Clamour Underbridge

Photos from 2009 Louisville Gay Pride Parade and Festival

Must we talk about shame?

For shame deny that thou bear’st love to any.
William Shakespeare.  Sonnet X

Must we talk about shame during Pride?  Pride, Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer-Questioning-Allied-or Other, is all about knowing who we are, what we want and taking stock of our accomplishments (or lack there of) along the way.  Shame, however, is what some groups want to serve up anytime gay people get mentioned.  While most of us are having Pride month those wonderful people in the “nobody’s actually gay” or the “normal people aren’t gay”  or the “I’m a used-to-be homosexual and you can be one too”  movement are dishing out the shame and the guilt.  There are all kind of places you can go around Louisville or on the web to get a walloping dose.  I advise you to leave these folks alone, let them get on with their angst-ridden lives and be sure to point them out as the damaging, psycho-babble charlatans they actually are. 

Let’s start with Southeast Christian Church.  If you go to their website and search for homosexuality you will find their relationships/care ministries.  You see, at Southeast Christian Church, homosexuality is a disease.  You “recover” from homosexuality.  You’ll find, on their website, a quote from Bob Davies and his book When a Loved One Says, “I’m Gay.”   Since Bob Davies’ work is published by Focus on the Family you know it’s going to ignore most, if not all, of science, medicine and modern thought.  There’s a Women’s Group that “helps” you overcome “unwanted same-sex attraction and relationships.”  Change is Possible! Give me a break.  Southeast provides “helpful” links to dubious and oft-debunked “agents of change” such as Exodus International, Troubledwith (A Focus on the Family site), NARTH (National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality), New Direction Ministries of Canada (that link is broken BTW), Regen Books (another broken link and actually Exodus Books), Desert Stream, and Exodus Youth.  One and all a cock-and-bull (irony much?) collection of psychologically damaging and professionally disparaged gaggle of life destroying drek that does a great deal of harm and absolutely no good.  Southeast Christian and their recovery programs are all about the shame.  Get it while it’s hot and steaming. 

Then there’s Sojourner Church.  Their website is a little less blatant in the shame and guilt, ex-gay BS but still cleaving to the some tired old ox trail.  Sojourner’s Women’s Ministry is very well connected to the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) brought to you by the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Since CBMW is all about opposing feminist egalitarianism and other “errors” of modern thought you can bet they buy into the whole “ex-gay,”  “homosexuality is a disease,”  “there is only one sexual orientation” pack of untruths.  CBMW exists to stamp out “confusion” in the church (you know, the one holy absolutely not Catholic and by no means apostolic one) and bring an end to “acceptance of homosexuality,”  the “secular homosexual” influence on theology as well as “confusion…regarding maleness and femaleness.”  Oh yeah.  They’ve got the guilt and shame train coming in right on time.

The “desperately seeking rigid and coercive gender roles” crowd will do you wrong every time.  Trust me I’ve been there.  Don’t fall for it.  If you want to make a change then chose to be Proud.  You have only your shame to loose.

The Letter Pride Edition

The Letter Pride Edition has been published.  It's a web only issue so there is no pdf to download.  Hopefully The Letter will be moving to a twice-a-month print edition this Autumn.  Stay tuned for further information.