from Social Issues

BBC Journalist Wants
To Go Straight

August 10, 2005 - BBC journalist David Akinsanya has lived as a gay male for the past 24 years, but he has gone on a quest to become straight. He is tired of the gay lifestyle and wants to settle down with a wife and have children, but so far his quest has not been successful. Akinsanya's journey is chronicled in The Independent of London (August 8, 2005).

Akinsanya traveled to Memphis, Tennessee this past year to attend a program sponsored by Love in Action, a ministry to individuals struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions. He left the program after four days because he realized that he didn't have the religious convictions needed to continue through Love in Action's ministry.

Akinsanya is blunt: "....I don't want to sound ridiculous, but I simply don't want to be gay any more. ... There are gay couples who have children, but I don't want to be one of them, as I don't think it's fair on the child. I will not bring a child into a situation where he or she may be ridiculed, whether that's politically correct thing to say or not."

He says his journey to learn about the possibility of sexual orientation change has "led me to think that sexuality can and does change over time. I can't necessarily force a change at the very moment I would like it to happen."