Update: I thought Lisa Ling did a better job last night — and it was good to see a reporter follow-up on the “ex-gay” myth. If she continues to check-in on the “ex-gay” subjects she featured, it will not bode well for Exodus, as people rarely complete the dead-end curriculum of this fraudulent program.
In terms of the segment, the utter misery of the poor “ex-gay” man named Christan shone brightly through Exodus’ propaganda. Ling successfully showed how he was going through trapeze-artist-like contortions to be something that he is not.
After scrapping his beloved art, practically living in the gym (yeah, that’s so straight) and avoiding gay bars — Christian still came across as queer as a three dollar bill stuck in Perez Hilton’s leopard skin g-string. It is obvious to all but the most brainwashed fundamentalists how unsuccessful and strained the entire de-gaying process truly is.
Ex-Gay minister Janet Boynes also came across as a control freak, hovering ominously in the background over her struggling “poster boy” to make sure he did not fall off the hetero-wagon. It was apparent that she would destroy Christian’s life without blinking to justify her self-serving religious delusions. I hope the ever-enterprising Boynes sells enough books to make undermining Christian’s life worth her while.
Finally, there was a gigantic contrast between the sorrowful and hopeless life led by Christian and the genuine hopefulness and happiness exhibited in another segment about a person who transitioned from female to male. This individual looked completely fulfilled (and very attractive) and headed towards a new, bright future. Meanwhile, the tunnel seemed to only get darker for the sad “ex-gay” who was eliminating every trace of individuality to conform to Janet Boynes twisted view of heterosexuality and manhood.
In my view, Ling should strongly consider doing another show from the perspective of “ex-gay” survivors. What is it like to be a teenager and be bombarded by negative images of your sexual orientation? How does propaganda from the “ex-gay” industry affect these teenagers? What are the motivations that would cause a person to enter an “ex-gay” program? What are the psychological effects of going through these sham ministries? Are “ex-gay” programs making false promises and misleading clients with deceptive advertising? Why do they talk so much about demons in their books and other products they peddle to desperate people? Would Exodus activists be willing to take No Lie MRI’s, polygraphs or penile plesymographs to back up their fanciful tales with hard (no pun intended) facts?
It is clear that Ling has learned a bit from her initial story — and is more attuned to the nuances of this explosive issue. There is so much more for her to explore on this topic, and I hope she will take the opportunity to do so responsibly, using all the research and resources at her disposal.
** GLAAD’s take on the show.
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Well, we can hope. Is that ad from the Janet Boynes ministry? I hope it’s not from OWN.
Should we get the defamation lawyers on speed dial?
Boynes sent it in an e-mail. We will be watching and commenting on the situation.
When I heard that Ling was revisiting this issue I tool three Pepto bismals. (did I spell that right?) I hope she proves me wrong.
Bismol. But given what she did last time around, maybe we should do shots of Pepto Abysmal.
I don’t get it. Not to be mean, but what does a self-hating lesbian have to do in order to “overcome” homosexuality? Just lay there…
Chris, what makes you think “overcoming” homosexuality is the only option for someone who hates herself?
Jeez, Ling. I was thrilled when she was still on Channel One News and left to get into mainstream work, but now she’s just a giant disappointment. Did anyone watch this? Did she change her mind? Or is she still a giant disappointment?
Makyui, I didn’t mean it that way. :)
I meant that it’s easy for a lesbian woman to claim that she’s no longer a lesbian. On the other hand, it’s not as easy for a gay man to pretend to be straight, as it requires him to perform sexually. Just a point.
Ahhh, I see what you’re saying now. I misread, sorry.
I still disagree with you about it being “easier”, though. They might get less scrutiny than gay men, but that’s more because women in general are usually ignored in favor of men, and it’s in no small part from the same misogynist attitudes that make gay men so especially “deplorable”.
well i hope she gets it right this time, she definitely needs to show the people who have been harmed by these ministries the exodus co founder who quit exodus and who is now speaking out against it and all exgay ministries, and she needs to show gay christians who live outside of the ministries who are completely happy as they are.
Interesting second swipe. I liked what I saw last night, it was gritty and real. I thought Ling should have shown the creator of Exodus with his partner, like Alan got. But he did get to give his candid comments on the disasters Exodus has caused. I also would have explored the exgay guys happiness and sexual thought levels more. Was he having str8 feelings for women? It was said in a roundabout as to a relationship “when god wants it it will happen” mode. That is ungrounded and confusing. Actually all the “god wants this and that” can be really ungrounding, which i think alot of the lost exgays feel. It’s all really quite ego based, what people want, control etc. He went from a happy go lucky bohemian type artist to a conformist and looked the worst for it, he looked much sadder and more isolated. Good job on that angle.
This entire scenario needs another one or even two hour show. But for a recap it was ok.
GLAAD has a different perspective http://glaadblog.org/2011/03/30/deja-vu-lisa-lings-closer-look-at-ex-gay-idea-still-misses-the-whole-point/
Yes, we’ve been down this road before. As of last night, three times to be exact.
On March 8, Our America with Lisa Ling featured an episode called “Pray the Gay Away?” Then came Lisa’s post-show discussion with Gayle King on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Last night’s episode of Our America – entitled “A Closer Look” – actually marks the third time in three weeks that the show has taken a “closer look” at the same archaic question: “[Can a person] pray the gay away?”
The answer is an emphatic “no,” and the scientific community has said so for nearly 40 years now. Having been answered by virtually every respected medical and psychological organization in America, the question is no longer a question.
Asking the non-question three times in the last three weeks – and having spoken with GLAAD, it’s clear that OWN and its producers haven’t gotten ‘it’ – with ‘it’ being the two consistent problems with all three “Pray the Gay Away?” related episodes of Our America:
1. A closed question is presented as an open question: “[Can a person] pray the gay away?” The answer is “no”. From our blog on March 9:
It’s been nearly 40 years since the American Psychological Association (APA) concluded that being gay is not a “disorder” and is not in need of a “cure.” In the years since, virtually every respected medical and psychological organization in America has forcefully stated that attempting to “pray the gay away” is capable of causing serious and long-lasting psychological damage: the American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, American Counseling Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of Social Workers.
To be clear: as long as this topic is dealt with in the form of a question, Lisa – or any journalist for that matter – simply isn’t being a responsible journalist.
2. An open question is presented as a closed question: Though perhaps not the show’s intention, Our America has consistently presented the Bible as an open and shut case with regard to sexual orientation, and then we see people trying to live out their lives in light of that ‘fact’. In none of the three shows do we meet someone like Jennifer Wright Knust – an assistant professor of religion at Boston University, an ordained American Baptist pastor and the author of Unprotected Texts: The Bible’s Surprising Contradictions about Sex and Desire. Knust wrote this in a recent column for CNN:
“We often hear that Christians have no choice but to regard [being gay] as a sin – that Scripture simply demands it. As a Bible scholar and pastor myself, I say that Scripture does no such thing. ‘I love gay people, but the Bible forces me to condemn them’ is a poor excuse that attempts to avoid accountability by wrapping a very particular and narrow interpretation of a few biblical passages in a cloak of divinely inspired respectability. Truth is, Scripture can be interpreted in any number of ways. And biblical writers held a much more complicated view of human sexuality than contemporary debates have acknowledged.”
Though it’s preferable that a show that asks whether one can ”Pray the Gay Away?’ never air, where was the voice of Prof. Knust – or someone like her – in any of the three hours that have dealt with this archaic, long-answered question?
Why does the “Pray the Gay Away?” segment of last night’s “Closer Look” focus exclusively on Christian, a 20-something young man that’s being ‘mentored’ by Janet Boynes, the leader of an ‘ex-gay ministry’? And why was it never clarified that Boynes is heavily involved with Exodus and appears all over the group’s Web site? (This was something the first show got wrong.)
Why does the promo for “A Closer Look,” that aired throughout OWN, only feature the voices of Janet and Christian? Why not a follow-up with Julian, the young gay Christian who attended The Naming Project’s summer camp for LGBT Christian youth and their allies?
The promo for tonight’s show has aired repeatedly on OWN, including four airings during Sunday night’s highly promoted line-up which included OWN’s highest-rated show (Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes). Undoubtedly lots of folks were tuned in and heard Janet Boynes say over and over again, “You can change from gay to straight.” (This was the very first soundbite viewers heard while watching the promo for the show, and because the promo does not include one to the contrary, OWN spent the last several days basically giving Exodus the equivalent of free political ads.)
Three weeks and three shows later, let this be the last time OWN elevates the voice of someone whose rhetoric has the potential to be very damaging to the lives of vulnerable viewers, particularly youth like Christian. By simply asking the question, the network has already failed. But if even one person who watched any of these three shows came away with the idea that maybe they can change from gay to straight; or if even one parent of a gay child walks away thinking they don’t have to love their son or daughter just as they are, then OWN will have put those individuals and families at serious risk.
Appreciate W Beeson blog (wish I could write as clearly) and Demand Equality framing of the problem with the question. They don’t ask whether the question has or has not been answered. They don’t ask whether it is the question. They don’t ask whether the question might hurt or harm–or who it might hurt or help. They ask what they think will draw viewers. That’s it.
In most stories like this, every party portrayed will walk away feeling like their story was not portrayed. Everyone will feel like a two-dimensional prop designed to tell whatever story a producer wants–and it is actually a good thing to twist reality because that always allows for additional episodes taking “A Closer Look.”
” It is clear that Ling has learned a bit from her initial story — and is more attuned to the nuances of this explosive issue. There is so much more for her to explore on this topic, and I hope she will take the opportunity to do so responsibly, using all the research and resources at her disposal.”
You think? Ahhhh Wayne? This sounds oddly familar- I think we had this conversation/discussion a few weeks ago! Didn’t we? :)) Well my friend- I hate to say I told ya so…LOL!! BUT…. hahahahaha! xo :))
She did indeed do her due diligence and she did follow up and she IS still learning how this little game is played- she is clearly a quick study. Like I said, with this topic you have to get the first one under your belt and then as always life has a way of unfolding more truth as we go along if we are sincerely interested and paying close attention the revelation and enlightenment comes. The slight of hand and double talk won’t work again with her. The mask is off. Discernment takes time. You have to know the truth in order to be able to recognize a counterfeit….it’s definitely a learning process especially with this particular issue. Patience is a virtue. This issue is tricky-and can be VERY confusing. Especially to the newbie…But you know that – I’m sure there will be more interesting revelations to come.
Congratulations Lisa Ling- Good job. Congrats and thanks Wayne for this article and your ongoing work to expose the MYTH. The fog is lifting and the smoke and mirrors just aren’t going to cut it for Exodus with people who are doing their homework and research….. Ms. Ling can see much more clearly now. They may even come to regret inviting her and that door will possibly close…much like it did with me for a season. What happened with Lisa, you, me, Christian, Michael Bussee and many many others is almost a right of passage when entering into this neighborhood and until you experienced it first hand you won’t “get it” . You have to learn it- so a learning curve should be expected and a given. Once you catch on and call it out- watch out. When you catch someone in a lie your much more cautious the next time around and quicker to point it out when it happens. And if you’ve been duped and your in this business it becomes a personal responsibility to shine the light on it. She’ll do her job- she has the same injustice button that drives us. That’s clear. She’s seems to be on top of it. Kudos to LL.
I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment(s). Glad you have some peace about this now . Onward and upward.
xo L
I disagree. Ling learned very little except that she got caught on the Gayle King aftershow the first time around in her use of words like “lifestyle,” etc. She just made sure she didn’t step in any of that **it this time. But she still had to say that this series is all about seeing an issue from ALL points of view and respecting those differing views. Why didn’t the Svengali Boynes get mentioned at all? Looked like she was there in the background making sure Christian said all the right things. And Ling characterized his getting rid of his art not as a denial of his creative self so much as a turning over of a new leaf in life that seemed to equate de-gaying with hope for a better future. I agree he appeared miserable but Ling couldn’t connect the dots. She’s still clueless. And Wayne, she won’t do the show you suggested because that would mean exposing the truth about Exodus and ex-gay “therapy” with no apologies. As she has clearly demonstrated, she’s unable or unwilling to be that unambiguous or to demonstrate anything but ambivalence.