By Diane SilverI can't even begin to know what it feels like to grow up in a family and church where being gay or lesbian is the worst possible sin you can commit. It must be terrifying to feel like you have somehow sinned against your God simply by being your authentic self. That's a Catch-22 that has to dig at the soul.
The LGBT movement doesn't always help by sometimes being anti-Christian. I know why we do that. We've been beaten upside the head by alleged Christians far too often. Our anger, though, can leave leaves and gays raised in fundamentalist households with few options.*
Thus, it's no suprise that some lesbians and gays have become so desperate that they want to "de-gay" themselves and seek out the so-called ex-gay movement.
The good news is that there is now a thriving ex-ex-gay movement. Today I discovered the story of Christine Bakke, posted -- of all places -- in Glamour Magazine. Bakke movingly details her struggle with the ex-gay movement and with what she calls "degayification." Bakke's own blog is Rising Up Whole. She also is involved in Beyond Ex-Gay.
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*There are churches, even those with an evangelical bent, who serve the LGBT community. If you're searching, check out the Metropolitan Community Church. Another good place to find information on religion and congregations that welcome LGBT members is the Human Rights Campaign's Religion and Faith page.
Photo: Christine Bakke
Hat tip to PageOneQ.
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