RetributionRyan

Please, please, do not let this kid attend any type of "gay to straight" correctional sessions. The parents are the major problem in this instance, and the family needs to step up and not stop putting pressure on them to accept him for who he is. There exists ton of data that shows the terrible psychological effects these sessions can have on kids (CA just banned this type of therapy); maybe that will prevent them from taking action. If religion is their major concern, there is a huge gay accepting Christian world that will help talk to these parents and show them that being gay doesn't run contrary to the Bible. Look up some in your area that can talk to them. If he goes, it can really hurt him.

If all else fails, please make sure he understands that you are there for him. Let him know that above all else, you have his back and that the world is a much more accepting place than his parents. If he goes, which you should do everything you can to ensure he doesn't, your family has to be there for him and continue working on his parents. Therapy sucks, but having non-accepting parents is what gets you.

It has been a long and emotionally difficult battle concerning my mom and my sexuality, but I think she's finally coming to accept it to the best of her abilities. We never talk about it, and I'm sure it still stresses her out, and I have some resentment for all of the insecurity I had to deal with, but we function still. It's hard to feel at home when you're not accepted. I have yet to tell any extended family, as they would outright reject me.

Now that I'm older, I'm pretty salty with the Christian church (at least, my exposure with it). It seems to excuse a lot of hate where I come from, so I consider myself a type of Deist. I think that if such a god did exist that the Christians claim to know, he would frown upon those that use the faith to hate upon a minority so fiercely.

In some ways, absolutely. It made me feel like a defective toy that has something wrong that must be fixed and can mess some people up pretty seriously. It made me think I was going to rot in hell if I didn't become straight, which is some pretty heavy shit for a young teen to bear. Luckily, I didn't buy into it too much and got out fairly early.

My father fled the country when I was in elementary school, and has been in jail for quite a few years now...my family is, er, interesting. He calls me from jail though (my mom must have told him I'm gay) and is surprisingly open to it.