In news that will come as a shock to literally nobody, David Matheson, a prominent gay conversion therapist from the United States, has divorced his wife and come out as gay, revealing that his “need” to be intimate with men is simply too strong to deny.
Matheson, a Mormon from the state of Utah, was a prominent figure in the ex-gay movement, which holds out the idea that homosexuality can be ‘cured’ with the aid of counselling, therapy and religious instruction (as well as deep, deep denial, I guess).
He authored a book called Becoming A Whole Man, about his quest to overcome unwanted gay desires, and he was the creator of the Journey Into Manhood program, which sees men go into the forest and engage in “manly” activities to try and become straight.
Look, to me personally, the idea of going into a forest with a bunch of sweaty, sexually-confused dudes and engaging in grunting, heaving “manly” activities sounds like a party, but ENOUGH ABOUT MY WEEKEND PLANS, let’s just continue with the story.
David Matheson came out earlier this week, after a group called Truth Wins Out published details of posts in a private Facebook group. According to that private post, Matheson had declared that he was seeking a male partner as single, celibate life was not “feasible” for him.
Soon after being confronted by Truth Wins Out, Matheson published a statement to his own public Facebook in which he came out as gay, saying:
“A year ago I realized I had to make substantial changes in my life. I realized I couldn’t stay in my marriage any longer. And I realized that it was time for me to affirm myself as gay. I enjoyed a happy and fulfilling marriage with my wife for many years. Overall, it was a beautiful relationship and being “straight” became a core part of my identity. But I also experienced attractions to men. Much of the time these were in the background. But sometimes they were very intense and led to pain and struggle in my marriage.”
Matheson did not denounce his earlier work as a gay conversion therapist, maintaining a belief that he has helped “many people”, but he apologised to those he has hurt, saying:
“I used to be caught in an ideological prison of my own. I know my work helped many, many people because they’ve told me so. But I’m sure I’ve hurt some people too. Not that I would excuse myself, but any shortcomings I had as a therapist came from too narrow a view of what “emotionally healthy” can look like. They came from my own homophobia and narrow mindedness. I am truly sorry for those flaws and the harm they have surely caused some people. And I’m sorry for the confusion and pain my choice may be causing others.”
Having said all of that, Matheson went on to explain that he still thinks back fondly on his time in the “ex-gay world”, saying:
“What you can take from this is that my time in a straight marriage and in the “ex-gay” world was genuine and sincere and a rich blessing to me. I remember most of it with fondness and gratitude for the joy and growth it caused in me and many others. But I had stopped growing and I had to change. So I’ve embarked on a new life-giving path that has already started a whole new growth process.”
It would be fair to say that there are plenty of gay people who don’t look back fondly on the time they spent hiding their sexuality out of fear and shame thanks to their strict religious upbringings, but for whatever reason, old mate here has not quite been able to connect the dots on that one.
The practice of gay conversion therapy is by no means confined to the US. Last year, a landmark study by La Trobe University found that at least ten groups in Australia promoting it, and VIC Liberals ditched a proposal that would allow doctors to offer “counselling out of same-sex attraction.”
