slate.com thinks this is sexist
Michele Bachmann continues to exist and do things we dislike and appear prominently in newspapers, magazines and websites.
For example, Bachmann is the subject of a really great New Yorker feature, entitled The Transformation of Michele Bachman, written by a sane person who spent a significant amount of time on her crazy-plane.
Also, as you probably already know, Bachmann appears on the cover of Newsweek this week and the story is getting a lot of attention not for its contents (there’s really nothing worth noting in the article) but for its cover, prominently featuring Michele Bachmann’s psychotic eyeballs and frightening facial expression. Many claim the cover is sexist and exploitative, or that it makes Michele look “unbalanced” (perhaps this is because she IS “unbalanced,” but I digress). Michele Bachmann herself, however, is so far totally okay with it. Regardless, we already hated Newsweek and we already hated Michele Bachmann.
For supplementary reading, The Atlantic Wire has a deeper investigation of the books Michele cites in the aforementioned feature articles as influencing her present political and social ideology. It should come as no surprise that in addition to revisionist history, these books and their authors often promote racist and homophobic views.
Now onward to today’s newest, freshest piece of relevant-to-your-interests news, which comes from Bachmann’s visit to Iowa, where she’s been shoring up support for her improbable reign of terror. According to MSNBC, Bachmann visited Point of Grace Church outside of Des Moines, Iowa on Sunday for a service which focused mainly on how terrible homosexuality is. Keep in mind that conservative gay group GOProud has actually said they’d vote for this woman. Just think about that.
The pastor at Point of Grace referred to homosexuality as “immoral and unnatural” and provided a “half-hour presentation on his church’s beliefs” which included zingers such as “we inherently know that homosexual behavior is immoral and unnatural” and “God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”
Later in the service, the pastor screened a testimonial video starring Adam Hood, a guy who said he was gay until having “a conversation with God” which inspired him to “stop being gay.” (In other words, a conversation with God inspired Adam Hood to relocate his homosexuality to the deepest annals of his psyche where it’ll fester/grow/develop as unchecked self-loathing, rampant self-denial, and probably rage-inducing sexual frustration.)
In the video, Hood added that his wife is nine months pregnant, which means they’ve had sex at least once. Other important quotes from this video include:
+ “I am so happy God has given me natural affection for a woman.”
+ “We need to have compassion for people that are bound by that sin. And it is a sin. Call a spade a spade.”
+ “I came from being the most extravagant homosexual, I was on ecstasy, GHB, Special K, all the drugs you can imagine, and I had one of the best looking boyfriends in the Castro, and I was celebrated, I had it all, I had it made in the shade — to becoming such a hard core on fire Christian, I am martyring for Jesus I am telling you I want it.”
If the name “Adam Hood” sounds familiar to you, it’s because you saw his video last year, when it first made its way around the blogosphere. Pam’s House Blend:
If you want to get to his marital Jeebus moment, it’s 6 minutes into the video. He spends the first part of the video talking about his early days, drug dealers, satan worshippers, etc. It’s beyond bizarre, with Hood contemplating the metaphor of taking the blue or red pill a la The Matrix, and reminiscing about having the best looking boyfriend in the Castro. This man is in serious need of help.
Bachmann also had her own special moment to shine in the great glory of God, where she read from The Book of Philippians: “Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, think well on these things.” Unfortunately she seems to have a misguided sense of what is “pure” and/or “lovely.”
[Sidenote: You know that feeling you feel when someone writes a really irritating annoying comment on an internet site that you love dearly, perhaps this one, and you just simmer there debating whether or not to comment back because it’s just SO! WRONG!? I bet that’s like how G-d feels when Michele Bachmann opens her piehole.]
According to The Winnipeg Free Press, a Rasmussen Report survey that came out Monday shows Bachmann at 22 percent and Romney at 21 from Iowa caucus-goers. It’s likely that some of this support was inspired by Michele Bachmann’s stories about growing up in Iowa and her family’s Iowan roots which are almost entirely fabricated.
However, the idea of Michele Bachmann as an actual contender for President seems, despite the numbers, wildly unlikely. Even our worst enemies are skeptical of Bachmann’s reign — According to Crooks & Liars – “Bill O’Reilly is pretty good at hiding his disdain for Michele Bachmann’s policies because he knows she’s too radical to get elected and will ultimately hurt the GOP, but he doesn’t want to alienate his Tea Party base of viewers, l which is strong. He slyly calls her beliefs into question whenever he can.”
But, as I mentioned in the beginning of this article, Bachmann has allies in unlikely places — for example, ACTUAL GAY PEOPLE:
GOProud, a gay conservative group that has built its image through identification with the Tea Party, came out recently with a statement condemning the glitter bombing of a family counseling clinic co-owned by potential Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and her husband…
Contrary to what would be expected from a group that bills itself as acting in defense of LGBT civil liberties, GOProud has behaved as though the clinic and the procedures it performs are completely irrelevant to their community, and declined to use their position to speak out against reparative therapy. Rather, their greatest concern is that some flamboyant, liberal, activist gays might make gays like themselves look bad in front of the Bachmanns.
We try to make a “point” in every post we write on Autostraddle, but I’m not really sure how to make a point out of all this.
I don’t think there is a point to be made about Michele Bachmann anymore.
She’s crazy, she makes shit up, she lies, she hates gay people, people like her anyhow, including gay people who we probably don’t like, and the simple fact that she exists is a continued reminder that America is a baffling place to live right now. What the hell is going on here, seriously.
I thoroughly enjoyed this article, thank you Riese.
That Newsweek cover is hilarious, and I’m pretty sure every picture of Bachmann should be captioned with “Queen of Rage”.
Is it just me or does that Newsweek cover seem like it would be more in place on the cover of a local business magazine? It seems really… unpolished, I think.
That video is so sad. Adam Hood does needs help, he sounds mentally ill, also that scarf he is wearing is hella gay.
Also, who screams “Jesus” while having sex with his wife? Weird.
Michelle Bachmann needs to go away. The end.
I didn’t even watch the video, I just saw the scarf and thought, “mn, Kurt Hummel would love that sh*t.”
Wait, he’s screaming a man’s name whilst having sex with his wife..? This guy is so straight.
Did he not mention that his hot ass boyfriend, Jesus, from the Castro?
I hear Jesus is one of the best-looking boyfriends in the Castro
Your cravat leaves me unconvinced, sir.
my first sexual experience was with a woman when i was seventeen. i blocked it out (seriously) and didn’t “lose my virginity” (to a man) until i was 21. i literally FORGOT about having sex with my best friend in high school until SEVERAL years later, when i started my coming out process and began to peel back the layers of homophobia/radical programming/fear/self-doubt/etc. i was raised in a very, very conservative christian home, and at one point was the spokesperson for the true love waits movement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Love_Waits (just to give you an indication of how deeply entrenched i was in the hetero/christian world). it wasn’t until i left the state i was raised in and came to north carolina that i came out and started exploring my sexuality, being queer, and what all that means. i met my best friends. i started fucking girls, and using words like “fucking”(really). i fell in love with a woman who didn’t know what to do with me and i got my heart broken a lot, confused a lot of people and myself, and then, slowly, eventually, started to figure things out. i finally came out at 25. it’s never easy with my family, and i feel like i have to “come out” every time i go home. it’s hard. this video kills me. breaks my heart. i’m just grateful, every day, that i started out in that place and moved away from it, in contrast to adam’s story. it’s hard to watch him. because i know where he’s coming from. they program you. they scare you into this ridiculous place and they use fear to “inspire” you, to control you. there was a very prominent member of the church that i grew up in who came out a few years ago. he was married and had two kids. he met his lover in the church choir. he worked for the southern baptist convention. they weren’t asked to leave the church, but they were asked to step out of their leadership positions in the choir and in bible study. so they left anyway. i saw him some time later and let him know that i thought he was so brave, and really an example to me, and to his kids. he’d been living a life he didn’t want to live for years, and i can’t imagine how hard it was for him to change all of that. he has a great relationship with his kids and his ex-wife and is now a prominent member of the queer community in that city, and the director of the gay men’s chorus there. i guess i’m just sharing all of this because i want people to know we have victories on our side, too, and this shit goes both ways. i guess adam and i both feel like we were “saved”, right? he from the fiery pits of hell and me from a life without meaning, essentially. or at least devoid of my true self. i hope there are more stories like mine, and my friend’s, than adam’s. i fucking love being gay, and i’m SO happy god has given me natural affection for a woman. even though i don’t believe in god anymore.. but sometimes i scream jesus when i’m fucking my wife, too. lots of love y’all. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
This was awesome.
wow.
I grew up in a conservative Christian background and everything you’ve said here is 100% true. and very very sad. I’m still on my own exodus out of that but it has been very very difficult.
I grew up in the Worldwide Church of God and dealt with serious childhood sexual abuse. When my mom left the church, I was 13, the brainwashing had already frightened me to such a degree that I was stuck in this religious holding pattern. I joined a charismatic church for a while, then a Southern Baptist church. I got married at 18 years old, because that’s what good little Christian girls do; get married and have babies. It took me YEARS of struggling to overcome all the dogma I had been brainwashed with. Now I’m married with 4 kids and it took me until I was 28 years old to have my epiphany; that the reason I felt so wrong all those years is that I was living a lie and didn’t even realize it. I honestly had no clue that I was gay, because I never let the thought cross my mind growing up. I was deeply repressed. In retrospect, there were tons of signs, but I always attributed the thoughts and feelings I had to something else.
This ex gay therapy bullshit makes me sick. It ruins people’s lives. These people think they can live a “normal, happy life” by praying away the gay. Not possible. There is nothing OK about repressing who you are to live a lie. I didn’t do it intentionally, but it’s hard not to feel overcome with guilt. I’m not going to live a lie anymore, I have to be true to myself. But, my decision to leave my marriage is hurting a lot of people that I never intended to hurt. It’s sad and it’s fucked. The people behind the ex gay movement are not only ruining the lives of the people who are repressing their sexuality as a result, but the lives of the people around that person as well.
Ooooh my city’s paper was mentioned on AS!! #fangirl
This shit be crazy.
Who the fuck in the gay community is involved in “Witchcraft and Mafia”??? God these people make me scared to live in my own country.
and i quote “OH Hell No, I will not be ashamed of the gospel”. WTF
I for one am both a well-known mafioso and also a witch.
Ex-gays, don’t we all love them. Here’s an “ex-transgender” I suppose, though she seems to think she’s “ex-lesbian” – sharing her story on a Christian TV show. the subtle misogyny in the attitudes of the interviewers and this girl’s boyfriend (now husband) is actually quite alarming: http://vimeo.com/21713806
That *person has serious mental health issues, I’m so glad she’s speaking out for the exodus/anti-gay/christian agenda, fits right in there in that little niche of ‘gays-perform-witchcraft-for-the-devil’.
Also, is her ‘boyfriend’ a lesbian or what?
Also, Adam Hood is doing some rocking back and forth during that interview worthy of extensive asylum time.
Word on the scarf.
That video just made me sad.
I found the “God loves you just how you are so you don’t have to change your identity to something you’re not.” bit ironic. Also, their whole assumption that being a girl means doing makeup was plain annoying.
I think I might respect this person’s choice to change how they present/etc, but tacking that logic that people take on gay/trans* identities because of abuse or to gain approval (real talk, I wouldn’t call the world’s general attitude towards trans* people as one of approval) onto everyone is incorrect and invalidating.
And have you ever heard anyone who wasn’t a right-wing christian actually say “devil worshipers?” What is a devil worshiper even?
couldn’t agree more. for some reason, from the Christian point of view, gay and transgendered people (they view it as the same, which is dumb) all are into hard drugs, worshipping the devil, and of course, at some point of their life, must have been sexually or physically abused, or grew up in a broken family. the amazing thing about Adam Hood’s interview was how he was able to throw some anti-abortion rhetoric into his whole testimony… not surprising, but WTF.
I also found their underlying assumptions about what being a girl/woman means to be deeply offensive. to identify as a woman you do not have to put on makeup, “dress like a girl”, or wear jewellery or “cute shoes”… EVERYONE KNOWS THAT. watching this video just reminded me of Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble – how gender and sexuality are both really A) a spectrum and B) a performance.
I actually read her blog (yes I was interested in this whole case), she writes about how after conversion she still wanted to sleep women and how sinful it was, as if it’s a drug habit. the whole thing was disturbing to read because she equates the sexual desire for women as not having the love/affection/attention she needed from her mom. that’s pretty messed up.
I’m a firm believer in sexual fluidity. most people’s gender identity and/or sexual orientation might be fixed – I know mine is – but some people do change and there is nothing wrong with that. if this girl really went from identifying as male to identifying as female, well, great. if she went from fancying ladies to dudes, hey, that’s completely fine. just don’t equate being transgendered or gay to seeking love or approval,.. seriously.
I just watched that interview, and this was the most prominent thought in my mind the whole time: those interviewers were THE MOST annoying interviewers I have ever watched, AND they both had terrible fashion sense.
Also, is it me, or is Adam Hood really, really gay?
Just in case ya’ll didn’t know. His BF coulda actually been Jesus from the Castro. Here in SF, every single dingle Easter, we hold a Hunky Jesus Contest. Srsly do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKUQI9RAD60
Just read the article in the Winnipeg Free Press and was surprised with a detail they noted: Mitt Romney has 21% of the vote, and his name will be on the ballot despite not actually running. How the fuck does this work!?
I know this demonstrates tastes approximating the 6-year old tide girl’s, but I love that t-rex picture.
When Adam Hood came to Australia recently to preach in churches, we closed down his meetings and sent him packing back to the US.
http://gayambassador.blogspot.com/2011/04/australians-tell-us-ex-gaynot-here.html
Tweet: 1 Apr :@gayambassador Anthony Venn-Brown “message from Aussie #exgaysurvivors to all USA ‘ex-gays’ thinking of coming to Australia to speak. “Don’t bother””
http://exgayaustralia.blogspot.com/2011/07/which-one-would-you-vote-for-who-is.html
There is also an article about this in DNA Magazine #138 called Love or Hate page 30.
The ex-gay guy in the video is so crazy. And clearly gay.
I’d just like to politely call attention to some vast generalizations of the Christian community that are going on in some of these thread comments. Reading them, and seeing the disgusting video about Adam Hood, sadden and frustrate me because they paint a distorted picture of Christianity and marginalize the sizable group (if not majority) of Christians who accept and embrace homosexuality and the like. Maybe I grew up sheltered, but where I come from (the American Northeast) it is almost a given that same-sex relationships are honored in the same way heterosexual relationships are. Yes, there are verses in the Bible that seem to condemn homosexuality, but many prominent Biblical scholars insist that these verses are mistranslations that occurred around the 1900s. I really think the fringe groups and the extremists of the Christian community are the ones who receive the most press, because who wants to hear about noncontroversial, law-abiding Christians who don’t have any problem with anybody?
I know this post isn’t going to make anyone go “I’VE SEEN THE LIGHT, I FREAKING LOVE CHRISTIANS NOW!”, but I felt the need to stand up for my faith which I feel is being misrepresented here.
Now please don’t eat me alive.
I don’t think anyone seriously believes that Christianity as a religion is bigoted. I’m academically agnostic, but culturally Christian, and I have never heard any anti-gay vitriol growing up in a Church. But. There are certain people and sects that make it their Mission of Christ to suppress and condemn homosexuals. These people are not real believers in Christ, because if they were, they wouldn’t be prejudiced and so hell-bent on persecuting anyone (especially those who are both gay and Christian).
It’s just sad and upsetting that a religion is used as the sole basis to preach hatred when the foundations of it were based on love and acceptance.
i hear you. i believe i was speaking strictly of my experience and didn’t refer to christianity as the sole source of my trauma, but specifically my experience with the church i grew up in and the circumstances i came from. just as i don’t believe that it’s a “given” that same sex relationships are honored just as much as hetero relationships in the northeast (seems like a generality?) i don’t assume that ALL christians are homophobic programmed robots. we all have our own experiences, i was just sharing mine.
why does he talk about bein super gay and then go into drugs?
since when do drugs = super gay?
i’m super gay and i barely even drink or smoke. the fuck.