Straight? Unhappy? www.gay.com
If the source of the object of ridicule wasn't so disgusting and misguided, this would be even funnier - as it is, it's very clever. Well done Justin Watt!
WhatTheHellAmITalkingAbout? An ex-gay movement ran a billboard campaign in the US which said "Gay? Unhappy? exodus.com".... and the very brilliant Justin Whatt from www.justinsomnia.org created a digital parody which said the reverse! He even used their original graphics because Parody is protected under the US under Free Speech...
Then, in a bizarre twist, Exodus International issued a cease and desist letter to him demanding he take down the image from his website.... So not only does this bigoted organisation attack gay people, it now also wants to stifle free-speech. Luckily www.justinsomnia.org seems well connected and got a whole legal team to defend him free of charge!
I can't tell you how pleased I am by his actions. Some years back when I was working for Eurogay we ran a series of articles on religion and faith - and I have to say that what we learnt of some ex-gay organisations made me very upset indeed. For a start (at the time - I haven't checked into this since the article in 2000) the biggest group is Exodus International, and it claims that 30% to 50% of those who follow their programs are successful. This means that means that 50% to 70% fail to convert. How can you call this success when after all this huge effort, despite really hating the fact that they are gay, 70% of the people who try to convert fail. It's none sense! That's not success... The Human Rights Campaign described it best when it published its research which shows that, ""ex-gay" ministries and "reparative" therapy programs can cause grave psychological damage to those attempting to change their sexual orientation". That's the result of these programs - that's what these freaks do to people.
Another reason to believe that the ex-gay therapies are dangerous is that a British Ex-Gay movement, has recently abandoned its conversion programs - saying they do not work. When I spoke to Jeremy Marks, the founder of the Courage Trust, he said the programs had been a mistake. If even a member organisation of Exodus International thinks it's all one big mistake - it's time to do something!
What makes is so sad is that it can leave already vulnerable people feeling awful. I interviewed someone who had tried the programme and it made he so miserable. And of course, there's no need for all this self-hatred and repression when so many people have reconciled their faiths with their religions - groups like www.lgcm.org.uk do excellent work.... So well done Justin Whatt for your excellent parody!
1 Comments:
That is great that you picked this up P
I am a Christain and have certainly reconciled my sexuality with my faith.
You are right about the damage done by these groups who claim to change peoples orientations. They do not change them, but teach them to repress their natural sexuality. As our sexuality is such a vital part of our humanity, this damages them at the very core of their being.
I have no statistics about this, but it is my belief that many so called converted people revert to homosexual behaviou. So much for their so called success
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