Another One Bites the Dust

A Connecticut Gayboy in Queen Tyra's Court

The homophobes are at it again. Talk show host Tyra Banks is the latest among high-profile Americans to focus on a perceived link between homosexuality and evil. In other words, gayness is the work of the Devil, and a homosexual can be "cured" by means of an exorcism.

The "victim" in this instance is a 16-year-old Connecticut boy named Jeffrey. The lad is gay and began cross-dressing at the age of 14. He was dating other gay young men as well.

Jeffrey came to prominence in June when he was "exorcised" by a "prophetess" attached to the Manifested Glory Ministries of Bridgeport, CT. It lasted for twenty minutes and was captured on video. It became a YouTube hit but has since been taken down.

Asked to justify the deliverance, Ms McKinney spoke for her congregation when she said that "we believe a man should be with a woman and a woman should be with a man.... We have nothing against homosexuals. I just don't agree with their lifestyle."

She went on to explain that Jeffrey approached her community, not vice versa. "This young man came to us. We didn't go to him.… He was dressing like a woman and everything, and he didn't want to be like that.

Now Jeffrey has achieved even more media coverage courtesy of Tyra Banks. For those among us who don't know the lady, Larry Dobrow, writing in Advertising Age, notes that she "used to model swimsuits and she utters the word 'empower' more than any being on this or any other planet." He describes the Tyra Banks phenomen as "an Oprah-lite media empire," that was built on the premise that she "truly, deeply cares about her empowerable fangirls but is in reality Jerry Springer-ish pulp submerged in a torrent of girl-power bluster and prettified by a killer weave."

Gosh! Not a Tyra fan then. Nevertheless the episode, broadcast on 22 September, was illuminating in many respects. Not least being the extraordinary number of people who commented on Tyra's website expressing solidarity with Ms McKinney and her wacky beliefs.

And Jeffrey? Speaking about his ordeal, he claimed to have been freed of his "homosexual demon" and heaven would now welcome him, rather than slamming the pearly gates in his face. "I'm no longer gay," he said, "but it's still a process that I have to go through to be fully delivered."

Tyra wondered if that meant he was still attracted to other men. "I still have temptation," he told her.

Finally she asked if he was attracted to women now. He hesitated before answering without too much conviction: "Women? Umm, yes."

Hunting Pink Demons: this time in Britain

The blog Pink News notes that several fundamentalist churches in England may be attempting to "exorcise" gays and lesbians.

This comes hard on the heels of our July 3 article, which discussed a video of a similar demon hunt in the United States.

Jessica Geen reports that:

... a Pentecostal church in north-west London offers the controversial 'cure'. It is one of hundreds of fundamentalist churches in the UK.

Rev John Ogbe-Ogbeide, who runs the United Pentecostal Ministry in Harrow, said he carried out exorcisms on gays four or five times a year and that the procedure always worked.

He said: "The evil spirits are telling you what's wrong is right, the opposite sex is not attractive."

He cited a recent case where he exorcised a young man who was about to get married but was in love with a man.

Rev Ogbe-Ogbeide added that the procedure could be carried out at any age, as demons could take hold of a person at any time.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has called for protest against the practice and a thorough police investigation.

He said: "The exorcism rituals involve the casting out of alleged demons and witches that supposedly possess a gay person's soul and turn them away from heterosexuality.

"There are claims that gay teenagers and young adults are being subjected to exorcisms at the insistence of their parents and pastors, in an attempt to rid them of same-sex attraction.

"The exorcisms can include traumatic emotional scenes where the victims are surrounded by a group of church elders who scream at them to drive out the evil spirits and who sometimes shake their bodies.

"When this is done to youngsters under 18, it is a form of child abuse and the police should intervene to stop it.

"Some gay adults have been pressured into exorcisms by their family members or faith communities. Other victims are people with learning difficulties or mental health problems. They have been preyed upon when they are in a vulnerable state and are not capable of giving fully informed consent."

Tatchell called for gays and lesbians to write to Rev Ogbe-Ogbeide and their local MP to complain.

A Metropolitan Police Service spokesman told PinkNews that police would consider investigating the church if complaints were received.

Peterson Toscano, a gay rights activist who spent 17 years in ex-gay therapy, has been subjected to three exorcisms.

He told PinkNews: "The premise of these was that foreign demonic forces infiltrated my body and manipulated me so that I could not turn from being gay.

"I felt desperate for a cure especially after trying so hard to change through other means. I could not comprehend why I was still gay especially after all the promises."

"In one case in New York," he said, "the exorcist and her team yelled and screamed at me in English and in 'tongues' for over an hour touching me all over my body, jabbing me in my gut, getting close into my face, peering deeply into my eyes in hopes of provoking these evil spirits. It got so loud and out of control that a neighbour called the police who, when they came, broke it up.

"This is a form of religious abuse and spiritual violence. I found the experience traumatised me."

Where will it all end I wonder. And who's going to tell the fundamentalists that homosexuality is common to just about every species of animal on the earth? Odd that the Creator should have allowed this state of affairs.

A recent article in Scientific American considered whether homosexuality might have an important role to play in the evolution of species – including our own.

In short, if the evangelical "exorcists" are trying to eradicate homosexuality then they could have their hands full. I mean to say: how does one go about exorcising a gay rabbit, or a dung-beetle with superior taste in interior decorating?

Tired of being gay? Have yourself exorcised.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before somebody tried it. A religious community in Connecticut attempted to exorcise the "demon" of homosexuality from a young man. Here's how CBS News reported it:

The video shows the 16-year-old boy lying on the floor, his body convulsing, as elders of a small Connecticut church cast a "homosexual demon" from his body.

"Rip it from his throat!" a woman yells. "Come on, you homosexual demon! You homosexual spirit, we call you out right now! Loose your grip, Lucifer!"

The 20-minute video posted on YouTube by Manifested Glory Ministries is being called abuse by gay and youth advocates, who are demanding an investigation. But a church official this week denied that the teenager was injured or that the church is prejudiced.

"We believe a man should be with a woman and a woman should be with a man," the Rev. Patricia McKinney told The Associated Press. "We have nothing against homosexuals. I just don't agree with their lifestyle."

The church posted the video on YouTube but has since removed it; it is still available on some Web sites that copied it. The church declined to make the video available for distribution by The Associated Press.

It shows church members standing the youth on his feet by holding him under his arms, and people shouting as organ music plays.

"Come out of his belly," someone commands. "It's in the belly _ push."

Later, the teenager is back on the floor, breathing heavily. Then he's coughing and apparently vomiting into a bag.

"Get another bag," a participant says. "Make sure you have your gloves."

As the youth lay back on the ground, limp, church members put a white sheet over him.

It's nearly impossible to say how often similar exercises occur in churches nationwide. But Kamora Herrington, who runs a mentoring program at True Colors and has worked with the youth, said she believes it's fairly common.

"This happens all the time," she said. "This is not isolated."

Robin McHaelin, executive director of True Colors, an advocacy group for gay youths, said her organization is aware of five cases in recent years in which youths in her program were threatened with exorcism.

In one case, she said, a child called to report that his caregiver had called a priest who was throwing holy water on his bedroom door.

"I think it's horrifying," McHaelin said of the video by Manifested Glory. "What saddens me is the people that are doing this think they are doing something in the kid's best interests, when in fact they're murdering his spirit."

McHaelin said she planned to report the situation to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. An agency spokesman said the agency does not comment on complaints or investigations.

"They have this kid in a full nelson," she said. "That just seems abusive to me."

McKinney said the youth was 18. The boy confirmed he is 16 but otherwise declined to comment, citing the advice of his pastor.

McHaelin said the boy told her staff that the church performed the ritual three times at his request. She said the boy has been engaging in risky behavior that she blames on the church's treatment.

McKinney said the youth went to the church last year and collapsed on the floor during a service.

"He was out of control in the church," she said. "This young man came to us. We didn't go to him."

McKinney denied the ritual was an exorcism, describing it instead as a casting out of spirits. She said the church took care of the youth, providing him clothes.

"He was dressing like a woman and everything. And he didn't want to be like that," McKinney said.

The teen had been in reform school for stealing but was eager to get out and go to the church to have what he thought were his demons driven out, Herrington said.

Exodus International, a Christian group that believes gays can become straight through prayer and counseling, does not advocate the church's approach, said Jeff Buchanan, director of church equipping.

The Rev. Roland Stringfellow, a minister in Oakland, Calif., said he was subject t demon casting in the 1990s when he was at a Baptist church and was struggling with his sexuality. He said he was put in front of the church as members shouted "demon of homosexuality come out of him."

"It caused nothing but shame and embarrassment," Stringfellow said.

McKinney also has a weekly radio program. She talked on Wednesday's program about being "persecuted" in recent days but did not mention the video specifically.

"It's been a hard time for me, but I'm looking good and I'm standing strong because when you have a mandate like mine you're not going to say what you want without the adversary coming after you," she said. "If you are a true prophet you're not going to be popular with the people."

Indeed. I couldn't help noticing that most of the congregation were, er, big. Wonder how long it'll be before somebody decides to exorcise the "foul demon of fat". Or perhaps that would make the true prophet even more unpopular.