Model Who’s Gay, Not A Twin Sends Strong Message Back To Ex-Gay Group PFOX

A model whose image an ex-gay group used to falsely claim homosexuality is a choice is fighting back with Planting Peace.

This past December, an anti-gay group promoting harmful and fraudulent ex-gay therapy shared its Christmas message with millions of drivers alongside a busy Virginia interstate highway: “Nobody is born gay.” Many were outraged at the audacity of the claim, many were concerned for young LGBTQ people who might see the billboard and be emotionally harmed. Some even worried the billboard might lead to physical harm.

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) had leased the billboard, which suggested that “identical twins” are identical in every way. “We believe twins research science shows nobody is born gay” it also stated. 

The group misused scientific research to make its claim, and received pushback – and facts – from the LGBT community. 

One member of the LGBT community PFOX did not expect to hear from was the model whose stock photo they used.

Kyle Roux, from from Cape Town, South Africa, contacted a local Virginia news station to tell them not only is he happily gay, he’s not a twin.

And now, Roux is partnering with the folks at Planting Peace, a humanitarian group whose most-recognizable project in the U.S. is Equality House. 

Equality House is a house Planting Peace purchased and dramatically changed by painting it to look like the LGBT flag. It also happens to sit across the street from the headquarters of an anti-gay hate group, the Westboro Baptist Church.

That project has served to give hope to countless LGBT people and allies.

And now they’ve created a billboard campaign of their own, in partnership with Roux.

“When I read the story about PFOX and their campaign, I immediately knew I had to connect with Kyle and work with him on a counter-message,” Aaron Jackson, President of Planting Peace, told The New Civil Rights Movement via email. “Planting Peace supports and embraces the LGBT community, who are constant targets of hateful messages from groups like PFOX. We need to do all we can to make sure the LGBT community knows these hateful acts don’t represent the feelings of everyone out there, and they have the support of so many people in this world willing to stand with them against acts of bullying and intolerance.”

Model Kyle Roux, now an interior designer, shared with us that he is “pleased to have had the opportunity of working with Planting Peace, not in retaliation, but in promoting a strong and positive message to the LGBTQ community and in counteracting PFOX’s damaging misconceptions.”

Planting Peace is accepting donations for their billboard project at Crowdrise.

 

Images via Planting Peace
Hat tip: Huffington Post