Alyson Stoner Reveals She Attended ‘Gay Conversion’ Therapy

[CellarDweller]

Alyson Stoner Reveals She Attended ‘Gay Conversion’ Therapy: ‘There Are Scars There’
The “Step Up” actor, who is pansexual, said the painful impact of the experience has been “measurable.”


By Curtis M. Wong


It’s been more than three years since Alyson Stoner first opened up about her sexuality in a poignant essay for Teen Vogue, but the time she spent struggling with her true self was fraught with challenges. 

Stoner, who is pansexual, spoke to Insider this week about her new memoir, “Mind Body Pride.” She revealed that she briefly attended reparative, or “gay conversion,” therapy sessions in hopes of reconciling her sexuality with her religious faith. 

“I felt like everything was wrong with me, even though I, in my heart of hearts, only desired to be a devoted follower of God,” said the actor, whose credits include “Step Up” and “Cheaper by the Dozen,” as well as Missy Elliott’s “Work It” video. “So to hear from people you trust, from people you respect, from people you might even aspire to become, that you at your core are ‘rotten,’ ‘abominable,’ that the devil has a target on your back because of your position in Hollywood ... it just sends you into a spiral, at least for me, because I just wanted to do the right thing.”

The American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have discredited so-called conversion therapy, which attempts to end or reduce people’s same-sex attraction or sexual activity.



https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alyson-st...4d34df22aa

[Cridders88]

Doing the right thing was not listening to those bigoted people. I am glad she has come out the other side, despite her experiences leaving deep scars. Organised religion can be such a dangerous thing in the hands of small minded people.