Benoit denizet-lewis my ex-gay friend
“Not everyone wants to be part of the subculture,” insists Michael Glatze (James Franco), in writer-director Justin Kelly‘s feature debut “I Am Michael.” (“I Am Michael” played at Sundance two years ago. Since then, “King Cobra,” Kelly’s second film, has been released). Glatze is trying to convince his colleagues at the San-Francisco based gay magazine XY that the “gay identity” as it is understood is limiting and should be rejected. His colleagues watch at him like they don’t know what he’s talking about, but it’s just the beginning phase of the transformation of their activist friend. Michael Glatze was (and still is) a real person, and he is the subject of “I Am Michael,” a quiet motion picture that attempts to grasp Glatze’s journey to becoming what was called in fundamentalist Christian circles an “ex-gay.” Glatze’s story always had its fascination to those looking on as it unfolded in genuine time. What happened? How could this happen?
Michael Glatze was a highly apparent member of the LGBTQ community through his serve with XY, as adequately as the magazi
UNH Today
The University of Fresh Hampshire’s Department of English is pleased to declare that celebrated author and New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis will read from his work and grasp a Q & A session at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 at the Memorial Union Building, Theatre I, on the Durham Campus, as part of the UNH Writers Series.
Denizet-Lewisis the author of three nonfiction books and numerous New York Times Magazine pieces and cover stories on sexual individuality, youth culture, sports, and dogs. His most recent book, Travels with Casey: My Journey Through Our Dog-Crazy Country, premiered on the NYT Bestseller list and was People and Time’sbook of the week. His first book, America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, was a NYT Editors’ Choice. Denizet-Lewis is a co-producer of the film “I Am Michael,” which is based on his 2011 NYT Magazine piece, “My Ex-Gay Friend.” In 2014, The Advocate named Denizet-Lewis one of the 50 most formative LGBT people working in media. Publishers Weekly described his portraits of adolescents as “stirring and sensitive” as they struggle “to articulate desire and identity while beari
The New York Times has a fascinating report about a man paying a visit to his long lost ex-gay friend. The ex-gay friend is Michael Glatze, a former homosexual who has converted to Christianity. The author is Benoit Denizet-Lewis, and he writes:
“One Saturday afternoon last winter, I drove north on Route 85 through the rolling rangeland of southeastern Wyoming. I was headed to a small town north of Cheyenne to see an elderly friend and colleague named Michael Glatze. We worked together 12 years ago at XY, a San Francisco-based national magazine for youthful gay men, support when we were young gay men ourselves… Michael was fast becoming the leading voice for gay youth until the day, in July 2007, when he announced that he was no longer gay.”
The story goes on to tell what happened during their rendezvous, and it is a fascinating study. Read the linger here.
NY Times' writer offers compelling read in 'My Ex-Gay Friend'
Regardless of your stance on the issue of gay marriage or civil unions or just homosexuality in general, this article in the New York Times magazine by Benoit Denizet-Lewis is enormously compelling and...well...incredibly personal. At its core, it's a story about how time passes, friends drift apart and people change...sometimes more drastically than one could include ever expected.
The article, "My Ex-Gay Friend," finds the openly gay Denizet-Lewis traveling to Wyoming to get together his old friend -- a once politically active and openly-gay magazine editor cum -- as Denizet-Lewis writes "a fundamentalist Christian who writes derogatorily about being gay."
And per Glatze's blog, he describes himself as "a spokesperson for healing from homosexuality after his public denunciation of the life-style choice in 2007. Michael is formerly a leader in the 'gay rights' movement, who became born-again by animation in Jesus Christ and now lives a heterosexual life free from gay sin."
As you'd expect, the meeting is tense and strained, but there are some real, raw emotions expressed here.
Since the issues of gay ma
Benoit Denizet-Lewis
Benoit Denizet-Lewis, National Fellow, is an associate professor at Emerson College and a longtime contributing writer with the New York Times Magazine. He is the author of three previous books, including America Anonymous and the New York Times bestselling Travels With Casey. As a fellow, Denizet-Lewis worked on a new novel (for William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins) about transformation and identity alter. Tentatively titled We Don’t Know You Anymore, it will explore how and why people alter their identities and belief systems, and it will confront contentious ideas about who is changeable—and who has the right to reinvention or redemption.
Selected Work
- How Do You Modify Voters’ Minds? Hold a Conversation: A feature for the New York Times Magazine about thick canvassing and the potential to cut down prejudice and combat political polarization.
- My Ex-Gay Friend: A profile for the Fresh York Times Magazine of former news writer and activist Michael Glatze, who claimed a trifecta of identity change–of his sexuality, spiritual convictions, and politics.
- Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe Anxiety?: A cover story