Conley's Outing and His Parents' Ultimatum
Raised by Christian parents in a small, conservative community in Arkansas, Conley felt torn between his family and the knowledge that he was gay. Throughout high school, he kept his sexuality a secret, and according to his June interview with the BBC, he had a girlfriend for two years. Then, in 2004, Conley began attending a small liberal-arts school where he was raped and then outed to his parents by his rapist. This, in and of itself, is utterly heartbreaking, but for the author, things only got worse from there.
Conley's father was in the process of becoming an ordained Baptist minister. He saw his son's sexuality as a choice, and he, along with his wife, gave Conley an ultimatum: either go to gay conversion therapy or be cut off from his family. Conley chose conversion therapy. He explained to the BBC, "My parents had some hope I could have a 'normal' life — I'd dated a girl for two years. I did love her in many ways, and she'd protected me. So, I thought, 'Well, there's just this sex thing — what does that matter?'"