After finding myself sending Mike numerous emails to the effect of “please post this” (including the one below) I’ve decided to join the team here at XGW. I’m Daniel Gonzales, a single 24 year old apprentice architect in Long Beach, California.
I grew up in the youth group at my American Baptist church where we were told “gay sex” was sin but when honestly inquisitive kids asked, “how can to men who don’t have vaginas have sex?” it went unanswered by the adult leadership. Our church bulletin regularly contained propaganda instructing us to boycott Disney for giving benefits to it’s gay employees.
The book on puberty my parents bought me was “Caution, Changes Ahead” written by James Dobson. His influence over my life ended when my mom set aside the book and chose to share the values of OUR family.
My freshman year of college I finally came out to myself and willingly sought “treatment” with Dr. Joe Nicolosi for approximately a year. After a school year of self-reflection studying abroad I was ready to finally come out of the closet and reject conversion therapy.
Unfortunately since my mother set his book aside, Dobson’s eye has turned critically onto gay Americans and his once altruistic creation has waged a campaign to remove any traces of gay people from the public eye and a disingenuous campaign to turn some straight.* I am one of the millions of Americans, gay and straight who do not wish for Dobson’s ideology to be imposed on the laws of a pluralistic nation. As for my own personal beliefs, I do not acknowledge the existence of any god, creator, or spirits. My interests include: The AgapePress, World Net Daily, World Magazine, and FOTF radio broadcasts.
For more of my personal story of why I left ex-gay / reparative therapy view this blog entry.
I’ve also got a profile on myspace.
Note: I am more than happy to give media interviews. However, I am less inclined to respond to emails from private individuals making vague and poorly thought out inquiries seeking purely to indulge their curiosity such as, “That’s so crazy you were a patient of Nicolosi. What was that like?”
My Amazon.com wish list.
*Wayne Besen argues in “Anything But Straight” that the religious right’s support of conversion ministries is disingenuous.
welcome dan! looking forward to you sharing your wisdom 🙂
I was also dragged to an American Baptist Church in my youth. It was in a northern suburb (Wyoming OH) of Cincinnati in the late 1950s and through most of the 1960s. My parents carted my brother and me to Sunday school and they would return for the morning “worship” services. I never heard one word about homosexuality. Not one word. I did notice, though, during the presidential election campaign of 1960, that the pastor, who otherwise seemed to be a nice fellow, was upset about the fact that a Catholic might be elected president, because then the US might be ruled by the Harlot Vatican, the Whore of Babylon (my term, not his, but it’s essentially the same–and, by the way, I only heard these characterizations of the RCCI–the Roman Catholic Church, Inc–in the last 5 years or so). I was only 10 years old at the time, but the bigotry that he expressed towards Catholics has remained with me to this day. And, as should be evident, I’m not a particular fan of the RCCI.
During the early- and mid-1960s, when I was dragged to the Sunday morning “worship” services, I would always bring a science fiction book to read during the “worship” services. The SciFi stories had more reality than the clap-trap from the minister.
I’ve described our encounters with the fundy Baptist Landmark Baptist Temple here a number of times. It became clear that church was nothing more than theater and money. Hey, whatever. Mammon.
In the mid 1970s, before I moved to Boston, I lived in New Haven. I used to “turn pages” for a gay guy who was an organist who played at an Episcopalian church in New Haven. (Yeah, he was gay, but he wasn’t a boyfriend. But I do love the fact that he actually did beat into me one fact that I was oblivious of–the fact that the guy I’ve been with for the last 26 years loved me. Even then. But, I digress.) I turned pages for him because I could read music, so I could follow what he was doing. The theater of the ceremonies was wonderful!
The theater was wonderful? BFD