Gay conversion practices in memoir, film and fiction : stories of repentance and defiance. Chapter 1 – ‘A Life of Unlearning’ – The Author Reflects

James E. Bennett (Anthology Editor) , Marguerite Johnson (Anthology Editor)

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Academic

READ FULL CHAPTER ResearchGate or Academia.edu

Foreword

Jennifer Frost Associate Professor of History University of Auckland

This powerful and profound edited collection brings together and interweaves the voices and stories of survivors of gay conversion practices in Australia and the United States. Spanning multiple forms and genres of storytelling, this book makes clear the damage done by these discredited practices. At the same time, storytelling emerges here as a vitally important way to publicize and push back against these dangerous practices.

Written by survivors and scholars, the books Introduction and individual chapters are deeply informative. They examine and explain what gay conversion practices are and how they emerged in Christian churches in the context of the modern gay and lesbian movement of the 1970s and after. The misnomer that ‘practitioners’ apply to what they are doing is conversion’ or ‘reparative therapy’. But this book makes clear that they are not practising ‘therapy’ at all and, in fact, all mainstream professional medical, psychological and psychiatric organizations repudiate these practices. Moreover, these practices do not ‘convert’ anyone from gay to straight as the leaders of the ‘ex-gay’ movement claim. Nor do they ‘repair’ anyone but, in fact, do great harm.

Giving voice to these truths in this book are actual people and characters based on actual people who experienced and survived gay conversion practices, as well as entirely fictional characters. Factual, first-hand accounts of growing up gay and Christian in Australia and the United States over the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first inform all of the stories told here. The memoirists tell of the devastating pressure – both external and self-inflicted – to suppress their gay identity to conform to conservative religious beliefs. The gay conversion practices they were subjected to were not just ineffective but incredibly dangerous, leading to depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts and actions. ‘There are other voices here too, both real and fictionalized, including former leaders and ministers of the ex-gay movement who engaged in and now repudiate these practices, as well as a few figures who still support and promote them.

However, it is the voices of survivors that are most prominent in these pages, and they are conveyed in a variety of forms. The memoirists provide a direct, meaningful connection to the reader, sharing the emotional conflicts and costs of all they experienced, and how they came through to create better lives for themselves and to contribute to a better world. Their stories are expressed in their own words and writings, presented in documentary films, and fictionalized in novels and feature film. All these forms of storytelling are crafted and shaped by the authors and filmmakers. Yet they differ in nature, purpose and audience expectations and allow the stories of survivors to be told in different ways.

In the case of film, documentaries are factual and expository, presenting persuasive evidence and argument, while feature films are fictional and dramatic, offering compelling plot and characters. With both filmic forms, the process of putting personal stories on screen is not simple or straightforward, and filmmakers must make choices. For the documentary filmmakers, informing and opening up public debate about gay conversion practices requires explanation and contextualization. For the feature filmmakers, the priority of entertainment edges out education. They need to decide whether to convey complexity or simplify stories and characters – and how – influencing what audiences are likely to take away from viewing. Such decisions are explored here and can be especially fraught for filmmakers adapting a novel or memoir for the screen. Genre conventions further inform such decision-making. How these stories are told differ whether the genre is a YA novel, teen comedy, adult drama, or biopic.

While the scholarly contributors to this book consider what is gained and what is lost in telling different kinds of stories about experiencing and surviving gay conversion practices, they agree these are examples of ‘new storytelling’. New storytelling is a powerful means to express deeply personal life stories, particularly for marginalized individuals and groups in society. It allows for the personal expression of hard truths and, in turn, for audiences to identify with and make their own interpersonal connections to the storyteller and stories. New storytelling is also associated with new technologies with the core print or film text augmented by paratexts and extratextual events. Media coverage, blogposts and podcasts surrounding or in conjunction with these books and films inform and extend their meaning for audiences. In this way, new storytelling can be considered a genre in its own right, reflecting and affecting the content, style, structure and reception of these personal stories.

At the same time, this new storytelling of encountering and enduring gay conversion practices often mirrors a classical narrative three-act structure of conflict, crisis and resolution. Whether a first-person account or fictional narrative, the conflict between survivors’ religious and gay, lesbian or queer identities leads to great anguish and distress that builds and builds until reaching a crisis. That critical moment changes the memoirist or protagonist and their lives: the breaking point is a turning point. Changing their lives does not necessarily mean abandoning their religious beliefs, however. Instead, many turned to seeking out churches that welcome and embrace the LGBTQ+ rainbow community.

They also turn to public engagement, political activism and professional careers to push back against gay conversion practices. In the two memoirs that open and lay the foundation for this book, Stuart Edser becomes a psychologist, Anthony Venn-Brown pursues service and activism for the rainbow community, and they both write ground¬breaking books that they draw on for their chapters. With a few exceptions discussed here, former leaders and ministers of the ex-gay movement similarly work to end these practices. Indeed, these practices, particularly for minors, are successfully being banned around the world. By sharing these stories, the memoirists, authors, and filmmakers discussed in this book have made the personal public and political.

We can surely hold out hope that these stories of defiance and repentance, as the co-editors so aptly call them, will be heard by current practitioners and leaders of the ex-gay movement. For the rest of us, may these life-affirming stories continue to educate and empower readers and viewers to challenge and change these damaging practices to allow everyone to find themselves and flourish in our communities.

Jennifer Frost Associate Professor of History University of Auckland

June 2023

Endorsements

‘As the first collection to analyse the representation of gay conversion practices in contemporary film and media, this book is not only essential reading for scholars of sexuality but a poignant insight into the horrors of ‘conversion therapies’ and the harm they cause to their victims.’ – Niall Richardson, University of Sussex, UK

‘Ranging from personal accounts to academic film analyses, this book takes the reader into a deep dive of the personal motivations and cultural forces that promote and enable conversion practices. It is a rare, well written book which is both scholarly and accessible.’ – Jack Drescher, Columbia University, USA

‘A moving and informative collection on the rich body of cultural expression of the oppressions suffered by gays and lesbians, and the resistance they have offered to efforts by Christian religion and the pseudoscience of conversion to ‘cure’ them of their sexual desire and identity.’ – Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University, Australia