[News] [USA] Meet the man who had three exorcisms to 'cure' him of being gay
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Stephanie Stevens
Sep 24, 2012, 8:20:27 AM9/24/12
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Gay Star News, UK
Meet the man who had three exorcisms to 'cure' him of being gay
Peterson Toscano spent $30,000 trying to cure himself of being gay by
undergoing controversial 'conversion' therapy treatments before
accepting that he was a gay man
24 September 2012 | By Ben Tritton
[Photo: Peterson Toscano has spent $30,000 on controversial
'conversion' therapies that claim they can turn a gay man straight.]
A gay man who spent thousands of dollars trying to cure himself of
being gay has shared his experiences of controversial ‘conversion’
therapy.
Peterson Toscano, 47, says he has spent $30,000 (€23,000) on
treatments that claim they can turn gay men straight.
Speaking to the BBC <http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/19475393> , the
American performance artist says it took him 17 years to accept that
he was gay and now refers to himself as an ‘ex-gay survivor.’
Not only do these treatments not work but he warns they are
‘pyschologically damaging.’
Raised in upstate New York in a devout Christian family, Toscano
attended an evangelical church where he struggled to deal with the
teachings of his faith and his feelings for other men.
Of his faith, he says: 'I was doing something spiritually and morally
wrong that I would be punished for in the afterlife. And so there was
a lot of fear and terrible desperation.’
Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, is a
controversial practice mostly funded through evangelical Christian
churches that claims to be able to cure people of being gay.
The American arm of the World Health Organization
<http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-%E2%80%98cures%E2%80%99-are-dangerous-says-american-branch-world-health-organization170512>
has condemned gay 'cures' as dangerous and says they are not medically
justified.
It is not only confined to the USA, as Toscano says he visited England
to undergo a failed exorcism in the West Midlands. It was to be his
third attempt to exercise 'gay demons' from his body.
He does not endorse this type of treatment, saying: ‘That sort of
teaching is psychologically damaging, especially to young people.
'If you believe that, you will then do whatever you can to rip up your soul.’
California has recently approved legislation that would ban anybody
under the age of 18 from undergoing conversaion therapy.
Passed on 28 August, it moves the US closer to becoming the first
state in America to ban the practice entirely.
The bill, authored by Senator Ted Lieu, would also make adults who
chose to undergo the therapy sign a release form that says the
treatment is ineffective and dangerous.
Opponents of the bill
<http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/extremist-christian-group-slams-gay-cure-ban-fascist140812>
claimed the law would undermine parents who want their children to
receive therapy for same-sex attractions.
As for Toscano, after years of trying ‘gay cures’ he has finally
accepted his sexuality and now uses his past experiences in
performances to raise awareness of the dangers of trying to cure your
sexuality.
Copyright © 2011 Gaystarnews. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/meet-man-who-had-three-exorcisms-cure-him-being-gay240912
Meet the man who had three exorcisms to 'cure' him of being gay
Peterson Toscano spent $30,000 trying to cure himself of being gay by
undergoing controversial 'conversion' therapy treatments before
accepting that he was a gay man
24 September 2012 | By Ben Tritton
[Photo: Peterson Toscano has spent $30,000 on controversial
'conversion' therapies that claim they can turn a gay man straight.]
A gay man who spent thousands of dollars trying to cure himself of
being gay has shared his experiences of controversial ‘conversion’
therapy.
Peterson Toscano, 47, says he has spent $30,000 (€23,000) on
treatments that claim they can turn gay men straight.
Speaking to the BBC <http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/19475393> , the
American performance artist says it took him 17 years to accept that
he was gay and now refers to himself as an ‘ex-gay survivor.’
Not only do these treatments not work but he warns they are
‘pyschologically damaging.’
Raised in upstate New York in a devout Christian family, Toscano
attended an evangelical church where he struggled to deal with the
teachings of his faith and his feelings for other men.
Of his faith, he says: 'I was doing something spiritually and morally
wrong that I would be punished for in the afterlife. And so there was
a lot of fear and terrible desperation.’
Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, is a
controversial practice mostly funded through evangelical Christian
churches that claims to be able to cure people of being gay.
The American arm of the World Health Organization
<http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-%E2%80%98cures%E2%80%99-are-dangerous-says-american-branch-world-health-organization170512>
has condemned gay 'cures' as dangerous and says they are not medically
justified.
It is not only confined to the USA, as Toscano says he visited England
to undergo a failed exorcism in the West Midlands. It was to be his
third attempt to exercise 'gay demons' from his body.
He does not endorse this type of treatment, saying: ‘That sort of
teaching is psychologically damaging, especially to young people.
'If you believe that, you will then do whatever you can to rip up your soul.’
California has recently approved legislation that would ban anybody
under the age of 18 from undergoing conversaion therapy.
Passed on 28 August, it moves the US closer to becoming the first
state in America to ban the practice entirely.
The bill, authored by Senator Ted Lieu, would also make adults who
chose to undergo the therapy sign a release form that says the
treatment is ineffective and dangerous.
Opponents of the bill
<http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/extremist-christian-group-slams-gay-cure-ban-fascist140812>
claimed the law would undermine parents who want their children to
receive therapy for same-sex attractions.
As for Toscano, after years of trying ‘gay cures’ he has finally
accepted his sexuality and now uses his past experiences in
performances to raise awareness of the dangers of trying to cure your
sexuality.
Copyright © 2011 Gaystarnews. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/meet-man-who-had-three-exorcisms-cure-him-being-gay240912
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