Thousands have already signed an online petition calling for the cancellation of a forthcoming TV special about a group of Mormon men who say they are attracted to other men but have chosen to marry women.
Slated to air on TLC on Jan. 11, "My Husband's Not Gay" promotes "the false and dangerous idea that gay people can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of their faith communities," according to the Change.org petition's founder, Josh Sanders.
“I started this petition because these men deserve compassion and acceptance," Sanders, a devout Christian who said he was previously subjected to reparative (or "ex-gay") therapy, said in an email statement. "Instead, TLC is presenting their lives as entertainment, and sending the dangerous message that being gay is something that can and ought to be changed."
He added, "No young person should ever be told to be ashamed of who they are -- especially by a television network.”
As you may remember I posted about this show on Christmas day.
At the time I sort of made light of it because, honestly, how can you take it seriously? And my position really hasn't changed.
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| "Oh God, why does this feel so right?" |
I mean come on, did that convince any of you that these men are not gay?
What's next... maybe Utah will pass a law that states straight or no driving for you.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30735673
Russia says drivers must not have 'sex disorders'
The gentleman on right in photo: "Hey buddy, I'm not gay, but that's some good wood you've got there."
Delete2nd guy who isn't gay: "Thanks, non-gay guy. Smooth & stiff."
3rd non-gay guy: "Isn't it great being married to a Stepford wife in denial? Knock on wood! Haha!"
I think too many people are giving this show too much publicity by trying to stop it. The premise of the show is so ignorant it would be better to ignore the show; I'm sure the ratings would be so low that it would get cancelled.
ReplyDeleteI think the show is silly, and it's an overreaction by the LBGT community. Who's really going to take this show seriously?
ReplyDeleteThere's so many more positive, affirming examples of shows, that the idea someone is going to look at this show and be "ruined" (for want of a better word) seems unlikely. Not to mention all the other information that's out there to counteract any influence this show *might* have *if* some gay person has the urge to check it out for reasons other than pointing and laughing. The show is (dubious) entertainment, and it's insulting to pretend that GLBT people are stupid enough to take what happens on a reality TV show as "good information."
The truth is, it's a free country, and if that's how those men want to to live, that's their choice. We may not like it, but they're not breaking any laws.
Hear Hear!
DeleteI agree.
DeleteJust more reality tv hopefuls that are willing to humiliate themselves for 25-50k.
DeleteTheir choice.
Our choice to watch or not.
.
Any impressionable gay teens are NOT going to be watching this. Shoot, teens hardly watch that much TV at all these days, & get most of their media needs met via other outlets (online, phones, etc.)
DeleteAbout the only use I can see for this show is that gay folks in Utah might have this shoved in their faces by misguided parents & Church leaders.
There was a case in WV not terribly long ago that involved a local bishop's son abusing his own children. Rather than report him to the authorities, the decision was made to keep everything within the Church (yes, Mormon). He was divorced, so they married him off to a local, less than intelligent woman. Their rationale was that marital sex would quell his other urges. Guess what, it didn't work. When he was finally busted, the Church still did its best to keep everything quiet.
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/17/us/mormon-leaders-in-west-virginia-accused-in-suit-on-child-abuse.html
Score Another Victory For Atheists In Michigan
ReplyDeletehttp://www.alan.com/2015/01/08/score-another-victory-for-atheists-in-michigan/
O/T but in case you didn't know...
ReplyDeleteAmericans now more likely to die from getting shot than in car accidents
...The Center for American Progress released a report last year saying that soon the two lines would intersect for people 25 and under, but now the Bloomberg News has released its own numbers, which indicate that gun deaths have overtaken road accidents as a cause of death for the whole population, regardless of age.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/americans-now-more-likely-to-die-from-getting-shot-than-in-car-accidents/
Well if you want to see something REALLY shameful, take a look at this bullshit:
ReplyDeleteHall Of Shame: 35 Dems Voted Yesterday To Roll Back Dodd-Frank Provisions
It's a damning list.
http://crooksandliars.com/2015/01/hall-shame-30-dems-voted-yesterday-roll
Progressives Seek Control Of The Democratic Party
Delete...Progressive advocates see the next two years through the prism of the coming 2016 race. They want Democrats to use their minority to lay down a sweeping populist agenda for the country ahead of the election, which could include breaking up the big banks, a major clean energy jobs bill or investments in education to let college students graduate debt free.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/progressives-assert-control-democratic-party
If You Think Jeb Bush Is A Moderate, Then You Missed His 1994 Campaign
Delete...But Bush hasn't always been the cheery moderate that he's presented as today. In fact, during his first campaign for governor of Florida in 1994, he was quite conservative.
In order to win the Republican nomination in that race, Bush ran as a hard-liner, staking out positions to the right of his GOP primary opponents on issues such as education, taxes, welfare and criminal justice. He eventually prevailed over the five other Republicans in the primary, though he lost the general election.
...The cornerstone of Bush's campaign was a sweeping set of conservative proposals that, if enacted, would have made Florida a virtual laboratory for far-right policy.
"I would abolish the Department of Education as it now exists, reducing the 2,000 person bureaucracy to about 50 to administer federal education funding and maintain minimum academic standards in Florida's schools," Bush told the Orlando Sentinel in a November 1994 interview.
Bush also laid out a plan to require that any proposed new taxes be approved directly by Florida voters, a strategy that would have made it nearly impossible to pass them. What state revenue there was, Bush said, should be used whenever possible to hire private corporations to replace state employees.
"We must push privatization [of government] in every area where privatization is possible," Bush told the Sentinel.
Bush's tough brand of conservatism also featured new restrictions for Florida's welfare recipients. In early 1994, Bush unveiled a welfare reform plan dubbed the "Phoenix Project." The goal of the project, he later told the Miami Herald, was to "dismantle the welfare state and all the culture that comes from it."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/08/jeb-bush_n_6436546.html
They have to show this series, just have to, must watch TV, I will eagerly await The Bachmann's appearance
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing! LOL
Delete$arah could also give some tips to these guys, she has a ton of experience living publicly as someone she isn't.
The worst part isn't their married life on earth, but the fact that, as Mormons, they're married for all eternity.
ReplyDeleteOnly if they married in the temple. There are lots of members who don't. And a temple divorce is also possible, one of the grounds being adultery.
DeleteMy first serious relationship was with a gay man who was desperately trying to convince himself he was bisexual enough to be with a woman. He had grown up in a conservative religious family, and his parents kept dropping hints about how he needed to find a nice girl and settle down. So he tried, because he thought they would disown him if he told them the truth.
ReplyDeleteOur relationship was excruciating. At one point, I tried to kill myself. I would not wish that kind of pain or those experiences on anyone. Silly as this trailer might be, my heart breaks for those women. The one who says she wouldn't change a thing about her husband? Seriously, she wouldn't change the fact that he's more attracted to men than he is to her? Both of them deserve better.
As for LGBT youth, yes, there is plenty of other information available, but that doesn't negate the damage this show can do to kids growing up in the Mormon church (or any other environment where they're taught that homosexuality is a sin and they will be rejected if they don't deny and repress that part of themselves). This sort of thing gives those kids "hope" that they, too, can overcome their "same-sex attraction" and find happiness in a heterosexual marriage. Plus, it gives people around them the expectation that they can and will sublimate their sexuality that way.
LGBT depression and suicide rates are not a joke, nor is anything that may contribute to them. Unfortunately, the people most likely to be damaged by this show are among those most likely to take it seriously. And even if they don't, the damage is still done if their family and friends do.
Look: Here's The Latest Map Of Marriage Equality In America
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/look_here_s_the_latest_map_of_marriage_equality_in_america
Texas GOP Bill Takes Salaries And Pensions Away From State Employees Who Obey Federal Same-Sex Marriage Rulings
ReplyDeleteIf you’re a state employee in Texas, you could soon be stripped of your paycheck and pension if you obey federal court rulings that Republicans don’t like.
In response to federal court rulings striking down same-sex marriage bans, Texas Republicans have introduced a bill in the state legislature that would punish state workers who don’t reject federal court decisions ruling same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional.
According to the Texas Tribune:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/01/09/texas-gop-bill-takes-salaries-and-pensions-away-from-state-employees-who-obey-federal-same-sex-marriage-rulings/
They're not lying to their spouses. People should be free to live how they choose as long as they are not harming others. And if a woman knows of his attractions and gets married anyway, that's her choice as well. I think it's an interesting slice of American life. If I were gay, I would live openly as a gay person, but who am I to tell someone else how to live in order to be happy? In some religious communities, it may be less stressful to live like a straight person, than it would be to "come out".
ReplyDeleteI think all people who chose to expose their relationships on reality TV are always more about keeping up with appearances than they care about their relationships. Doesn't matter if it is a parent with dozens of kids, people who are meeting and are dating, or people who are married. These shows are exploitative and are not reality. It never makes any of the relationships better.
ReplyDeleteT'would be instructional to ascertain the backround of those who bankroll and produce this trash.......sigh.....but then most Americans are unaware of the Ancestry Dot Com affiliations......
ReplyDelete