Peterson Toscano
Encyclopedia
Peterson Toscano is a playwright
, an actor
, a blog
ger, a stand-up comedian, and a gay activist. Before accepting his gay orientation, he spent nearly two decades submitting to ex-gay
treatment and conversion therapy designed to alter his gay orientation and gender differences. He eventually came out as a gay man and has since shared his experience in the US and internationally through original plays and the media.
beliefs, Peterson Toscano spent seventeen years in the ex-gay movement attempting to alter his sexual orientation
through conversion therapy and faith-based ex-gay programs. In addition to receiving pastoral counseling (in Pennsylvania
, New York
, Ecuador
), conversion therapy (Colorado
, England
), and discipleship training, he attended several ex-gay programs including Life Ministries in New York City
(1983–1991) and the residential ex-gay program Love in Action
in Memphis
, Tennessee
(July 1996-October 1998).
The conflict between his beliefs and his sexuality led him to consider suicide
. He has stated that his experiences in Love in Action
"felt like... a biblically induced coma
". He came out as a gay man in December 1998 and now presents his LGBT
-affirming message through theater and talks at universities, schools, conferences, churches, gay clubs, theaters and on-line through blogs and YouTube
videos. He currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut
and is a member of the Religious Society of Friends
(Quaker).
In February 2003, Toscano premiered his one-man satire Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House in Memphis, TN and from that time until he retired it in February 2008, he performed it and spoke about the potential dangers of conversion therapy at venues throughout North America, in Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Cameroon, and South Africa. Doin' Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House is now available on DVD
.
Toscano's other works include Queer 101—Now I Know My gAy,B,Cs, How the Indians Discovered Columbus, Footprints—An Inspirational Comedy, The Re-Education of George W. Bush, and Transfigurations—Transgressing Gender in the Bible, a play about transgender
and gender-variant Bible characters.
He has presented at universities in North America including American University
, Rice University
, Colgate University
, McGill University
, University of British Columbia
, Earlham College
, University of Illinois, Bard College
and James Madison University
. In the UK he has presented at several universities including University of Cambridge
, University of York
, University of Bradford
, Bishop Grosseteste University College and University of Southampton
. He has been featured at many conferences including Gender Odyssey, Coalition of Essential Schools Conference, California Transgender Leadership Summit, True Colors Conference, Women's History Conference at Sarah Lawrence College
, Lavender Language Conference, Friends General Conference
, and International Conference on Language, Literature and Identity at University of Yaounde
, Cameroon
.
facility in Memphis, TN. Zach Stark, a 16 year-old-boy was placed against his will into Refuge, Love in Action's program for youth. Before he entered, he sent out a MySpace
bulletin alerting his friends that he will be forced to receive conversion therapy. The state of Tennessee
launched a series of investigations, and the protests received international news coverage. (Although the Love in Action adult program continues today, in June 2007 Love in Action discontinued Refuge.)
In April 2007, together with Christine Bakke
, Toscano launched Beyond Ex-Gay
, an on-line support group
for people who are now Ex-ex-gay
. Toscano also helped organize the Ex-Gay Survivor Conference held June 28-July 1, 2007 in Irvine, CA. As part of the conference three former Exodus ex-gay
leaders came forward to issue a public apology for their roles in promoting and providing conversion therapy.
In response to a Memphis-area ex-gay
conference organized by Colorado Springs, CO-based Focus on the Family
, in February 2008, Toscano along with Christine Bakke
and other ex-ex-gay
s in the Mid-South
and throughout the country organized a response called Deconstructing the Ex-Gay Myth—A Weekend of Art and Action. Toscano shared some of his story in the local media and presented two of his plays. He also led workshops at an ex-gay survivor gathering.
Toscano helped organize an international conference held in Catalonia
on May 30, 2008 at the University of Barcelona
. The conference, Teràpies reparatives per l’homosexualitat—Perquè existeixen i quins perills impliquen (Gay to Straight Therapies—The reasons they exist and their potential harm) highlighted the potential dangers of conversion therapy and gave mental health professionals, scholars, clergy and concerned citizens the opportunity to hear from people directly affected by these therapies as well as experts in the field of psychology.
As a grand marshal
of the Mid-South Pride
parade, Peterson Toscano returned to Memphis, TN in June 2008, where he had been a resident of the Love in Action
program [ex-gay] program 10 years prior. In July 2008 Toscano presented his plays The Re-Education of George W. Bush and Transfigurations-Transgressing Gender in the Bible in Malta
where he also spoke out about conversion therapy.
He has served as an outspoken critic of the ex-gay movement in the UK. In August 2006 at the Greenbelt Festival
he presented a talk about his own ex-gay
experiences and personal journey. In July 2008 he offered two talks at the 2008 Lambeth Conference in Kent where he discussed being "gay and Christian" and about the dangers of conversion therapy. In an article for the British newspaper The Times
article Toscano spoke of the ex-gay movement in Great Britain. '“It is a far more subtle seduction over here,” he says. Toscano claims that therapists in Britain - who he says tried to exorcise his gay demons in Kidderminster, in the West Midlands - nearly drove him to suicide.'
In December 2008 Toscano traveled to South Africa
and highlighted the potential dangers in receiving conversion therapy. He made his South African premiere on January 7, 2009 in Cape Town
.
An active member of the Religious Society of Friends
--Quaker with an endorsed minute to travel in ministry, Toscano states that his non-violent approach in his work seeks to expose injustice without attacking anti-gay
activists. He believes that gay community needs to do more to accept LGBT
people of faith, and by doing so will help to lesson the popularity of conversion therapy groups. He told news website
Salon.com
, "If we took better care of our own, we would put these programs out of business".
, PBS In the Life
, PRI
To the Point
, Connecticut Public Radio
Where We Live (PRNDI Award winning episode), BBC Radio Ulster
Sunday Sequence and BBC World Service
Reporting Religion.
In addition to print, television and radio, Toscano appears various documentary films including the 2005 documentary film Fish Can't Fly, which explores the conflict that many lesbians and gays have had with their Christian faith and the 2008 Canadian documentary Cure for Love.
Toscano is also an active contributor to the Gay Christian Network
and Trans-Ponder Podcast.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, a stand-up comedian, and a gay activist. Before accepting his gay orientation, he spent nearly two decades submitting to ex-gay
Ex-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
treatment and conversion therapy designed to alter his gay orientation and gender differences. He eventually came out as a gay man and has since shared his experience in the US and internationally through original plays and the media.
Ex-Gay Experiences
Because of his conservative ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
beliefs, Peterson Toscano spent seventeen years in the ex-gay movement attempting to alter his sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
through conversion therapy and faith-based ex-gay programs. In addition to receiving pastoral counseling (in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
), conversion therapy (Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
), and discipleship training, he attended several ex-gay programs including Life Ministries in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1983–1991) and the residential ex-gay program Love in Action
Love In Action
Love In Action is an ex-gay, Christian ministry founded in 1973 by Frank Worthen, John Evans, and Kent Philpott. The program was originally founded in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco.-History:...
in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
(July 1996-October 1998).
The conflict between his beliefs and his sexuality led him to consider suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. He has stated that his experiences in Love in Action
Love In Action
Love In Action is an ex-gay, Christian ministry founded in 1973 by Frank Worthen, John Evans, and Kent Philpott. The program was originally founded in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco.-History:...
"felt like... a biblically induced coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
". He came out as a gay man in December 1998 and now presents his LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
-affirming message through theater and talks at universities, schools, conferences, churches, gay clubs, theaters and on-line through blogs and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos. He currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
and is a member of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quaker).
I had an aversion to being gay because of the aversion I experienced in the world around me. Now I see that a gay orientation and gender diversity are normal phenomena in the natural world and throughout human history. -Peterson Toscano: Pink News April 20, 2009 |
Performance Work
Toscano performs original one-person comedies that often draw on his own experiences. In his plays he incorporates Biblical texts, historical events, interviews he has conducted, and poetry. Toscano's performance style incorporates character acting, comedy, storytelling, and drama.In February 2003, Toscano premiered his one-man satire Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House in Memphis, TN and from that time until he retired it in February 2008, he performed it and spoke about the potential dangers of conversion therapy at venues throughout North America, in Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Cameroon, and South Africa. Doin' Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House is now available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Phallic Fruit Fetish A "disorder" popularized by gay Quaker performing artist Peterson Toscano in his play "Doin' Time the Homonomo Halfway House" about his time spent as a patient in a Christian residential program to "cure" gay people. Another resident in the program suffered from Phallic Fruit Fetish (or PFF) and had a persistent desire to commit sexual acts with phallically shaped fruits. The problem was alleviated when all phallic shaped fruits were removed from the facility. —Daniel Gonzales: Urban Dictionary |
The play is intelligently written, hysterical at times, poignant, and most of all, deeply spiritual because of its underlying themes of self-examination and self acceptance...Toscano’s acting skills as well as the format of the piece recall the one-woman shows of Lily Tomlin Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in... and Whoopi Goldberg Whoopi Goldberg Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won... whose character studies unearth the neurotic complications in all of us. — John W. Sykes: in newsweekly |
Toscano's other works include Queer 101—Now I Know My gAy,B,Cs, How the Indians Discovered Columbus, Footprints—An Inspirational Comedy, The Re-Education of George W. Bush, and Transfigurations—Transgressing Gender in the Bible, a play about transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
and gender-variant Bible characters.
He has presented at universities in North America including American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
, Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
, Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
, McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, Earlham College
Earlham College
Earlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
, University of Illinois, Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
and James Madison University
James Madison University
James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...
. In the UK he has presented at several universities including University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
, Bishop Grosseteste University College and University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
. He has been featured at many conferences including Gender Odyssey, Coalition of Essential Schools Conference, California Transgender Leadership Summit, True Colors Conference, Women's History Conference at Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, Lavender Language Conference, Friends General Conference
Friends General Conference
Friends General Conference is a North American Quaker organization primarily serving the Quaker yearly and monthly meetings in the United States and Canada that choose to be members...
, and International Conference on Language, Literature and Identity at University of Yaounde
University of Yaoundé
The University of Yaoundé is a leading university in Cameroon, located in Yaoundé.It was built with the help of France and opened in 1962 as the Federal University of Yaoundé, dropping the "Federal" in 1972 when the country was reorganized....
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
.
Activism in the USA and Internationally
In June 2005 the Queer Action Coalition invited Peterson Toscano to join them for a series of protests outside the Love in ActionLove In Action
Love In Action is an ex-gay, Christian ministry founded in 1973 by Frank Worthen, John Evans, and Kent Philpott. The program was originally founded in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco.-History:...
facility in Memphis, TN. Zach Stark, a 16 year-old-boy was placed against his will into Refuge, Love in Action's program for youth. Before he entered, he sent out a MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
bulletin alerting his friends that he will be forced to receive conversion therapy. The state of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
launched a series of investigations, and the protests received international news coverage. (Although the Love in Action adult program continues today, in June 2007 Love in Action discontinued Refuge.)
In April 2007, together with Christine Bakke
Christine Bakke
Christine Bakke spent four years in the ex-gay movement attempting to alter her sexual orientation through conversion therapy...
, Toscano launched Beyond Ex-Gay
Beyond Ex-Gay
Beyond Ex-Gay, or bXg, is a website devoted to people who at one time participated in the ex-gay movement in an attempt to change their sexual orientation to heterosexual, but who then later went on to acknowledge their sexual orientation as falling under the LGBT umbrella. These people are also...
, an on-line support group
Support group
In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...
for people who are now Ex-ex-gay
Ex-ex-gay
The term ex-ex-gay is used to describe people who at one time participated in the ex-gay movement in an attempt to change their sexual orientation to heterosexual, but who then later went on to publicly accept that their sexual orientation falls under the LGBT umbrella...
. Toscano also helped organize the Ex-Gay Survivor Conference held June 28-July 1, 2007 in Irvine, CA. As part of the conference three former Exodus ex-gay
Ex-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
leaders came forward to issue a public apology for their roles in promoting and providing conversion therapy.
In response to a Memphis-area ex-gay
Ex-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
conference organized by Colorado Springs, CO-based Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
, in February 2008, Toscano along with Christine Bakke
Christine Bakke
Christine Bakke spent four years in the ex-gay movement attempting to alter her sexual orientation through conversion therapy...
and other ex-ex-gay
Ex-ex-gay
The term ex-ex-gay is used to describe people who at one time participated in the ex-gay movement in an attempt to change their sexual orientation to heterosexual, but who then later went on to publicly accept that their sexual orientation falls under the LGBT umbrella...
s in the Mid-South
East South Central States
The East South Central States constitute one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions of the United States.Four states make up the division: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee...
and throughout the country organized a response called Deconstructing the Ex-Gay Myth—A Weekend of Art and Action. Toscano shared some of his story in the local media and presented two of his plays. He also led workshops at an ex-gay survivor gathering.
Toscano helped organize an international conference held in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
on May 30, 2008 at the University of Barcelona
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, LERU, European University Association, Mediterranean Universities Union, International Research Universities Network and Vives Network...
. The conference, Teràpies reparatives per l’homosexualitat—Perquè existeixen i quins perills impliquen (Gay to Straight Therapies—The reasons they exist and their potential harm) highlighted the potential dangers of conversion therapy and gave mental health professionals, scholars, clergy and concerned citizens the opportunity to hear from people directly affected by these therapies as well as experts in the field of psychology.
As a grand marshal
Grand Marshal
Grand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders...
of the Mid-South Pride
Mid-South Pride
Mid-South Pride is a non-profit corporation located in Memphis, Tennessee. Mid-South Pride was founded in May 2004, to take over the work formerly done by Memphis Pride...
parade, Peterson Toscano returned to Memphis, TN in June 2008, where he had been a resident of the Love in Action
Love In Action
Love In Action is an ex-gay, Christian ministry founded in 1973 by Frank Worthen, John Evans, and Kent Philpott. The program was originally founded in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco.-History:...
program [ex-gay] program 10 years prior. In July 2008 Toscano presented his plays The Re-Education of George W. Bush and Transfigurations-Transgressing Gender in the Bible in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
where he also spoke out about conversion therapy.
He has served as an outspoken critic of the ex-gay movement in the UK. In August 2006 at the Greenbelt Festival
Greenbelt festival
Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown from a Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young Christians to its current more secular festival attended by around 20,000 - Christians and non-Christians.The festival...
he presented a talk about his own ex-gay
Ex-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that seek to get people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires, to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship...
experiences and personal journey. In July 2008 he offered two talks at the 2008 Lambeth Conference in Kent where he discussed being "gay and Christian" and about the dangers of conversion therapy. In an article for the British newspaper The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
article Toscano spoke of the ex-gay movement in Great Britain. '“It is a far more subtle seduction over here,” he says. Toscano claims that therapists in Britain - who he says tried to exorcise his gay demons in Kidderminster, in the West Midlands - nearly drove him to suicide.'
In December 2008 Toscano traveled to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and highlighted the potential dangers in receiving conversion therapy. He made his South African premiere on January 7, 2009 in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
.
An active member of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
--Quaker with an endorsed minute to travel in ministry, Toscano states that his non-violent approach in his work seeks to expose injustice without attacking anti-gay
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
activists. He believes that gay community needs to do more to accept LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people of faith, and by doing so will help to lesson the popularity of conversion therapy groups. He told news website
Advocacy journalism
Advocacy journalism is a genre of journalism that intentionally and transparently adopts a non-objective viewpoint, usually for some social or political purpose. Because it is intended to be factual, it is distinguished from propaganda...
Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, "If we took better care of our own, we would put these programs out of business".
Media
Peterson Toscano was featured in the second season the "Be Real" program on Logo TV, and has appeared on several TV and radio programs including the Tyra Banks Show, the Montel Williams Show, Faith Under FireFaith Under Fire
Faith Under Fire is a television series that aired every Saturday at 10pm EST on PAX TV and was hosted by Lee Strobel. In the main segments, two guests would discuss current issues related to Christianity. In segments following commercial breaks, people on the street were interviewed on the same...
, PBS In the Life
In The Life
In the Life is a gay and lesbian television newsmagazine that is broadcast on PBS. It is one of public television's premiere educational programs and is nearing its 15th season on national broadcast...
, PRI
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
To the Point
To the Point
To the Point is an hour-long public affairs radio program co-produced by KCRW in Santa Monica, California and Public Radio International. The program originates at KCRW at 12 pm Pacific Time each weekday. Award-winning journalist Warren Olney hosts the show; it is syndicated nationwide by PRI and...
, Connecticut Public Radio
Connecticut Public Radio
Additionally, WECS, Eastern Connecticut State University's campus station, simulcasts the network's feeds of Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Car Talk.-External links:*...
Where We Live (PRNDI Award winning episode), BBC Radio Ulster
BBC Radio Ulster
BBC Radio Ulster is one of two Northern Irish BBC radio stations, the other being BBC Radio Foyle located in the city of Derry. BBC Radio Ulster is located at Broadcasting House in the Ormeau Avenue area of Belfast city centre...
Sunday Sequence and BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
Reporting Religion.
In addition to print, television and radio, Toscano appears various documentary films including the 2005 documentary film Fish Can't Fly, which explores the conflict that many lesbians and gays have had with their Christian faith and the 2008 Canadian documentary Cure for Love.
Toscano is also an active contributor to the Gay Christian Network
Gay Christian Network
The Gay Christian Network, popularly called GCN, is a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight ally organization and ecumenical Christian ministry founded in 2001 by Justin Lee and administered from Raleigh, North Carolina in the United States....
and Trans-Ponder Podcast.
External links
- Official site
- Beyond Ex-Gay, a support website co-run by Toscano and Christine BakkeChristine BakkeChristine Bakke spent four years in the ex-gay movement attempting to alter her sexual orientation through conversion therapy...
, for people coming out of ex-gay experiences.