October 4, 2012
Man Spent $30,000 in Exorcisms to 'Cure' Himself of Being Gay
Chris Sosa READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Peterson Toscano, a 47-year-old man from New York, said in an interview with the BBC that it took him 17 years and $30,000 spent on "ex-gay" conversion therapy to finally accept his sexuality.
During that time, Toscano participated in three different conversion therapy treatments. In his last attempt he even traveled overseas to England to undergo a failed exorcism in the West Midlands. It was the last attempt, he said, to strip away the "gay demons" from his body.
"I was doing something spiritually and morally wrong that I would be punished for in the afterlife. And so there was a lot of fear and terrible desperation." Toscano, who grew up in a devout Christian family and attended an evangelical school, told the BBC.
He now calls himself an "ex-gay therapy survivor" and says he's against the treatment.
"That sort of teaching is psychologically damaging, especially to young people," he said.
Gay cures are being banned worldwide. California recently approved a law banning parents from subjecting their children to such therapy, according to the Gay Star News.
Also, part of World Health Organization has condemned "gay cures" as dangerous and lacking medical justification.
