The Ex-Gay from XY
First things first—before you read this post, go read the article I’m talking about. I know it’s long, and that assigning homework of any sort is likely to lose me readers, but it’s very much worth your time. Thanks to Genya Shimkin, by the way, for calling it to my attention.
What we have here is the heartbreaking tale of Michael Gratze, a former gay activist who transformed into a Christian anti-gay crusader, baffling his loved ones and leaving the rest of us to wonder how we can square his old personality with his new one in a way that makes sense. Perhaps it’s not our right to do so—after all, Michael’s life, and the inner workings of his mind, are his business and his alone. It’s no one else’s place to judge. But seeing a person who once advocated for gay rights from a fairly influential pulpit (what young gay man from the 2000s didn’t look to XY Magazine as a resource?) turn around and start handing down judgments himself makes the temptation to examine, to try and understand, all but irresistible. Certainly, the article’s author, a former coworker of Michael’s, is trying to get to the heart of the matter.
For my part, I read this article and see a man governed by great, perhaps crippling need, though what exactly he needs I couldn’t tell you.
