of a gutter in San V Francisco and brings [5 I .7111? .904 §4utld: fl 5,000! on 1/12 [ x -9011; ‘Wloimmnni by Jtilr flannam REVIEWED BY JOEL NICHOLS The God Squad.’ A Spoof on the Ex-Gay Movement by Rik Isensee is blessed with a catchy title and funny topic. Isensee, a San 3‘ Francisco based. psy- chotherapist, based this book on his expe- I I I rience with clients who have made it out of ex-gay treatment centers and have natu- rally become ex-ex gays. _ The God Squad _' V focuses on a young man named Paul, whom the Reverend Sly Slocock picks out I to his ranch called Escape to convert. _ , In the course of the 5- " book, the reader meets ,4 .q A a set of enjoyable characters that includes a young black drag queen, ai bible-freak twink, and a dyke named Sheila ~ Paul’s fellow “converted”. The cast is round- ed out by Reverend Slocock, his sister and partner in spirit, Ruth, and a HomoNation activist named Jimmy. The characters are simple; I did not find myself thinking about them after the book. A spoof has to induct the reader into a world that, at first glance, seems real, but filled with people who act too ridicu- lous to be real. Characters in a spoof need to behave in the most inane fashion to commu- nicate their world to the audi- ence. At times, these people seem to know they’re in a To learn more about: . - HIV testing - Benefits of knowing your HIV status - Treatment, support and counsefing options C L = I: 3: E5 3 8:. 3 <3‘ EE Call Vermont AIDS Hotline I -800-882-AIDS spoof about ex-gays and the sham cannot" be carried off. Once the reader no longer believes that the world of the spoof could be real, it is not much of a spoof. the ridiculousness and hypocrisy of the ex-gay move- ment by showing the relation- ship develop between the newly-straight Paul and the queer activist, Jimmy, who meet while protesting the Pride Parade. He shows some con- fused gays struggling with their parents’ spirituality, oth- ers who joined to be thorns in the side of conversion, and oth- ers who just passed out in a gutter and ended up straight. Reverend’s treatment using a virtual reality machine which recreates a Greek orgy to test and rein- forces the boys’ heterosexuali- ty. How’ the bonfires, wine, and writhing men help the boys turn straight is unclear, but it is a’ method Rev. Slocock brings to the big conference of ex-gay ministries to try and sell to other treatment cen- of the sort of ridicu- lousness that exem- plifies the entire movement, captured humorously by Isensee. ' The God Squad is not the best example of a spoof brimming with hilarity and rib- busting humor, I suggest renting Christopher Guest’s film, Waiting for Guflman, and laugh- ing your way through the commu- nity theater antics of Corky St. Clair if that is what you are expecting. If you do, however, want to have a good time reading a funny portrait of a movement so silly it is called “ex-gay” (why not just cut, to the chase and call them what they really are, the “now-sad” movement), T Rik Isensee’s book is well writ- ten, funny, and full of cute moments that made me smile. Isensee has tried to picture Joel studies German and Linguistics at Wesleyan Universityin Illiddletown, CT One of my favorite glimpses He is originally from Brandon, into the contradiction inherent VT the~ movement is the groundbreaking '9 Q45’ & giaceé’ DISNEY GAY DAYS 2001 May 31-June 3 Orlando, FL Basic packages from $225 pp/do Includes: Round-trip air, 3 nights hotel, gay day guide, scheduled transportation, taxes & more! Deluxe packages from $499 pp/do Includes: Round-trip air, 3 nights hotel, transfers, park passes, gay day guide, taxes & more! www.GAYTRAVELZ.com E-mail: TravlgrrI@aol.com 7 1 -800-842-4753 The First All-Gay Hawaii Cruise March 17-21, 2002 from $1099 pp/do Details coming soonl Call to have your name added to mailing list to receve info tirstll ALOHA! OAY & LESBIAN TOURS/CRUISES . London ‘Mardi Gras-6/29-7/2 from $399 pp/do - Floating Pride Amsterdam-8/2-6 from $1295 pp/d - Disneyland CA Gay Days 2001-10/5-7 from $389 pp/do - Club Atlantis-Puarto Vallarta-11/3-10 from $699 pp/d - World's Largest All-Gay Cru|se- LA - Mexico 2/15-25 2002-from $1099 pp/do - Universal Studios Orlando, FL- Hard Rock Hotel Includes: 3 nights hotel, park passes, transfers & more! INTRODUCTORYSPECIAL from $339 pp/do New England's 100% Gay Owned & Operated Travel Agency ters. It is an example __ & may 2001 OITl‘1 - 21 i .i:;l-,.! . 4.1 .,_,,...., of blessings and X «- V ,, ender ges/tu‘r_es_,flanl« M- ’ vuamumifis. Quality Workmanship Best References V __ Van Stowell, Owner/Contractor 13 Austin Road, Fairfax, Vermont 05454 ' (802) 849-9908