OUR LATEST ISSUE
Charlene Cothran claims that you too can be heterosexual through Jesus Christ
'Ex-gay' Charlene Cothran
Publisher of black lesbian mag Venus on being an "ex-gay"
Charlene Cothran, the founding editor and publisher of the US black lesbian magazine Venus, has given an interview about becoming an "ex-gay". Speaking to the Rev Jesse Lee Peterson, of the ultra-conservative The Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, she voiced her disapproval of gay marriage and, here, another aspect of homosexuality.
"The gay community always wants something else. It never stops. The bottom line is I want to be able to sleep with whomever I want, wherever I want, how long I want, and in front of whomever I want. They want that. They want the entire freedom to be homosexual...in the the middle of a park with no clothes on."
Charlene Cothran founded Venus in 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia, tailoring it to the interests of LGBT people of African descent, especially African-American lesbians. Following a conversion to Christianity in 2006, she changed its editorial policy and began to promote the ex-gay movement, which consists of people and organisations trying to cause members to reduce unwanted homosexual attractions, refrain from pursuing same-sex relationships, develop homosexual attractions, or enter into an opposite-sex relationship.
In a 2007 interview with Clay Cane (who asks in his lead-in whether she was just a self-hating lesbian the whole time), Cothran denies being born gay ("...it's a lie. You are not born gay"), talks about the "sin of lesbianism" and when asked if gay teens can make themselves straight through Christ says: "...yes it can happen. I'm not saying through church. I mean, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes".
Cothran on the Jesse Peterson Radio Show can be heard at www.queerty.com and her several-thousand word interview with Clay Cane is at www.claycane.net
