A Very, Very Bad Thing - a gay teen finds out that love can make you do all the wrong things, even when you have the best of intentions

A Very, Very Bad Thing by Jeffery Self

"Marley feels adrift as one of the only gay kids in his North Carolina town until Christopher moves in. Christopher's smart, cute, gay -- and the son of the country's most famous TV evangelists. Marley is determined to win Christopher's heart and be with him forever. And his plan is working until Christopher's parents find out and send their son away to an infamous "gay conversion" program. Hurt and outraged, Marley finds himself telling big lies to both cover up and find the truth, lies that have suffocating repercussions for both boys."

Add your review of "A Very, Very Bad Thing" in comments!

Gabriel Arana shares about his own experience with Ex-Gay Conversion Therapy and the Doctor that published the article saying gays could change RETRACTS his study - saying he was wrong!

"My So-Called Ex-Gay Life" is a remarkable article, that includes an important twist in the story of the continuing efforts being made to change the sexual orientation of young people.

In the words of AFER's Brandon Hersh,

In it Gabe shares his experiences as a gay teenager and patient of one Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, the outspoken leader of the ex-gay "movement." Nicolosi and his nearly bankrupt organization NARTH promote "reparative therapy" that is not only universally discredited and scientifically dubious, but is in fact harmful to gay and lesbian patients.

Within the story Gabe breaks MAJOR news - Dr. Robert Spitzer repudiated his much-criticized 2001 study that claimed some “highly motivated” homosexuals could go from gay to straight. This is a significant blow to “ex-gay” programs and anti-gay organizations . Spitzer’s rejection of his own research, which was originally published in the prestigious Archives of Sexual Behavior, severely undermines “ex-gay” organizations because it decisively eliminates the unproven claim that homosexuality can be reversed through therapy and prayer.

Well worth reading.

Namaste,
Lee

California's New Law To Protect Youth from Therapists Who Claim They Can "Cure" Them of Being Queer!

Very historic news -

(San Francisco, CA, September 29, 2012)—California Governor Jerry Brown made history today by signing a landmark bill that will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth from psychological abuse by deceitful mental health professionals who falsely claim to be able to change their sexual orientation or gender expression. With Governor Brown’s signature, California becomes the first state in the nation to protect LGBT young people from these dangerous practices, including the use of shame, verbal abuse, and aversion therapy, that place youth at high risk of depression and suicide. The law, which goes into effect January 1, 2013, prohibits state-licensed therapists from engaging in these practices with minors. 

Governor Brown (at microphone) and State Senator Ted Lieu (the Bill's sponsor)

The press release from the National Center For Lesbian Rights continued with this,

Ryan Kendall, a survivor of the practice who testified in the Perry v. Brown legal challenge to Proposition 8, described his experience earlier this summer to the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee: “As a young teen, the anti-gay practice of so-called conversion therapy destroyed my life and tore apart my family. In order to stop the therapy that misled my parents into believing that I could somehow be made straight, I was forced to run away from home, surrender myself to the local department of human services, and legally separate myself from my family. At the age of 16, I had lost everything. My family and my faith had rejected me, and the damaging messages of conversion therapy, coupled with this rejection, drove me to the brink of suicide.”

Senate Bill 1172 becoming law is a big step towards a better world. As Clarissa Filgioun, Equality California board president said of the new law when it was signed on September 29, 2012,

"Governor Brown today reaffirmed what medical and mental health organizations have made clear: Efforts to change minors' sexual orientation are not therapy, they are the relics of prejudice and abuse that have inflicted untold harm on young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Californians... We thank Senator Ted Lieu and Governor Brown for their efforts in making California a leader in banning this deceptive and harmful practice."

Namaste,
Lee

Samuel comes out about the conversion therapy he faced at the hands of his own parents

It's pretty harrowing:



Whoa.

The father beating him.

The lies about how he was the last gay person in the country (the government had tracked down and killed the rest) and if they found him they'd kill him, too.

The moment with his mother on the roof - "I'll love you again if you change."

It's so sad that his parents can't accept their child for who he authentically is. As Samuel says,

"I can't change what I never chose."

Yes.

And that's the choice - not to be gay or not be gay, but if you are gay you choice is that you can either lie, or be authentic.

Kudos to Samuel for being authentic, and for telling his story to help let others know they're not alone.

This video was posted as part of the I'm From Driftwood project.

We have much still to do.

Namaste,
Lee