This post from Seth Bracken about an “ex-gay” conference put on by Evergreen International in Utah is hilarious and tragic. Seth visited the conference to learn the ways of the “ex-gays,” but instead dudes just hit on him all day:

“Is this your first conference?” The plump, balding middle-aged man I was sharing an elevator with, asked.

“Yeah, it is. Yours?” I responded, happy to make a friend that might be able to show me the ins and outs of the conference.

“Nope, I’ve been to tons. I love ‘em. So many cute guys here, kind of like you,” he said as he took a step closer to me and smirked.

“You smell good, would you like to feel good?” He asked me as we landed on the ninth floor for registration.

Lovely.

Exiting the elevator quickly, I practically ran into another pleasantly plump, balding middle-aged man. Sensing I was flustered, he asked me if I was OK.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a very surreal experience. A guy totally came onto me in the elevator and I wasn’t exactly expecting that here,” I said offering my hand to my new friend, introducing myself.

“Well I can’t say that I blame him, you’re a cutie. What are you doing after the conference? I have my own place not far from here, would you like to come over for some fun?”

“Jesus Christ!” I blurted out far too loudly. “What the hell is going on? I thought all you guys were trying not to be gay.”

Yes, but they are not succeeding because “ex-gay” therapy is fraud. Duh.

I was propositioned more times at a conference that was supposedly changing people straight than I ever have been at a Pride festival, gay bar or party. I had guys old enough to be my father putting their arms around me, bumping up against my leg and asking to take me home.

Gross. And then there was another one later named Chad, who really, really wanted to see Seth naked. I assume that’s part of the therapy. It’s sad, though, because Chad is a married doctor and he’s trying his damnedest not to “admit defeat,” i.e. come out of the closet. So instead he goes to “ex-gay” conferences and looks for dudes to have sexytime with. How insanely tragic.

This is the “change” Alan Chambers and his buddies so passionately defend. But then again, Alan admits that he’s still into dudes, and he’s the figurehead for the entire movement, so whatever.

See also Jesus’ General’s post on this, “Ex-homosexualists are the nicest folks.”

Editor Seth Bracken of Q Salt Lake, a publication for LGBTQ people in Utah, just posted a story about a Utah man who hanged himself after imbibing a lifetime of Mormon homophobic self-hatred. He was rescued in the nick of time by his mother, who faced the horrifying task of cutting him down from the rope, but who also probably had plenty to do with the indoctrination that led him to suicidal despair. She, too, may well have been force-fed groundless hatred at a vulnerable age. (That kind of transgenerational cultural blindness is what I think of when I hear “the sins of the fathers will be visited on the sons.” That was no curse. It was an observation.)

This pitiable gay man, born by ill luck into one of the most homophobic social groups in the country, if not the world, literally bought into the ex-gay propaganda that Mormon culture sells to people like him. He tried “reparative” therapy at Evergreen International; he tried it at LDS Family Services; and he paid hundreds to try Journey into Manhood, run by “ex-gay” Rich Wyler, whose exploits on NPR and elsewhere have been covered in detail by TWO.

Mr. Wyler made a revealing statement with regard to the American Psychological Association’s condemnation of “reparative” therapy.

“They (the APA) have such a high standard for research, it’s almost impossible to meet,” Wyler said. “They require a control group and a reputable organization and continue to disregard research that doesn’t have these things.”

This, too, is pitiable. Mr. Wyler has not just uncritically internalized his subculture’s homophobia–he appears to regard the fundamental tenets of science as mere annoying inconveniences. This statement underscores why many progressives like to say that we’re living in the reality-based community. And yet people like Mr. Wyler must read weather reports, take vitamins, drive across bridges, and do all the millions of other things that owe their existence to science. Maybe those things exist in a dream world for them.

I think most people, even haters, have good intentions; conscienceless sociopaths are in the minority. And I think that, given enough time and care, people with good intentions can learn to understand each other’s points of view. But Mr. Wyler’s statement made me suspect I’m being naive. How does one go about debating a man like this? How could we ever find a set of axioms to agree on?

By the way: Evergreen International and Journey into Manhood will be holding conferences in Utah in September, thus perpetuating their non-reality-based, suicide-provoking work. The reality-based community needs to represent.

[h/t Jeremy]

Exclusive Truth Wins Out interview with Thomas Maier

For decades, anti-gay organizations have gleefully pointed to Masters & Johnson’s 1979 book, “Homosexuality in Perspective”, that claimed to cure homosexuality. Indeed, Dr. William H. Masters and Virgina E. Johnson, the husband and wife sex research team, went on Meet the Press on Sunday, April 22, 1979, to discuss their finding that homosexuals could be converted into heterosexuals. The book has since been used by the so-called “ex-gay” industry to “prove” gays could go straight, if they just tried hard enough.

In his groundbreaking new book, “Masters of Sex”, author Thomas Maier discovered through investigative reporting that the results of Masters & Johnson’s study were entirely fabricated. Virginia Johnson acknowledged that the results were fake. She had actually argued in 1978 that book should never have seen the light of day – but it was already to late in the publishing process to undo the damage.

One can not overstate the importance of Maier’s findings. They undo the very underpinnings of the so-called “ex-gay” therapy movement, further showing that there is no scientific evidence or data to support the outdated idea that gay people can become heterosexual through therapy. Indeed, many people who have undergone such “treatment” claim the experience was harmful and that they were psychologically damaged. The American Psychiatric Association says that attempts to change sexual orientation can lead to “anxiety, depression and self-destructive behavior.”

Evergreen Also Whitewashes Suicide of Stuart Matis, Says TWO

NEW YORK — Truth Wins Out (TWO) slammed “ex-gay” Mormon group Evergreen International today for gross violations of ethics and morality. The “pray away the gay” ministry listed convicted sexual predator therapist Christopher Austin as a resource and also covered up the suicide of Stuart Matis, a Mormon who took his own life because he could not change his sexual orientation.

“Evergreen should be ashamed and apologize for the unethical and immoral way it conducts business,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Instead of admitting the group’ failures, Evergreen has engaged in a series of omissions and cover-ups that whitewash reality at the expense of their victims.”

The blog, Ex-Gay Watch, discovered that Evergreen listed Christopher Austin on its site. What Evergreen failed to mention was that Austin, a disgraced therapist in Irving, Texas, was convicted of sexually assaulting a male client in Sept. 2007. Austin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but received seven years probation, had to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine.

“Unfortunately, Evergreen continued to promote Austin’ therapy and hold him up as an example of success,” said Besen. “Under pressure, Evergreen finally scrubbed him from its website this week, but the appropriate action would have been to let people know the truth. Sadly, Evergreen’ answer is to bury the facts in order to promote their fiction that one can change from gay to straight.”

In an equally disturbing incident, Evergreen whitewashed the heartbreaking suicide of Stuart Matis. On its website, Evergreen lists Fred and Marilyn Matis as past speakers and blithely says, “Their oldest son, Stuart, had same-gender attraction.”

This, of course, leads readers to believe that their son is now “ex-gay.” What Evergreen fails to tell readers is that the dangerous “ex-gay” message led Stuart to end his life. In his suicide note, Stuart Matis wrote:

“The church has no idea that as I type this letter, there are surely boys and girls on their callused knees imploring God to free them from this pain. They hate themselves. They retire to bed with their fingers pointed to their heads in the form of a gun. I am now free. I am no longer in pain and I no longer hate myself. As it turns out, God never intended for me to be straight. Perhaps my death might be a catalyst for some good.”