Beyond ex gay

On the Internet and in the press, we are increasingly hearing the stories of ex-gay survivors, people who attempted and failed to alter their sexual orientation through programs such as Exodus. In so doing, they have rerouted the media and refocused the ex-gay debate. As early as , a group of individuals, both pro-gay and pro-ex-gay, attempted to engage in civil discussion through an on-line forum known as Bridges Across the Divide bridges-across. Blogging since , Steve Schalchlin bonusround.

Early in my freshman year of high school, I came home to find my mom sitting on her bed, crying. Her resignation didn't last long. My mom is a problem solver, and the next day she handed me a stack of papers she had printed out from the Internet about reorientation, or "ex-gay," therapy. I threw them away.

Recently, they conducted a survey of the survivor community to gather some information about why people tried to change their sexuality and what they experienced, and the answers are revealing. Here were the top ten reasons the survivors entered ex-gay therapy:. Any doubt about whether SOCE is harmful can be clarified by its survivors, 92 percent of whom said they experienced harm. Of those who say they experienced harm from SOCE, 84 percent say it still affects them to some extent today.

We have begun to implement strategies to let others know the realities and damaging effects of ex-gay and religious abuse. We need your help to do this. We previously launched a survey to gather information on people who have been involved in sexual orientation change efforts SOCE , and we have just released the preliminary results. The survey is still open and we'd like to hear from as many people as possible.