How Do You Solve a Problem like Marcus?

A queer colleague of mine brought up this article about the potential problems of calling Marcus Buchmann out as gay.  The concerns about what this rhetoric potentially does is important to examine and take seriously.

It's been popular among (at least the gay blogosphere) to point out Marcus Buchmann's more effeminte qualities, including but not limited to the nickname "Ladybird," which I do find fairly amusing.  As with most things, the rhetorical strategy, politics and rationale behind such a move are complex. 

Why I'm Not Gaga over "Born This Way"

Perhaps it's fitting that the .99 sale of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" album on Amazon crashed their servers, or at least slowed them down.  It's an apt metaphor for the way "born this way" rhetoric has crashed, or at least slowed down, gay and lesbian liberationist politics. 

It's tempting to simply quote Eve Sedgwick and Michael Warner on this topic and leave it at that: they said it first and best. A politic built on an essentialistic conceptualization of sexual orientation (that is, the idea that one's sexual orientation is natural, established pre-self-awareness, and stable and unchanging) does not guarantee one success and cannot be certain to result in the type of outcomes that those employing it certainly seek to achieve.  Of course, neither can one build on a social construction theory of sexuality.  Neither argument guarantees that rights will be granted or that others will conceed on moral or rational grounds.

More Sinister Than We Thought

Peterson Toscano beats me to making the point about the tortured logic and just plain ignorance behind Randy Thomas's (executive VP of Exodus International) pronouncements about gender identity.

Perhaps making the point even finer, DK, one of Peterson's commenters, parallels the alarming rise in left-handedness since the 1900's with increased cases of gender non-comformity, now that teachers and parents have quit torturing us southpaws and that we realize that we don't teach gender: gender, like handedness, just is.

Why The Recent Spat of Post on Ex-Gays?

Although the December posts by Peterson Toscano caused me to pause on the subject and that it's never to far from the back of my head when the topic of the religious right comes up, the subject of ex-gay ministries is a particular topic of interest to me because of the amount of harm I believe they cause. They are also at the heart of the religious right political movement; the existence of these programs helps justify the legal and civic discrimination religious righters seek to and have been successful in perpetuating on gays and lesbians. If they can demonstrate (and I use the term very loosely) that sexual orientation is a choice, and worse, is something wrong that needs to be changed, they can more easily justify their bigotry.

I fortunately never had any experience with ex-gay ministries except for very, very briefly considering one. I had never really heard of them until I came out and stumbled upon a television minister proclaiming that my homosexuality could be changed. I wrote down the toll-free number, kept it for a few days, and discarded it. I decided I didn't need to change; I was who I was supposed to be.

Although I grew up in a fundamentalist Southern Baptist Church, I cannot ever recall the subject of homosexuality being discussed in church. Our church, while conservative and literalist, was much more of a community interested in being together and doing the right things. Our ministers were about serving the congregation and were very people-focused. No real hellfire and brimestone sermons except for the occasional visiting minister maybe, but that was very atypical. So, I was blessed or lucky or both, depending on your perspective.

My family, both immediate and extended, have done nothing but demonstrate support and love for me and I have some very fundamentalist family members. I think that my family members are true Christians and understand that love is at the heart of the faith, regardless of where we stand of a theological standpoint of sexual orientation. Frankly, I've discussed the dogmatic side of homosexuality very rarely with any family member. It hasn't been important; all of their first reactions have been to demonstrate love.

So, how then, can I come to an understanding of what other families, parents, spouses, siblings, and alleged friends put their gay and lesbian children, spouses, brothers and sisters through? I can't. I still am amazed at the amount of harm that has been and continues to be perpetuated by ex-gay programs and churches trying to convert their gay/lesbian members. It's a true horror story and one that I am committed to help in my own small way stamp out by spreading truth.

The truth that science has demonstrated that sexual orientation is largely if not entirely inherent: genetic or hormonal possibly. Regardless of how it is formed, it's not changeable. People can change their behavior, yes, but the impulses and desires will remain. Further, there is no reason the people need to change even their behavior; to do so is more likely to cause harm than not. There is no Biblical basis for needing to change; being homosexual or committing homosexual acts is no sin.

Right Wing Watch: "I-35 0, Homosexuality 1" - this story reports the follow-up to an individual featured on a recent broadcast of the 700 Club (that's Pat Robertson's show) who claimed that evangelicals rescued him from homosexuality during a night of carousing at gay bars. (He was carousing, not the evangelicals. Well, okay, I don't know that. The evangelicals may have been carousing as well, I don't know.) This story is just one, current example of how ex-gay therapy does not work.

Former Ex-Gay Minister Speaks Out

Beyond Ex-Gay

"Anything But Straight": Ex-Gay Movement History

APA Help Center on Sexual Orientation

UC Davis Article on Reparative Therapy

The Gay Holidays

Peterson Toscano is, among other things, an ex-gay survivor and shares his experience as well as posts about similar items on his blog.

This video is Peter recounting a very funny tale from his ex-gay days that he titles "A Homo No Mo Christmas."




I hope everyone has a very refreshing and Homo-Friendly Holiday!

Other holiday links you may enjoy:

Best Hot Cocoa Mixes

The Real Story of Rudolph

Wikipedia entry on "Santa Claus"

If Pat Roberson is on it, it's the highway to hell

Certain fundamentalist Christians believe that Interstate 35 is related to prophecies in Isaiah 35 (Isaiah 35:8 refers to a "highway...of holiness") and so have set up ministries along its route.

Wayne Besen has the video (from Right Wing Watch).

These people think that an American interstate is mentioned in the Bible? That's just, well, arrogant, not to mention stupid.

I also found absurb the "converted" homosexual in the clip. He mentions that he was going from gay club to gay club prior to being on his way to see his fiance when he encountered the evangelists. He says he felt like he was "on acid" when the evangelists told him "fire" and touched him. A couple of things: gay men refer to their significant others several ways - partner, husband, boyfriend, etc., but I've never heard one refer to another many as "fiance." So, perhaps this allegedly converted homosexual was on his way to meet his female wife-to-be? I know that when I was about to become engaged that I very much thought that my feelings about men would go away; had an evangelist approached me during this time with the offer to "take away" my homosexuality, I would have been eager to take him up on the offer (and then act like it had been successful). And second, perhaps you were on acid if you were traveling between gay bars.

One of the other alleged converts was "a back slidden youth pastor." Think this guy might be feeling a little guilty? Think he might also be eager to think and act like he has been changed? Maybe a little.

And from a pure theological perspective, I'm tired of the claims of faith healing (prove it, guys, seems like it would be a huge news item) and the non-Biblical use of tongues and the Holy Spirit. Of course these people aren't interested in sound theology, just using Christianity as their modus operandi to impose their world vision and oppress people different from them.

Haggard Reborn

While many gays and lesbians take years to try and successfully supress their true identity through so-called "reparative" therapy , Ted Haggard has successfully accomplished fully and completely in just three months. It's a mircale, virgin born-again heterosexuality. Not that I'm wishing for it to happen, but I'm wagering money that just about as soon as they move out of Colorado, the Haggard marriage will fall apart.

From The Advocate.com: Haggard convinced he's now ''completely heterosexual''

Of course Haggard originally stated when the Mike Jones scandal broke that he had "never had a gay relationship with anybody." So, I'm not sure I trust his judgment.

It's interesting to note that Haggard had no advanced degree; he's now pursuing a Master's in psychology (good choice, Ted. Physician, heal thyself.) I'm used to my clergy having a Master's of Divinity. I'm somewhat snobbish in believing that my ministers should have formal, in-depth training on scripture, theology, and somewhat important matters such as history, Jewish culture, Hebrew, Greek, things like that.

Wikipedia also documents that "Haggard developed ministry efforts towards homosexuals early in his Colorado Springs ministry. He frequented gay bars and invited men to his congregation." Sounds like a certain infamous ex-gay leader.

Also noted is that the editor of a Colorado GLBT newspaper is corroborated by anti-gay leader Lou Sheldon (and friend to Haggard) that Haggard's homosexual activities were pretty well known prior to the Jones incident.

Lastly, and somewhat surprisingly (or perhaps not now), Haggard may have actually supported civil unions for gays. I don't think this undoes his strong anti-gay messages, but it does demonstrate that he is a more complex man than the simple cypher he is or has become.