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Hey, guys! Ryan Murphy recently talked about how his parents took him to see a psychiatrist a day after he attended his junior prom in order to “cure” him of his “homosexuality.”
Murphy said during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for his upcoming Netflix movie titled The Prom, “I went to my junior prom and the next day my parents took me to a psychiatrist to cure me.”
Reading about it made us wonder whether or not you’ve experienced this as well, which brings us to this question: Did your parents ever try to “cure” your gayness when you were younger and if so, how?
Were you, perhaps, prescribed with “prayers and no sex” as a “cure” when you came out to them when you realized you were gay? Or were you advised, like Alvin Cheung of Hong Kong, to “look ‘macho’ and avoid spending time alone with other boys?”
Ryan Murphy, by the way, is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. You’ve probably watched a lot of his works, some of which are: The Boys in the Band (2020), Eat Pray Love (2010), Glee (2009–2015), American Horror Story (2011–present), and most recently, Ratched (2020–present), and The Prom (2020).
“Thankfully, I had a really good shrink,” Murphy said. He added that after several sessions, his therapist called his parents to tell them, “You have a choice here: You can try and change him and lose him, or you can accept him and love him.”
Murphy further revealed, “When I went to my senior prom, I had been through that but I still took a girlfriend because I wasn’t allowed to come in with my fellow. The prom is very emotional for me, as you can tell.”
Moreover, Murphy said The Prom was kind of the prom he never had. “I found it very healing to be able to put those images to film. I didn’t have that,” he explained. “If only I would have had this feeling of acceptance and belonging, how different my life would have been. I felt that when we were shooting it.”
According to GLAAD, conversion therapy is “any attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”
Many mental health professionals, as well as all major national mental health organizations, are against conversion therapy because it can lead to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), homelessness, and suicide to name a few. Read more about it here.
Going back to our earlier question guys, did your parents enroll you in a conversion therapy program to “cure” you from being gay and to ensure your “salvation” just like Ryan Murphy’s parents did to him? Or did your parents accept that you’re gay right away? Share with us your thoughts and stories in the comments section below.
Growing up in a proud, religious neighborhood as a black male I knew that I had better hide my sexuality to survive. Black parents back then pretty much knew but didn’t say anything. They were in complete denial and rather not be told. They would call a gay person “funny”, They would love their gay kid as much as they love the other kids as long as they kept it to themself and didn’t act on it. So we pretty much had to suppress our feelings until we moved out from under their roof. So our parents didn’t have to… Read more »
My parents beat me for being queer. That was supposed to fix it.
Every ones kinda maken me hate being my self realy i. Hate who i am cuz every ones drove my into the ground an jus. Shit on me. Over an over. An over. An over. An over an over. An jus luaghs in my face. An then wonders y im self concious um u are me telling me. U dnt like nothing about me an rqther see me suffer as a slave well every one else gets to be free cus i actulay made something of my self. An that. I have to die every day from some fun reason.… Read more »
This is gonna be a little unique, but I was actually sent to the Caribbean nation where I was born and subjected to an exorcism at the hands of a witch doctor. To say it was traumatic is an understatement…After being confronted and subsequently coming out to my folks after completing my freshman year in college, my folks offered me a trip back under the pretence of taking a break from all the drama. Once there my dad then disclosed what was in the works. Making it all worse was the fact that the island country was having serious political… Read more »
My mom knew that little kids are horny, so she kept an eye on me when friends were around. Especially since she knew I jacked off and liked to get naked and bend over in front of the mirror. Same thing with my friends parents. By the time a couple of US could get freaky we were almost 8. Which was a good thing, as we knew what we were by then, so no Hard feelings. As long as we didn’t act like sissies our parents didn’t mind. Probably figured it kept the unwed pregnancy rate down
Oh no! Say it ain’t so, Joe!
No, as I became a teen it was something they knew, but said or did nothing about it. I actually heard my mother once say on the subject, “those white folks will do anything.” Unless it was really obvious she just wasn’t worldly enough to know. My sisters and brothers; other kids in the neighborhood probably knew I suspect, but again treated me no differently. But I was always very gifted of multifaceted: I played w/dolls as well as into the sports that all the other boys were; just as rough and tumble, rambunctious. When I moved to the other… Read more »
My family doesn’t this day that I’m gay
My mom still thinks I am “gay”, only because I haven’t tried a woman yet.
My parents never did. But my grandma and aunts told my mom I needed therapy to fix me.
Sometimes I wonder if that should have happened, because now I suffer from internalized homophobia. Often times I hate myself because I am gay. Idk what to do, therapy doesn’t seem to be helping anymore
Growing up without a father figure in my life made me wonder if his presence would’ve made an impact on me and if I would’ve ended up straight. I said to myself “If he was around would I have been straight?” Through all my childhood I was in constant fear of being found out about my sexuality because homophobia strongly existed in my family for religious reasons and in my neighborhood because of HIV fears. Homosexuals were ostracized and even beaten for even having both ears pierced, talking feminine or even walking wrong. The constant fear pretty much damaged my… Read more »
I wonder the same thing. I grew up with a redneck, stepdad that didn’t give a fuck about me.
Did not let parents in on my exciting private life. Was able to live private life away from home in my own place. Sometimes they wondered about new male friends but never questioned me
After being “caught” by my father with another boy from town, and after my mother chased me through the house with the meat cleaver….”I’ll cut that thing off”. I was sent off with their minister to a camp for 2 weeks. But so unfortunate for them, that cure didn’t work. And they sent off my brother to the Wesleyan School, tied to the church. He hid for longer then me, knowing how I was treated, and I have 3 beautiful nieces from his hideout time. Now he and I are both married to 2 great men. And that’s the short… Read more »
When I was in my early twenties, my best friend and I came out to each other. He then convinced me to join a religious group, with him, to “cure” us. I just wanted to be “normal”, so I went along with it. After six months, I knew it wasn’t working. I decided to be true to myself and to hell with anyone who didn’t like it … including my Italian Catholic family. So, I told them, ready to cut them off, if my being gay was an issue to them. I didn’t give my family enough credit. Everyone was… Read more »
My beloved Mother was a beautician…so
I had only to come out between her legs! She knew…Daddy knew…the siblings knew…the neighbors knew…the students knew…the teachers knew…in fact…all of Mankind knew… .
The day came when I went out shopping for Christmas Gifts and ran into the ultimately Christmas Gift…a 36 year old, blond-haired, blue eyed God…who asked me if I had “Any TIme” to play and I said “Yes.”
Out & About…every since…no yells; no beatings; no admonishments…free & clear!
Well my parents sent me to shrink when they found out i was gay…that was in 1976 . The first thing the doc said was “ I have gay friends “ which suggested to me that there was nothing wrong with me to start with. So in effect he end up helping me to lead a better gay life and did not try to change me in any way. I was basically a waste of his time as I was psychologically sound . Hey, he was collecting $50 bucks an hour in the 70’s that was a lot of money… Read more »
My evil grandmother was calling me a “creampuff” before I even knew what sex was. I asked her what that meant and she replied “You’re a homo, you like boys instead of girls!” I was only 5 years old. When I was 14, I got caught having sex with my brother. My stepmother went fucking berserk and beat the shit outta me. She spent the rest of her miserable life talking shit to and about me. I’m glad she’s dead, now maybe I’ll get a little peace.
Good riddance to wacko trash. The world is better off without their kind.
I had a gay brother who was 11 years older than I. He was my absolute favorite relative. But he was the one who had to take the shit. Under pressure, he enlisted in the Marines right out of High School. For him, that was a double-edged sword: On the one hand, he had entered into a brotherhood that lasted the rest of his life. On the other hand (he confessed to me years later), it was one of the biggest mistakes he made in his life. When our father saw that the USMC had not “made a man” out… Read more »