History bears witness that man has often tried to exterminate that which he didn’t understand. Be it the witch trials and burnings, persecution of men of science by the church or even conversion therapy for homosexuals. “Conversion therapy” operates under the false (and damaging) belief that homosexuality is an illness that can be cured. It’s actually banned by law in multiple U.S. states, as well as in various non-U.S. jurisdictions around the world.
David Matheson has spent a large chunk of his professional life working to “cure” people of their homosexuality. But he now sings a different tune! In a Facebook post dated Jan. 21, Matheson acknowledged that he’s a gay man.
He explained that the realization struck him about a year ago when he and his now-former wife divorced-
“Toward the end of this decline [in my marriage], I also realized that being in an intimate relationship with a man was no longer something I wanted to avoid. It had become a non-negotiable need,” he wrote.
Matheson was initially outed in a private Facebook group post from Rich Wyler, the man with whom Matheson co-created a conversion therapy program. Matheson responded to a Truth Wins Out (an LGBTQ non-profit that stands against “anti-gay religious extremism”) request for comment with a message. Take a look at his subsequent public Facebook post on the matter.
A year ago I realized I had to make substantial changes in my life. I realized I couldn’t stay in my marriage any…
Posted by David Matheson on Monday, January 21, 2019
“I used to be caught in an ideological prison of my own. I know my work helped many, many people because they’ve told me so. But I’m sure I’ve hurt some people too,” he said.
“I am truly sorry for those flaws and the harm they have surely caused some people. And I’m sorry for the confusion and pain my choice may be causing others,” he explains in the lengthy post. However, he also continues to defend his former work.
“So, what can you take from my course change? Not that I was faking it all those years or that the choice I’m making now was inevitable. Not that I’m renouncing my faith or my past work—even if I wish I could go back and change some things. Not that I condemn marriages between same-sex attracted and a straight person. And not that I’m giving up or jumping ship,” he added.
“What you can take from this is that my time in a straight marriage and in the “ex-gay” world was genuine and sincere and a rich blessing to me. I had stopped growing and I had to change. So I’ve embarked on a new life-giving path that has already started a whole new growth process,” he says.
A great number of medical organizations have denounced “conversion therapy” as a form of pseudoscience. The APA denounced such practices almost 20 years ago, in a position statement released in 2000 reports Mashable.
“The American Psychiatric Association opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as reparative or conversion therapy which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality … is a mental disorder or … that the patient should change his/her sexual homosexual orientation,” the document reads.
Among those reacting to the news was Chaim Levin, who lived through Matheson’s and Wyler’s program. Levin later participated in a lawsuit that shut down another conversion therapy effort. His statement to Truth Wins Out pretty much says it all.
“While I am pleased for Mr. Matheson that he has found a path forward for his life, I can’t help but think of the hundreds if not thousands of people who are still stuck in the closet, a closet that was created in part by Mr. Matheson himself,” says Levin.
“I hope that Mr. Matheson will do whatever he can to rectify the harm that he’s inflicted on many people in the LGBTQ community, myself included,” hopes Chaim.
Indeed, as Chris Colfer said, “There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s a lot wrong with the world you live in.” Luckily, 2019 is the age of honesty, tolerance and acceptance!