Check out the video he did, telling about his experiences with his family and his attempt to change his sexual orientation. (TRIGGER WARNING: Attempted suicide, extreme “conversion therapy” methods, physical and emotional abuse.)
Fortunately, many of us do not have experiences as severe or extreme as Samuel’s. However, some of themes are the familiar:
- The sense of hopelessness
- The feeling that we have to change to earn the love of those around us
- The confusion turning into shame
According to BTB (where I found the video), Sam is currently a college student. This means that his story is something that happened in the past two decades, quite possibly since the year 2000. This is not a story from the 1950’s or even the 1970’s. So remember this whenever someone says QUILTBAG people aren’t treated horribly today.