

Edit: w00t 600 posts!