"Anything But
Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth" By Wayne R. Besen Paperback and Hardcover Publisher: Harrington Park (November 2003) Reviewed by: Duane Simolke I can't think of a better ex-gay resource than Wayne R. Besen's book
Anything but Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay
Myth. Besen not only gives an accessible and easy-to-follow history of
the sham's path of destruction but also makes it clear |
Still, Besen also shows how most of the people who become
involved with or lead these ministries probably mean well. More importantly, he
shows how gays and their allies can expose these hurtful groups, which rely
heavily on wild semantics, shaky statistics, pseudo psychology, and highly
questionable science, all the while trying to appear Bible-based.
Besen also shows how gays can make their communities less vulnerable to ex-gay
groups, while warning those communities about insidious new tactics that the
increasingly media-savvy ex-gay leaders use to lure parents into forcing
children to join the ex-gay circus. For groups that keep claiming that all of
their members come there voluntarily, they certainly keep taking advantage of
parental pressuring and other fears of rejection!
Best of all, Besen offers resources and alternatives for people who might want
to join these groups. He even defends, to my satisfaction, his undercover
efforts to capture all of the information that appears in this sometimes
shocking but always fascinating volume. I suggest Besen's study for all gays,
all of their allies, and anyone who thinks the ex-gay movement needs support or
more recruits.
Visit the "Anything But Straight" for information on "Anything But Straight" and more on Wayne.
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