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life<br />
DEAR<br />
I.L.M.G.S.<br />
Dear Allie,<br />
I’m writing because I’m concerned<br />
about my twin sister. We are high<br />
school freshmen living in a small<br />
Tennessee town. My sister is gay, and<br />
I’ve known that just about as long as<br />
there was anything to know. I never<br />
thought it was much of a big deal.<br />
Our parents are super supportive,<br />
and she’s never had any problems<br />
or bullying about it at school. So, I<br />
was completely shocked the other<br />
day when I found pamphlets in her<br />
purse about “counseling for unwanted<br />
same-sex attractions.” They were for<br />
a pray-away-the-gay program. I didn’t<br />
even know that was still a thing. When<br />
I confronted her about them, she told<br />
me to stay out of it, that she was just<br />
so lonely, and that I didn’t know what<br />
it was like. I don’t know what to do.<br />
How can I help her?<br />
Yours,<br />
I Love My Gay Twin Sister<br />
Dear ILMGTS,<br />
I am so glad you are reaching out.<br />
It sounds like your sister really needs<br />
your love and support right now. Let<br />
me see if I can help.<br />
PRAY FOR THEIR HAPPINESS, NOT AGAINST, THEIR<br />
LGBT IDENTITY<br />
by Sarah Rutledge Fischer<br />
As I think you already know, “conversion therapy” (also known<br />
by the deceptive term “reparative therapy”) has been proven<br />
over and over to be ineffective and extremely dangerous.<br />
Unfortunately, ongoing societal bias and discrimination against<br />
LGBT people means that some of these programs have<br />
continued to thrive. Young people, like your sister, are especially<br />
vulnerable to conversion therapy and usually come out the<br />
other side deeply damaged. Before talking further with your<br />
sister, take a minute to educate yourself on the details. A great<br />
place to start is on the Human Rights Campaign website with<br />
a piece titled, The Lies and Dangers of Efforts to Change<br />
Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (http://www.hrc.org/<br />
resources/the-lies-and-dangers-of-reparative-therapy).<br />
Now, let’s talk about your parents. Your sister is beyond<br />
lucky to have parents who accept and support her LGBT<br />
identity. It is very importatnt that you get them in on this<br />
conversation. If you aren’t sure how to bring your parents<br />
into the conversation, you can start by showing them this<br />
column. If your sister truly is looking into such a harmful<br />
option, she is likely dealing with some very difficult selfimage<br />
issues. It might be time for your parents to help her<br />
find an LGBT-positive counselor to help her navigate her<br />
teenage years.<br />
Now, your sister did give you one big hint about what<br />
Page 8 / focusmidsouth.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2017</strong> / Imagine
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