The governmentality of promoting ex-gay "Change" in the public sphere

Abstract

Background: A long-term "earned media" marketing strategy deployed by the Christian exgay movement backfired and now generates mostly negative media against the movement. Analysis A governmental discourse analysis is used to examine media coverage representing conservative Christians struggling against unwanted same-sex desire. It does so in relation to Jürgen Habermas' (2006) analysis of commercial media and Anna McCarthy's (2007) notion of "neoliberal theatre of suffering." Conclusion and implications: Media coverage of the ex-gay debate showcases suffering as entertainment and does not achieve the full reasoned deliberation Habermas calls for in the public sphere. Nevertheless, it has not led to a paralysis of society's ability to debate the issue of ex-gay "change." Competing governmental perspectives still intersect and modify each other in ways that extend beyond mere commercialism.