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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMarch 15th, 2010
Last week, we briefly noted a quixotic attempt by the ex-gay organization PFOX to force a vote among Disney shareholders to recognize “ex-gay” as a sexual orientation. Shareholders instantly recognized it as a complete waste of time, with 98% voting a resounding “no!” Exodus International vice president Randy Thomas thinks Disney made the right call, and finds PFOX’s messaging “confusing”:
It appears they are doing a “find and replace” word processing function on their organizational messaging. They are copying gay activist talking points and replacing every instance of “gay” with “ex-gay.” Greg Quinlan, PFOX’s Director, states that ex-gays are forced into the Disney “closet.” Over the past few years PFOX keeps talking about the “ex-gay community” needing to be added to the laundry list of sexual/gender identities in need of protected class status in various venues.
PFOX had been a member ministry under the Exodus umbrella, but they reportedly parted ways last summer.
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Alex
March 15th, 2010
Randy Thomas called another organization’s message confusing? That’s too funny!
Timothy Kincaid
March 15th, 2010
PFOX and Exodus have two problems:
1. Exodus (for all their flaws) genuinely does see itself as a ministry for same-sex attracted strugglers. While they engage in a lot of self-delusion, they – for the most part – are more into “living a life of freedom from sin” than bashing gays (though they don’t hold back much from that either)
PFOX, on the other hand, is entirely and solely interested in anti-gay activism. If something would hurt ex-gays, it matters not in the least as long as it is anti-gay.
2. PFOX has adopted a position that is destructive to Exodus’ basic premise.
Exodus says, “there’s no such thing as orientation, just temptation. The opposite of homosexuality is not a different orientation (heterosexuality), but a different lifestyle (holiness – submission to God).
PFOX comes along and says, “not only is there orientation, but ex-gay is one. Further, we demand that businesses and others honor our orientation (and, by extension, that of others)”.
Most folks pretty clearly see through the ex-gay = orientation nonsense. But PFOX’s adoption of the orientation dialogue confirms (for many) that orientation exists and that homosexuality is not just a fetish or hobby or habit, but a direction of attraction.
I can see how Randy would be irked.
soren456
March 15th, 2010
So, ex-gay doesn’t equal straight? It’s a stand-alone?
What do they think about when they masturbate?
(With the door closed in case Jesus comes back just then.)
RCM
March 15th, 2010
Is being ex-gay caused by genetics, or nuture, or is it a choice? Can two ex-gays of the same sex get married? Is there any mention of ex-gays in the Bible? Or any other holy book? Is being ex-gay against the law…anywhere in the world? Has it ever been, through history?
Just wondering here…
Lymis
March 17th, 2010
The “ex-gay is an orientation” thing is so internally contradictory and self-evidently pointless that it is hard to imagine it as anything OTHER than a trojan horse for something else. Good for Disney.
It is hard to imagine a company discriminating against straight people for being straight. If they include LGBT people, either specifically, or as part of a broad “no discrimination based on sexual orientation” clause, then there is no issue there either. Ex-gays would fall under one or the other for purposes of workplace discrimination.
So the only reason to insist on recognition of “ex-gay” as an explicit status would be to get either protection for voicing anti-gay views “All I was saying is that they are filthy in God’s eyes and can be cured if they try hard enough! Telling me to be quiet discriminates against me as ex-gay!”) or to try to force either contributions to ex-gay causes or an end to contributions and participation in pro-equality causes.
Jason D
March 17th, 2010
seems to me that ex-gay is less an orientation than an ideology. If it were an orientation they’d simply be straight.
This was an attempt to get validation for the political ideology of ex-gays, not for discrimination against celibate gays or heterosexuals with a “complicated” orientation.
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