The folks at Exodus International have made it their mission to renounce gay and become ex-gay …  Yet this blooper video on their official Vimeo page suggests they doth protest too much, methinks.

Exodus International is one of those oddball ex-gay organisations who think that gay is bad, a “lifestyle choice”, and therefore something that must be actively turned away from. “Mobilizing the body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality,” is how they define their mission. Without irony. That’s certainly a tongue-twister, for a start.

I assumed it was run by a coven of uptight New Christian Right proselytisers – you know the type, always crying victim when talking about gay rights because it gets in the way of their victimising of others. Think the dread Linda Harvey. (Whisper her name!) Yet the videos that Exodus International turn out show a public face that is as flaming as a row of burning bushes.

I don’t want to come off as essentialist – you can have uncommonly camp straight man, after all, look at Bruce Forsyth – but these men are far gayer than most of the gay men I know. They clutch their imaginary pearls when they make a mistake and exclaim with a wild abandon. Sweet Jesus, Mary! They may not love their gay selves, but their gay selves clearly still love them.

It’s a disturbing thought, but is this the logical end of assimilation? Acceptance followed by integration = denial. I hope not. Let the people at Exodus International serve as a cautionary tale. And love your queer self.

Exodus Week-End Review Blooper Reel for 2012 from Exodus International on Vimeo.