Queerty warns readers of 76-year-old Lambert Dolphin, an ex-gay activist who trolls young-adult dating sites in search of young men.
The overt purpose is proselytization, not sex, but his obsession with the men-under-24 age group is cause for alarm. Young men who have been contacted by Dolphin say they’re “terrified.” Dolphin’s website parrots standard reparative-therapy rubbish about young gay men needing father figures rather than healthy and honest relationships with people their own age. Such rationales are the product, sometimes, not of reputable therapeutic insight, but of emotionally unwell ex-gays who project their own disturbance onto others, who require reputable and professional therapy — and who should not be encouraged to inflict their unhealthy issues upon innocent strangers with an air of phony authority.
Dolphin has not responded to Queerty’s requests for comment.
It’s unfortunate that some Exodus International leaders continue to idolize such father-figure hogwash; that the organization makes no effort whatsoever to police the ex-gay “counseling” industry by offering public standards of conduct; that Exodus’ Love In Action program had a history of mingling sexually-disturbed middle-aged adults with teen-age men; and that Exodus continues to oppose an ex-gay patient’s bill of rights.
