Silencing ex-gays
by Belinda Brown, MercatorNet:
The last taboo: those who have stopped identifying as LGBT are harassed and censored for coming out about their change in sexuality.
In my previous piece, I explored reasons why people choose to move away from same-sex attraction and seek therapy to enable them to do so. I explained that the LGBT lobby see this desire to move away from homosexuality as evidence of homophobia. They therefore ban this therapy.
In the UK the ban was imposed by mental health bodies in 2015 and reinforced by the Church of England in 2017. The LGBT lobby are currently agitating for this ban to become law.
For those with unwanted same-sex attraction, the option of therapy provides clients with hope and support. Many reported their depression or suicidal thoughts subsided or diminished in response to the therapy.
For these people, affirmation could have been damaging.
One recipient explains:
“I always felt let down by the medical profession because, while officially therapists say they will not judge the client, they would not accept the validity of my choice not to identify as gay. I felt angry, cheated and discriminated against. The consultations contradicted the principle of self-determination that I was promised.”
It is hard to see how affirming a person’s unwanted same-sex attractions is a more compassionate approach.
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