Exposing the Cranks and Cons of the Anti-Gays with Wayne Besen

Today we talk to one of the premier activists to fight against the horrific "ex-gay" initiatives over the past few decades, Wayne Besen. Wayne Besen is an American LGBTQ+ rights activist and the founder and executive director of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization dedicated to exposing the dangers of the ex-gay movement. He is a former investigative journalist, having worked for WABI-TV, and a former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign.  In 1998, Wayne left the Human Rights Campaign to start Truth Wins Out. The organization was founded in response to the growing ex-gay movement, which claims that it is possible to change one's sexual orientation. Besen has been a tireless critic of the ex-gay movement, exposing its harmful practices and its lack of scientific evidence. Under Wayne's leadership, Truth Wins Out has become a leading voice in the fight against the ex-gay movement. The organization has published numerous reports and articles on the dangers of the ex-gay movement, and Besen has testified before Congress and state legislatures about the need to protect LGBTQ+ youth from these harmful practices. Today we discuss his new book Lies With a Straight Face: Exposing the Cranks and Cons Inside the 'Ex Gay' Industry. He is also the author of  Bashing Back: Wayne Besen on GLBT People, Politics and Culture (2007), and Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the ‘Ex-Gay’ Myth (2003).