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'Ex-Gay' Ad Campaign Launches New Ad Critiquing Fundamentalist Religious Bias |
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Compiled by GayToday
Bisexual activists crafted the ad to respond to the Christian Coalition and affiliated organizations' anti-gay propaganda. The ad counters the position that "converted" Christians are all heterosexual, and that sexual orientation is easily defined into two invariable categories. "The current national debate has been dumbed down to a question of whether people's sexuality is fixed at birth or can be changed through brainwashing," explained GenderPAC Executive Director Riki Ann Wilchins. "Painting sexual identities in such stereotyped fashions cheapens a meaningful discussion down to a TV commercial. Real life is more complicated than that. Whole populations have been excluded from the current whitewashed dialogue, and we want to bring them back into the discussion."
"As bisexuals, we have a unique perspective on the debate about supposed
'cures' for homosexuality," declared Lani Ka'ahumanu, founding organizer of
BiNet USA, the nation's largest bisexual advocacy group. "Most of the
people who 'convert' to heterosexuality through these programs admit that
they still have same-sex attractions. Many of these people are undoubtedly
bisexual, but have chosen opposite-sex relationships for the time being."
Starting with the conservative groups' own slogan - "If you really love someone, you'll tell them the truth" - the ad explains the complexities of sexuality and the true meaning of compassion and respect. Challenging the "truth" of conversion therapy, this coalition speaks out against the Right's messages of rejection, hatred, and self-hatred, and the Right's insistence that their way is the "One True Way."
"All of us, regardless of sexual orientation, have the right to love
whomever we choose, be treated with respect and dignity, to live lives safe
from violence, harassment and discrimination " said Linda Blair, president
of the Bisexual Resource Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Right's conversion therapy campaign began with a series of national newspaper ads this summer. The campaign has stated that sexuality is a result of nurture and environment and can be 'cured' through conversion therapy. Some gay and lesbian organizations have countered with reports of studies indicating that sexuality may be at least partly genetic in nature. Between nature and nurture, the bisexual activists argue, lies one small but incredibly important word: Choice.
"Some people's sexual orientation can change over time," Anything That
Moves bisexual magazine Business Manager Dan Mullen observed. "Many people
remain open to the possibility of romantic or physical involvement,
regardless of a person's gender, throughout their entire lives. Whether we
are bisexual, heterosexual, lesbian or gay, we make our own choices. We
choose who we love, even as we choose the direction of our lives."
Whether sexual orientation is nature or nurture or a combination, this broad coalition of organizations believes the bottom line is that all people deserve respect and equal protection under the law. Nearly twenty national and international organizations, including the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, have signed onto the ad, which was created by BiNet USA, the Bisexual Resource Center, and Anything That Moves magazine. Together, these organizations represent the most diverse coalition to enter the discussion to date. Ad signers include: Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE); FTM International; the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund (GLVF); Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America (GLBVA); the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN); the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD); GenderPAC; the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC); the Intersex Alliance of North American (ISNA); LLEGÓ (The National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization); the National Black Lesbian & Gay Leadership Forum (NBLGLF); the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR); the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF); the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC); Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays (P-FLAG); Anything That Moves magazine; BiNet USA; and the Bisexual Resource Center. All images courtesy of www.anythingthatmoves.com/index.html |
Images from the response ad. © 1997-98 BEI