While 2009 will be remembered for the worldwide economic recession, for the ex-gay industry, it will be known as The Great Moral Depression. It was a dreadful year for such programs, as they showed themselves to be a global menace run by reprobates, such as Exodus’ Randy Thomas and Alan Chambers, who combined a dangerous dose of arrogance and incompetence. Much like the Roman Catholic Church, these men ignored a credible allegation of abuse for more than six months and engaged in a dangerous game of denial.
Whatever shard of credibility this industry had was stripped away in 2009. It was a year where such programs were harshly rebuked by the mental health establishment. An important new study showed that their retrograde methods of shame and blame harmed LGBT people. The old, outdated research that they stubbornly latched onto for dear life seemed to betray them and then vanish into thin air.
Several “ex-gay” heroes turned out to be zeros and slithered away into the mist. The past 12 months, if anything, unmasked the facade of “love” this industry cynically showers on potential clients and an often gullible media. In 2009, the world saw ex-gay programs for what they are: A sugar coated excuse for homophobia.
Exodus was revealed as a front for international hate groups, who used the group’s credulous leaders as pawns in an international struggle for theocracy. PFOX stepped forward and showed, time and again, that it was just plain nuts.
NARTH put out an embarrassingly shoddy “study” that was so pathetic it was virtually ignored by the media. By the end of 2009, NARTH had solidified its place as a cabal of embittered and irrelevant quacks on the far outer fringes of psychology. Homosexuals Anonymous was, well, anonymous. The Catholic ex-gay group Courage also had a meager profile and had little impact on popular culture. And, JONAH, the Jewish ex-gay group, continued to humiliate itself through its affiliation with crackpot Born Again sexual reorientation coach Richard Cohen.
May 2010 bring the same abundance of truth and light regarding the ex-gay fraud we had in 2009. Here are the Top 10 ex-gay related stories of the year. Please feel free to comment on any major items I may have missed.
10) The Passing of The Old Guard
Focus on the Family co-founder James Dobson announced that he was stepping down. He was an arch-homophobe who once claimed allowing gay people to marry would end the earth. Under Dobson’s leadership, this mega-ministry started the ex-gay roadshow Love Won Out. Dobson’s retirement represents the winding down of the old guard. This includes the passing of other ex-gay proponents or anti-gay preachers such as Rev. Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy and Oral Roberts. A new generation of Evangelicals will hopefully join the reality-based community and break with the past. However, there is reason to be skeptical, considering the leader of the pack is Rick Warren, who isn’t too much better than his predecessors.
9) The Fizzling Out of Michael Glatze and Stephen Bennett
Michael Glatze (left) was formerly co-editor of XY Magazine and YGA Magazine, publications directed at LGBT youth. He and his partner of ten years, Benjie Nycum, also co-authored the book XY Survival Guide.
Glatze’s ventures went belly-up and he seemed to disappear from LGBT activism. He reemerged in July 2007 with a disgusting op-ed on the extremist website WorldNetDaily, where he announced he was “ex-gay” (although he had no experience with women)
Glatze alleged sexual conversion seems, in part, to have come from a sort-of nervous breakdown. He reported that he suffered from frequent panic attacks and that he obsessed about death.
In late September, Glatze contacted me, hoping that I would interview him and reinvigorate his flagging career as an “ex-gay”. I refused to oblige his publicity stunt, and so did LGBT advocates at other sites.
Glatze’s downfall came when he opened an incoherent vanity blog and wrote:
“Have I mentioned lately how utterly *disgusting* Obama is? And, yes, it’ because he’ black. God, help us all….It’ a shame Obama is black. He could end up setting back race relations decades.”
Condemned for his idiotic comment about President Obama, Glatze sent out a rambling e-mail announcing his career as an ex-gay spokesperson had fizzled and he was retiring. Chalk Glatze up to a pitiful flash in the pan.
Similarly, 2009 was the year that big haired ex-gay activist Stephen Bennett (left) completely vanished from the scene. And, Anthony Falzarano’s (founder of PFOX) attempted return to the spotlight also petered out.
8) The Lisa Miller Kidnapping and Abduction Case
Lisa Miller broke up with partner Janet Jenkins (Right) after becoming a born again “ex-gay”. In a fit of holier-than-thou zeal, Miller went on the lam and absconded from Vermont with their child, Isabella, that the couple was raising together after having a Civil Union.
As a result of Miller’ poor parenting and criminal behavior (she was cited for contempt of court), a Vermont court transferred custody to Jenkins (after a five year legal ordeal that will surely leave emotional scars on their child Isabella) and refused a motion to delay transfer, as requested by Miller’ law team.
People for the American Way’ Right Wing Watch reports that the location of Miller and 7-year-old Isabella Miller are presently “unknown”. This is highly problematic because the court order takes effect on New Year’ Day.
Janet Jenkins filed a missing person report in Virginia on Wednesday in hopes of finding her 7-year-old daughter, according to her lawyer. Unfortunately, Miller’s outlaw behavior has been cheered on by ex-gay activists who want to pretend they are martyrs, rather than criminal miscreants.
7) The Caitlin Ryan Study
The January 2009 issue of Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics reported on a new study by San Francisco State researcher Caitlin Ryan. Her research concluded that, “Teens who experienced negative feedback (when they came out as LGBT) were more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide, nearly six times as vulnerable to severe depression and more than three times at risk of drug use.”
This definitive study was hugely important because it contradicted the claim by “ex-gay” activists that homosexuality was the root cause of such problems. Indeed, it was ex-gay programs – the epitome of negative feedback – that led to the destruction of LGBT people.
Exodus International officially cut ties with its Lansing affiliate Corduroy Stone after charges were made by an ex-gay survivor that the sessions included harmful and bizarre therapy.
In August, Patrick McAlvey made the charges against Corduroy Stone’s Mike Jones in a Truth Wins Out video. At the age of 19, McAlvey, who came from a religious background, was terrified that he might be gay. Feeling vulnerable and desperate to change, he placed his trust in Mike Jones and Corduroy Stone.
“He asked how large my penis was,” McAlvey explained of Jones’ therapy. “He asked if I shave my pubic hair. He asked what type of underwear that I wore.
He wanted me to describe my sexual fantasies to him and the type of men I’m attracted to. On one occasion, he asked me to take my shirt off and show him how many push-ups I could do, which I did not do.”
Tragically, it took Exodus until December to take action and cut ties with this renegade ministry. Exodus’ dithering in the face of scandal cost precious time and may have placed additional youth in harm’ way. This was a key episode in 2009 because it underscored how Exodus has little control over its satellite ministries and each one is an independent fiefdom with its own rules and techniques. Exodus is no more than a Wild West and an unprofessional hodgepodge of fundamentalist pop-psychology combined with spiritual warfare and efforts to pray away the gay.
5) Ex-Gay Charlatan Matthew C. Manning Unmasked As A Fraud
A report by the website, “Ex-Gay Watch” cast a dark cloud of skepticism over “ex-gay” activist Matthew Manning’ tale of being “delivered” from homosexuality and AIDS. According to the report, Manning has been repeatedly dragged into court for allegations of inappropriate behavior and was even banned from a popular gym after improper sexual advances were made on a 22-year-old heterosexual male. Manning, a frequent television guest and the founder of Lighthouse World Evangelism Inc., based in Santa Rosa, California, has yet to comment on the allegations made in the investigative report.
“As a Christian organization, Focus on the Family Action encourages pro-family policies. As such, we respect the desire of the Ugandan people to shield their nation from the promotion of homosexuality as morally equivalent to one-man, one-woman marriage. That said, the purpose of laws is to make societies safer, and there is legitimate concern that the legislation being debated in Uganda will incite violence against homosexuals. That is morally unacceptable, as is enacting the death penalty for homosexuals, which some versions of this bill are reported to require.”
“The department’ position is that when you are ministering to a group or even an individual that the content of that not be defamatory or derogatory,” said John Cordell, a department spokesman. “We have shut down ministries in the past for doing just that [being defamatory or derogatory].”
Corduroy Stone, and its founder Mike Jones, have been under national scrutiny for months after 24-year-old Lansing resident Patrick McAlvey told the national organization Truth Wins Out of his experience with the ministry.
“I think it’ terrific they are looking further into this mess,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Corduroy Stone doesn’t have the credibility to continue and is a threat to public health if allowed to continue.”
A feature article in this week’ New York Times Magazine refers to Princeton professor Robert P. George as the “intellectual architect” of the extreme right. This is hardly an honor, considering the main competition for “Values Valedictorian” is Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter and Mike Huckabee. One also has to consider admiration comes from the likes of George W. Bush and FOX instigator Glenn Beck, who calls George “one of the biggest brains in America.”
George’ primary accomplishment has been denying gay couples the right to marry, by forming an unholy political union between conservative Catholics, like himself, and Evangelical Christians. He is the chairman of The National Organization for Marriage, the group that most recently worked to strip marriage rights from LGBT couples in Maine.
Quite frankly, I’m hardly impressed with George’ cognitive abilities. If one looks at the numbers in Maine, his allegedly intellectual arguments against same-sex marriage failed miserably in cosmopolitan Portland and in Orono, home of The University of Maine. His primary talent, it seems, is to trick the unschooled and easily fooled. Given this reality, George is more back woods propagandist than deep professorial thinker.
Indeed, one of the simplest ways to succeed in America is to rabble rouse and scapegoat. It takes no brains to peddle belligerence and play the gay card by pandering to people not playing with a full deck. George exploited an undereducated constituency and fed them red meat, which is no more than a cheap shortcut for those incapable of the more difficult task of bringing Americans together. In a diverse nation paradoxically frightened by diversity, demagogues such as George are a dime a dozen and unworthy of praise.
“Sexual relations outside the marital bond are contrary not only to the will of God but to the good of man,” said Rigali. “Indeed they are contrary to the will of God precisely because they are against the good of man.”
The “good” of which men (and women) might Rigali and George be referring to?
Is it the teenage boys who were molested in the Catholic Church because such conservative ideologues insisted on turning gay men into sexually repressed and emotionally stunted shells and then placing them in the priesthood?
Is it “good” for the gay youths who commit suicide in disproportionate numbers because men like George and Rigali tell them their love is inferior?
Perhaps, they can illuminate how such “practical reason” was “good” for Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas who came out of the closet this weekend after hiding his sexual orientation for two decades.
“Sometimes I felt so alone and depressed,” said Thomas. “I’ve stood on so many cliff edges. I used to go to the cliffs overlooking the beach near our cottage in St Brides Major and just think about jumping off and ending it all…I was like a ticking bomb. I thought I could suppress it, keep it locked away in some dark corner of myself, but I couldn’t. It was who I was, and I just couldn’t ignore it any more.”
Maybe George can explain how his philosophy was somehow “good” for Gareth’ wife Jenna, who is about to be divorced?
If “practical reason” has proven one thing, it has shown the closet, particularly for the Catholic Church, to be destructive on so many levels. George has demonstrably failed to articulate how openly gay people harm heterosexuals or how living a lie helps homosexuals be more productive members of society. His entire presentation is a ruse meant to rally the rubes.
Interestingly, George believes in restricting marriage because, in his view, only a husband and wife can experience, “comprehensive unity” and become a “one-flesh union.” He blatantly ignores that millions of people can achieve this state only through homosexual relations. By forcing GLBT people to conform to his views and presumably marry the opposite sex, he is creating the conditions to achieve the polar opposite of what he claims is necessary for a healthy marriage.
George is equally disingenuous in claiming that marriage is based on procreation. These days, the vast majority of people marry for love. Many couples choose not to have children, while others are unable to. To suggest otherwise is to proffer an incoherent and intellectually dishonest view of modern marriage.
George is an intellectual lightweight without an original idea in his head. His claim to fame is organizing like-minded conservatives and providing a veneer of education to mask his goal of discrimination. This is not the pride of Princeton, but a paean to prejudice.
Exodus Dithered While Scandal Raged, Placing Youth at Risk, Says Truth Wins Out
Truth Wins Out (TWO) revealed today that the nation’ largest “ex-gay” organization, Exodus International, officially cut ties with its Lansing affiliate Corduroy Stone after charges were made by an ex-gay survivor that the sessions included harmful and bizarre therapy. In August, Patrick McAlvey made the charges against Corduroy Stone’ Mike Jones in a Truth Wins Out video, yet it took Exodus until December to take action. Exodus’ dithering in the face of scandal cost precious time and may have placed additional youth in harm’ way, according to Truth Wins Out.
“For decades Exodus International has lent this predator some level of credibility,” ex-gay survivor Patrick McAlvey told Truth Wins Out. “Now they have finally realized how dangerous he is, but how many vulnerable folks have already been victimized because of Exodus’ support of this man?”
“Shame on Exodus International for dragging its feet when our children were at risk,” said Truth Wins Out’ Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Exodus was more interested in covering up the scandal than fixing it. This case shows that ex-gay programs lack standards and place vulnerable people in harms way.”
At the age of nineteen, McAlvey, who came from a religious background, was terrified that he might be gay. Feeling vulnerable and desperate to “change”, he placed his trust in Mike Jones and Corduroy Stone.
“He asked how large my penis was,” McAlvey explained of Jones’ therapy. “He asked if I shave my pubic hair. He asked what type of underwear that I wore. He wanted me to describe my sexual fantasies to him and the type of men I’m attracted to. On one occasion, he asked me to take my shirt off and show him how many push-ups I could do, which I did not do.”
“Mike Jones used to be able to say he was an Exodus International affiliate governed by a Board of Directors,” said McAlvey to Truth Wins Out. “Exodus has removed their affiliation and the Board of Directors has dissolved. Now he’s just some guy. He’s not a mental health professional. He’s not a pastor. He’s just some guy with made-up theories and outlandish techniques claiming he can help people change their sexual orientation. He is dangerous and I hope people steer clear of this predator.”
Truth Wins Out called Mike Jones today, but he declined to comment. Exodus’ headquarters in Orlando has not addressed the situation since August. Repeated attempts to reach Alan Chambers, Exodus’ President, have gone unanswered.
Glenn Shadix (on left) is an actor made famous by roles in movies such as Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes. His television work includes the HBO drama Carniv?†le, and the NBC television comedy Seinfeld, in which he played Jerry’s landlord.
What many people do not know, however, is that Shadix had undergone shock therapy as a teenager in Alabama, in an attempt to turn from gay-to-straight. The “cure” did not work and today Shadix lives as a proud openly gay man. Having lived in New York City and Hollywood, he recently returned to Alabama. Truth Wins Out applauds Shadix for his willingness to share his experience and help other people avoid the pain and suffering of the ex-gay industry.
Truth Wins Out (TWO) is in the business of demolishing the myths and misconceptions that allow anti-gay bigotry to flourish. We rapidly debunk outrageous lies that harm the GLBT community. Whether it is on an O’Reilly Factor appearance or on the ground at an anti-gay conference, Truth Wins Out is there to passionately fight for your equality.
Of course, the biggest lie of all comes from the “ex-gay” industry, which purports to pray away the gay. Truth Wins Out monitors these groups, conducts original research and exposes the dangerous propaganda of ex-gay organizations.
Please consider a generous, year-end tax-deductible contribution today to help us continue our vital work.
Or send a check to:
Truth Wins Out
33 West 19th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10011
A few of our accomplishments in 2009:
* TWO fought back against “ex-gay” organizations in Charlotte, Asheville, Birmingham, West Palm Beach, Grand Rapids, and Boston. In each of these cities, we worked with local organizations to organize protests and maximize news coverage. In Charlotte and Birmingham, TWO placed critical op-eds to counter Focus on the Family’s misinformation campaign.
* When Focus on the Family’s founder, James Dobson, was selected to be in the Radio Hall of Fame, TWO swung into action and organized the “Dump Dobson” campaign to let the public know what he really stood for. This included a new website, a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune, an op-ed in the Chicago Sun Times and a protest in front of the awards ceremony that drew more than 500 people.
* When the American Psychological Association issued a new report condemning ex-gay therapy, the media turned to Truth Wins Out. We were quoted in the Wall Street Journal and the lead Associated Press story, which ran in publications across the globe.
* In 2009, our YouTube videos featuring the stories of “ex-gay” survivors surpassed 350,000 views. In one widely viewed video, TWO interviewed survivor Patrick McAlvey, who discussed how his Exodus counselor abused his trust. In a new exclusive TWO video, actor Glenn Shadix (pictured), who appeared in movies such as Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, talks about undergoing shock therapy in an unsuccessful attempt to go from gay to straight.
* In conjunction with Lambda Legal, TWO produced “Ex-Gay & the Law”, which is being distributed to people who have been harmed by ex-gay therapy to inform them of their rights. We have disseminated these booklets to college and university campuses and anywhere the ex-gay industry spreads its misinformation.
* TWO was in the forefront of opposition against international gay bashing, particularly in Uganda and Jamaica
* TWO is investigating ex-gay youth boot camps and will continue our efforts to shut these places down in 2010
* Instinct Magazine honored TWO founder Wayne Besen in its “Leading Men 2009″ issue
* TWO held the Obama administration accountable and applied pressure to pass pro-gay legislation
Please consider a tax-deductible holiday gift today so we can build a strong foundation for 2010 and continue our crucial work. Thank you and have a wonderful New Year.
“Thank you for convening this panel discussion and for providing the opportunity to hear some very serious concerns raised this afternoon. My comments are more in the form of a statement rather than a question.
As stated during the debate of the General Assembly last year, the Holy See continues to oppose all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons, such as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person.
As raised by some of the panelists today, the murder and abuse of homosexual persons are to be confronted on all levels, especially when such violence is perpetrated by the State. While the Holy See’s position on the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity remains well known, we continue to call on all States and individuals to respect the rights of all persons and to work to promote their inherent dignity and worth.”
Warren Calls Bill “Unjust’, “Extreme’ and “Unchristian’
NEW YORK – Truth Wins Out thanked Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, today for releasing a YouTube Statement condemning the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009″ that is currently before the Ugandan Parliament. Lisa Darden, a talent agent and filmmaker working on a film about reconciling the Christian and GLBT communities, coordinated the statement with Warren’ church.
“We applaud Rick Warren for speaking out with force and clarity on a bill that would lead to the persecution and prosecution of gay and lesbian Ugandans,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Today, Warren showed true moral courage and stood for what is right and just. We urge other leading pastors and world leaders to stand up and condemn Uganda’ Anti-Homosexuality Bill.”
In the video, Warren said he was taking “the extraordinary step of speaking to you, the pastors of Uganda and the spiritual leaders of your nation.” He unequivocally condemned the legislation as “extreme, unjust and unchristian towards homosexuals”. He also urged Ugandan pastors to “speak out against this proposed law.”
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that counters anti-gay propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit TruthWinsOut.org.
Under the leadership of James Dobson, Focus on the Family was infamous for distorting the work of researchers, earning it the nickname, “Focus on the Fallacies”.
Then, the organization was labeled, “Focus on the Foolishness” after Dobson suggested that Sponge Bob was gay. (Yes, the cartoon sponge that lived in a pineapple under the sea)
We must also remember, “Focus on the Fairytale”, the name given the organization after I photographed its “ex-gay” leader John Paulk in a gay bar.
With Dobson retiring, however, it is clear that Focus on the Family is adrift and searching for a new mission. It may have found one in its blistering attack on the play “Santa Claus is Coming Out”.
Instead of helping real families in a time of economic upheaval, the right wing organization is in a tizzy over this comedy that poses the serious question: “What if Santa Claus were actually gay?”
By using an imaginary icon, we can explore how people would react if a real superstar, such as a politician, athlete, or leading man in Hollywood came out of the closet. Given the stereotypes and prejudice against GLBT people, this is a legitimate subject well worth exploring.
Unfortunately, Focus on the Family provides the answer by exploiting this issue for political gain and distorting the essence of the production. The Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network (GLSEN) will also benefit from a charity performance of “Santa Claus is Coming Out”, giving Focus on the Family further reason to misrepresent the play, as they did in its bigot blog Citizenlink.
In a story headlined “GLSEN Fundraiser Sexualizes Santa”, the group claims that the comedy, “perverts the innocence of Christmas and sexualizes the longtime, child-revered icon of Santa Claus.” The group went on to claim that the goal of Santa Claus is Coming Out is to, “desensitize kids and attack parents’ God-given rights to protect their innocence.”
Interestingly, Focus on the Family had no such concern about “innocence” when it heedlessly and needlessly “outed” Sponge Bob a few years ago to millions of youth. Until Dobson spoke, who knew that Bob’s pineapple was a gay bar that made divine tropical drinks?
The charges leveled against Santa Is Coming Out are ludicrous, if not libelous. In an interview with Instinct Magazine, Playwright Jeffrey Solomon rebutted Focus on the Family’s bogus charges.
“We have not marketed this play with sex,” said Solomon. “The play is not about sex. The play simply asks a hypothetical question: ‘How would the world react, if Mrs. Claus were revealed to be a beard, and that Santa Claus was actually a gay man?’ The very mention or the image of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people is not automatically sexual, unless you are viewing them with sex-tinted glasses.”
Solomon is correct to say that Focus on the Family is choosing to sexualize a non-sexual comedy in order to rile up its batty base. What the group means when it says parents have “God-given rights to protect their (childrens’) innocence,” is that fundamentalist Christians are superior to the rest of us. That they have the unique “right” to censor and silence people who disagree with their “Valuless Traditions” disguised as “Traditional Values”.
Sorry, but in America GLBT families are a positive reality and they will not just disappear or hide because hate groups are opposed to their very existence. Indeed, it is poor parenting to instill prejudice in young people and preach intolerance in the name of religious belief. America’s youth should be taught to respect all people and be presented with a realistic view of our nation’s diverse families. To do otherwise is irresponsible and a failure to prepare a child to succeed in the world.
Isn’t it time that Focus on the Family take its huge budget of more that $125 million and help real families stay together? Has this group done anything substantive to address the divorce rate in America? Has it stopped child or spousal abuse? Has this wealthy organization increased living wages so families can afford to stay together?
Nope.
Instead it wastes precious time and money on petty, media-friendly pet issues that play well to frothing fundamentalists who get worked into a lather and then donate what little money they have left over from their paychecks.
By attacking this play, Focus on the Family has earned a new nickname: “Focus on the Frivolous.”
I applaud Jeffrey Solomon and director Joe Brancato for producing a play that will make people think, which is a heck of a lot more than Focus on the Family is asking of its followers.
If you are in New York City, “Santa Claus is Coming Out” is running until Dec. 20 at the Kirk Theater (410 West 42nd Street). Tickets can be ordered by calling 212-279-4200. (www.ticketcentral.com)
Full-statement from Jeffrey Solomon:
This is playwright Jeffrey Solomon, writer and performer of “Santa Claus is Coming Out” the play that was attacked by Focus on the Family Action Education Analyst Candi Cushman on her blog
Her indictment of the play was riddled with misinformation, distortions, half truths and outright lies including that
“Pictures on a Web site promoting the production depict Santa in not-so-subtle sexually suggestive situations.”
This is just not true. We have not marketed this play with sex. The play is not about sex. The play simply asks a hypothetical question. “How would the world react, if Mrs. Claus were revealed to be a beard, and that Santa Claus was actually a gay man?”
The image I believe Ms. Cushman is referring to is of me, a grown man, sitting on Santa’s lap in a way that would suggest I am a boyfriend or spouse. We are reading a newspaper heralding the news of Santa Claus being outed to the world.
It is NOT a sexual image, anymore than Mrs. Claus and Santa Claus holding hands is a sexual image, or the Little Mermaid kissing her beloved Prince Eric is sexual. 

I reject that classification categorically.

The very mention or the image of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people is not automatically sexual, unless you are viewing them with sex-tinted glasses.
Though her report was riddled with many other accusations, let me address Ms. Cushman’s central charge: “Clearly homosexual activists like Solomon have no qualms about using shock tactics to expose children to homosexuality.”
The intention of my play (or its marketing) was never to expose children to homosexuality.
This play is not intended or children. Nor was my intention to destroy the myth of Santa Claus. I love Santa Claus, really. The play is very much inspired by the magic of Santa Claus I loved as a child.
Rather it was to ask adults, “Why is it still taboo to be open and honest with young children, about the existence of gay people?”
We love to tell young children that Santa Claus exists, and yet at the same time, we pretend GLBT people don’t exist. We do this by feeding them a diet of exclusively heterosexual fairy tales, television and movies in which princesses can kiss and marry princes (or even frogs) and beauties can live happily ever after with the beasts who abduct them.
But the child who may grow up to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered has no reflection of himself.
There is no happily ever after in sight during his or her formative years.
The other way we do this is the unspoken agreement too many of us make not to talk about the subject of GLBT people with children.
Teachers, aunt, uncles….We abide by a code that says GLBT lives are in some way inappropriate (and therefore profane) for children to know about.
This code reduces GLBT people to sexual beings only.
I can tell you that the fact that subject was unmentionable and invisible when I was a child caused me a lot of unnecessary pain and shame.
God bless my parents, but I believe that it takes a village of affirming adults, who are responsible to “protect the children.”
I have created in the play, the Santa Claus I needed. The one I wish I had known. There is nothing sexual about that.
Bonnie: I'm not crazy about the ad. I find it a bit juvenile and insulting to porn actors. But...
PhillipP: She looks and sounds like she just tumbled out of a meth trailer in a trailer park....
Paterfamilias: Shmuel: Point is, once a gonif always a gonif....
Peter Hargmier: He talks of a youtube clip of Mayor Cory Booker responding to a question about gay marriage.
He nails it!
Enjoy! :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Z7tl7Vy8U...
Michael: "But to protest the teaching of these facts is little different from protesting their very existence; it is like opposing...
ile 2009 will be remembered for the worldwide economic recession, for the ex-gay industry, it will be known as The Great Moral Depression. It was a dreadful year for such programs, as they showed themselves to be a global menace run by reprobates, such as Exodus’ Randy Thomas and Alan Chambers, who combined a dangerous dose of arrogance and incompetence. Much like the Roman Catholic Church, these men ignored a credible allegation of abuse for more than six months and engaged in a dangerous game of denial.
down. He was an arch-homophobe who once claimed allowing gay people to marry would end the earth. Under Dobson’s leadership, this mega-ministry started the ex-gay roadshow Love Won Out. Dobson’s retirement represents the winding down of the old guard. This includes the passing of other ex-gay proponents or anti-gay preachers such as Rev. Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy and Oral Roberts. A new generation of Evangelicals will hopefully join the reality-based community and break with the past. However, there is reason to be skeptical, considering the leader of the pack is Rick Warren, who isn’t too much better than his predecessors.
Michael Glatze (left) was formerly co-editor of XY Magazine and YGA Magazine, publications directed at LGBT youth. He and his partner of ten years, Benjie Nycum, also co-authored the book XY Survival Guide.
e-mail announcing his career as an ex-gay spokesperson had fizzled and he was retiring. Chalk Glatze up to a pitiful flash in the pan.
“ex-gay”. In a fit of holier-than-thou zeal, Miller went on the lam and absconded from Vermont with their child, Isabella, that the couple was raising together after having a Civil Union.
