Anti-gay activist George Alan Rekers found himself in a pinch yesterday, when it was revealed he had been globetrotting with a rent boy. Gays had a laugh, for Rekers has crusaded against us for decades. But what about the rent boy? He’s been dragged into all of this, and now his picture has been plastered all over the Internet.
The Miami New Times broke the story yesterday: 61-year old Rekers, a founding member of the homophobic Family Research Council and officer for the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, had flown in from Europe with a 20-year old rent boy, whom they called “Lucien.” The paper took a picture, which left Rekers “discomfited,” but did not publish it, lest they “out” the boy. [They now have, although the boy's face has been blurred.]
This being the information age, it wasn’t long before alternate outlets dug up the picture and published it. The first was the NSFW site Unzipped. Other websites, some hesitant, others not so much, soon followed suit. AKA William did not post pictures. I think William made the right decision.
Past right wing outings often involve second parties, like when male prostitute Mike Jones revealed that Evangelical pastor Ted Haggard had hired him. The difference there, though, is that Jones was the one who outed Haggard, and got a book deal out of it. “Lucien” seems to be a pretty innocent bystander in all of this.
Clearly Rekers deserved to be outed. He has made his entire career about fighting gays, who he claims are mentally ill. “Lucien,” however, still has his life ahead of him. This could ruin it. One friend agrees it’s an unfortunate situation, but argues, “His role in the story was needed, whether it be the use of his photo and name or not. Showing him helps to make the story real and makes it more difficult for Rekers to explain it away.” That may be true, but this rent boy stigma won’t wash away fast.
I don’t know why Lucien’s working as a rent boy. And, frankly, I don’t care. Now, without even a day to prepare, he’s had his face spread around the globe. It won’t be long, I’m sure, until someone puts a name to it. [But, on the bright side, maybe he can make a buck off this. He’s probably going to have a hard time finding work elsewhere.]
[UPDATED: "Lucien" has come forward in an exclusive interview with Unzipped. "Lucien" is 20-year-old Miami resident Jo-vanni Roman.]
5. May 2010 at 11:34 am
I think the question is valid, I also know that the story doesn’t have as much validity without outing the prostitute.
And I want the world to know Rekers is a hypocrite.
And prostitution is outside the law so maybe it doesn’t warrant looking at it with an ethical eye.
And still, I’m not sure.
If the guy is already in an Unzipped profile, maybe he’s past the point of caring what is thought of him.
I realize this is no answer, but I am thinking critically, so I deserve a cookie, right?
5. May 2010 at 12:33 pm
I personally think that the individual outted themselves by advertising on the rentboy website. He probably didn’t plan out as much attention as he’s getting, but he definitely made the decision to put his pictures and a pretty detailed description, including orientation, available to anyone who looked.
Basically, if you don’t want information out there, it’s probably best not to release it.
5. May 2010 at 1:29 pm
I agree with Richard. “Lucien” made his bed the moment he decided to become a prostitute and post his profile online for all the world to see. He already outed himself and made his career public.
Frankly I don’t see how it can be any media outlets fault if this publicity ruins his life. He chose his life and he must deal with the consequences of that choice. If he had some great big goals that would be ruined by this then he should have thought about that sooner.
5. May 2010 at 6:39 pm
Hum no?
Look , the guy’s just out there doing his job.
He’s not the one working against gay people , he does no evil.
So why should he be outed?
THe anti-gay activist Is the one who deserves to be outed , so in his case there are ALL the reasons in the world to out him.