Former ex-homosexual Peterson Toscano says the birth of the “ex-gay survivors’ movement” raises some questions.
Why did I pursue change?
What was I looking for?
What did I do to myself and let others do to me?
What good came of the experiences I had?
What harm came of it?
How can I recover from these experiences and move on?
For those offering or considering ex-gay therapy:
Why is change so highly desired and what are the costs in pursuing it?
What happens once people leave your care? Do you know? Do you care?
Toscano says the ex-ex-gay movement is “a movement without a manifesto or agreed upon goals. Instead we have created a venue for people, who desperately sought to change and suppress their sexuality, an opportunity to unpack their experiences and to ask the essential questions.”
Exgay here.
1. I was 17 and a newly born-again Christian and felt the exgay movement was my honest option. Plus being an exgay seemed “cool” and “different.”
2. To be normal and yet unique…don’t dismiss the power of an exgay identity.
3. Not a question for me.
4. The main benefit of being an exgay for me has been the ability to evaluate ideas/beliefs independently and critically.
5. what is bad about being an exgay? I have learned to celebrate and embrace hate and misery…truly (Zozobra lives!-gotta be a New Mexican to get that.)
6. Not a question for me.
7. You learn to live the struggle daily-“Aristotle sought truth not happiness.”
8. I am no exgay leader.