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By Bill Schoell
Friday, April 25, 2008
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) rates a perfect ‘1’ from gay advocacy group the Empire State Pride Agenda because he supports the three LGBT bills currently before state lawmakers. So why’d Ortiz dole out a $4,000 member item for The Aesthetic Realists Foundation, a Soho-based cult with a history of converting gays into heterosexuals?
“The request for funding was made directly by the foundation, and the assemblyman had heard good things about the program that they had done for RAICES, a senior group in our [Brooklyn] district,” said Ortiz staffer Linda Buckley.
Let’s back up: Who are the Aesthetic Realists, why are they of such concern—and what are they doing with Brooklyn senior citizens?
Like Scientology with its L. Ron Hubbard,, Aesthetic Realism is based on the teachings of one man, the American critic and poet Eli Siegel, who founded the group in 1941. On the surface, their philosophy sounds reasonable: Unhappiness is caused by a contempt for oneself and for the world. The group encourages members to appreciate the beauty of the world through the study of art.
Unfortunately, Siegel and his followers believed that homosexuality was an illness “caused” by self-contempt. As early as the mid-’40s, some members claimed they had converted to heterosexuality through the foundation’s teachings. In 1971, in what could be viewed as a precursor to the current ex-gay movement, three counselors began specifically working with homosexual men, many of whom were married off to female members, most of whom were lesbians.
In the ’70s AR heavily promoted the myth that they could convert people from gay to straight. Members appeared on talk shows, and AR placed full-page ads in the New York Times, Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times that listed the names of those who had “changed.” New York’s Gay Activist Alliance responded by infiltrating [or “zapping”] their meetings at their Greene Street headquarters and passing out pro-gay literature with accurate information. In return, AR members claimed that they were victims being “persecuted” by GAA.
As late as 1986, AR published vehemently anti-gay tomes. Until the mid-1990s, AR members wore buttons that read “Victims of the Press.”
Feelings of persecution, intolerance of criticism, slavish devotion to a leader, a belief that only they know the one true path to enlightenment—these are distinguishing characteristics of a cult.
Many ex-members of the group, including those supposedly “converted” to heterosexuality, contribute horror stories to a web site put together by Michael Bluejay, who was a child member of the group and whose own grandmother was one of those who was allegedly “converted.” (The web site is michaelbluejay.com.)
“AR no longer gives counseling sessions to try to ‘cure’ homosexuality,” Bluejay told The Blade. “They still believe that homosexuality is a psychological deficit caused by one’s contempt for the world—they have to continue believing this, because Eli Siegel said so—but it's not a part of their curriculum any more. And they avoid talking about it as much as possible—to the point of even seeming to deny that they ever had such a thing as a gay cure.”
However, they remain privately homophobic. Their official position, as laid out in an e-mail from Friends of Aesthetic Realism (which runs a web site, Countering the Lies, to respond to criticism of the group) is: “Aesthetic Realism does not see homosexuality as a ‘sickness’ or something to ‘cure.’” On this same site AR executive director Margo Carpenter claims that “AR is for full, equal civil rights for everyone.” She labels claims that AR offers a cure for homosexuality as a “hoard of lies.”
Even if the group embraced homosexuality, the question remains: What is AR doing with senior citizens groups, and why would it deserve funding?
Assembly member Ortiz said AR was well regarded in my community for the services it provided to senior citizens. “The foundation coordinated valuable activities and provided much needed assistance to a population of New Yorkers who are often lonely, have limited family support and are struggling to maintain their independence,” he said.
The Brooklyn Senior Group RAICES did not respond to The Blade’s request for information, but an AR representative said the foundation sends speakers to the senior centers. “They talk about how you can learn to love the world through the principles of Aesthetic Realism.” The AR web site offers no information about particular programs geared for senior citizens.
According to Bluejay, the $4,000 earmark was for art classes for the elderly. “I have no doubt that they do hold those art classes,” he said. “But the thing is, whatever the AR people do, it's just a forum to try to recruit. In fact, [on my site] one former member tells the story about how he got sucked into the group one small step at a time, starting with art classes.”
This is the first year the AR foundation received government funding.
Ortiz is currently investigating the allegations against AR. “Should the outcome of the investigation reveal any substance to these allegations,” he said, “I will take the appropriate action which, as always, will be in the best interest of my constituents.”
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