Closer Look: The Low down on Charlene Cothran!!!

It's time to take closer look at this interview that Charlene Cothran, an self-proclaimed ex-lesbian, publisher of the African-American GLBT Venus Magazine.
Since Charlene made the announcement of her sudden change, the "pro-family" movement has been using her story as yet another example of how gays can change. As I take a closer in this interview, we'll see if she provides any proof of change in sexual orientation.

First Part:

Cothran says she longed for peace, but even in the midst of a long-term relationship, she felt intense loneliness. She'd grown up in a Christian home, and had come into the lesbian lifestyle at 19, after several bad relationships with boys.

"I didn't want anything to do with men anymore," she said. "I was away at college and that was a whole new world, and in that world there were many, many women who were attracted to me, and, of course, I was attracted to them. And these women were nurturing, wanted to get to know me intellectually -- they were organizers whom I found a lot of comfort in. It felt good, it felt right."


Okay, what's a lesbian lifestyle? Lifestyle simply means a way a person lives. When hetersexual women are being interview, we don't say hetersexual woman lifestyle. The ignorance is getting annoying. When referring to their first gay experiences, those who have "left" homosexuality [whatever that means] ALWAYS paint the picture of a world wherein they were somehow preyed upon or pressured. In some of these reclosted gays remebrances, they make it seem like they were never aggressors, or willing participants, but rather victims of some sort of confusing or predatory situation.
While Charlene doesn't fully play the victim card, she does present the idea that if it were not for certain women who happened to have been in her midst and not for bad relationships with men, she never would have had the idea to have lesbian sex.

For those of us who know what it means to be gay, it is NOT ideas that are waiting to be trigger. If Charlene explored her sexual orientation in college, which is quote common, as it is the first chance that many are given to truly know and express themselves. No matter how lovely, nurturing, or intellectual the women, it wouldn't have "felt good" or "felt right" unless she actually had these feelings!

Second Part: "When the Lord saved me, I knew everything would change," she said. "All of the ads, the editorials, the mission of the magazine had changed. We're going to be calling people out of homosexuality."

Most of the response from the gay and lesbian community has been fierce and negative. But she says she knows that many of them are just as conflicted as she was.

Cothran said, "In order to fill up this empty space, they pretend to put on this wonderful face, 'how gay and happy I am,' when in fact -- there's a lot of loneliness in the gay community that's not talked about, and it's real."

Well, what did you expect hugs, and kisses. I don't think so! Putting gays on the defensive about their mental state and happiness: Another page right out of the "ex-gay"/"pro-family" playbook. They love doing that! You can't put a group of people together and tell them about their mental state. Who isn't depress? Who isn't lonely? Who isn't feeling down? It doesn't matter if it's gay or straight, there is no difference in mental state.The fact is that there is loneliness and depression in the world. The World isn't heaven, but a hell. This world affects everyone's mental state. For us gays, it's no suprise that some of our mental states are down. After all, parental abandonment, societal shunning, having to fight for basic protections, and bias-motivated violence are concepts that can weigh heavily on the human psyche. Couple that with the sort of persecution that calls gays sinners and demands that they "change," and it's actually a little shocking that any of us can smile anymore. Our weakness has become our strength.


Third Part: CBN News asked Cothran, "I know people probably ask you, do you still have feelings for women, and are you dating a man?"

Cothran replied, "I'm living a celibate life. I'm so focused on the spirit right now, that I have no urges for anyone -- man or woman."

I said this before, what does celibacy has to do with change in sexual orientation? Nothing! You are simply celibate! In another interview with blogger Clay Cane, she said she was attracted to the spirit. Do we have a new sexual minority? She's attracted to spirits and mind as well say ghosts too. This is the most amusing STORY! I love fiction! However, it's duplicitous to bring the idea of "change" or "redemption" into the picture until you have some actual physiological reason to believe that you have changed your actual physiological truth.

Fourth Part:

"Our mission now," she said, "is to educate and to turn people away from the homosexual lifestyle simply by presenting the truth. We simply want people to question what they've learned through the pages of Venus magazine over the past 13 years."

Prior to Cothran's conversion, Venus circulated about 35,000 copies per issue which ran four times a year. But after the issue featuring her testimony, the gay political machine pressured advertisers to drop the magazine. And gay pride events and college campuses no longer subscribe.

If you have a gay magazine that suddenly becomes as "ex-gay" magazine, you can't really blame "the gay political machine" [whatever the hell that is]for pressuring anyone into dropping support. Several gay media outlets are suffering and having problems. Could this be the reason why charlene is using all this tv time? Who knows, but nothing surprise me! From a purely business standpoint, why in the world would anyone think that advertisers who had placements in a pro-gay magazine would, by and large,then she brings the "ex-gay" idea in the picture, which is rejected by the vast majority of black LGBT individuals.

Part Five:

She said, "There is a joy and a peace that you can't find in a club, I don't care how good the music is. You can't find it in the middle of a gay pride parade, I don't care if you have the biggest, prettiest float. I have a joy and a peace that I wouldn't trade for anything."

What does Charlene's social behavior have to do with change in sexual orientation? It seems her social behavior needed a change, but that has NO affect on sexual orientation. Because honestly, talking about true sexual feelings in terms of pride floats and bars, is just a ridiculous line of thought. I'm laughing just typing about it! lol. Of course you can't find peace with who you are inside a bar or club. Of course you can't find peace with who you are on a pride float. You can only find peace with who you are by shutting off outside noise and listening to WHO YOU TRULY ARE!!!! Charlene hasn't shown nowhere where are sexual orientation was change, or whatever. She talks about "save me" to GOD, she may be save with her personal beliefs, but what does that have to with sexual orientation? Religious conversion deos NOT change sexual orientation. This 700 club interview shows me of what i've been saying, "you can't pray away the gay! If you are truly seeking human validation via a club or pride float (and not merely looking for fun, good times), then you are always going to come up short. Frokm all the five parts, this last one is in many ways the most telling.

Things like that does NOT bring the idea of what sexual orientation is truly all about, by introducing superficial community elements into the mix. It overlooks what we're truly talking about, which is the nature of desire and biological attraction. Gay bars and pride floats are nothing more than modern inventions, ones in which some LGBT folks choose to participate while others abstain.If Charlene wants to prove that she's changed her orientation , then she's going to have to do more than simply denounce her past community involvement! Charlene hasn't proven a thing, but those who think religious conversion can change sexual orientation really tells you alot about them. They many Christians that are gay. I'm NOT done with charlene's story yet, and when I say story, that what i mean STORY! The rest of the weekend is a break from this so-called wonderful STORY! I'm not done with STORY at all.


[updates no later than 4pm-Justice MH] h/t goodasyou.