Prayer For Bobby Analysis

The film Prayers for Bobby takes place in the year of 1979, and Mary Griffith (Sigourney Weaver) has what appears to be a picturesque family, until her adolescent son Bobby (Ryan Kelley) trusts his brother Ed (Austin Nichols) with the secret that he dreams of boys instead of girls. Refusing to accept that her son is gay, the right-wing and God-fearing Mary begins a crusade to “cure” him by taping passages of scripture on his bathroom mirror and forcing him to suffer distasteful psychotherapy sessions. Bobby eventually liberates himself from his family’s dogmatic beliefs when he moves to Portland to live with his sympathetic cousin Jeanette (Rebecca Louise Miller); subsequently, he finds another young man there named David (Scott Bailey)

and falls in love. Unfortunately, Bobby’s momentary contentment is overshadowed by the haunting memories of horrendous hurt and rejection from his family. Unable to extirpate his sense of hopelessness, disgrace, and intense depression, Bobby— in an act of agony and despair — throws himself off a freeway overpass at the young age of twenty (Ganczewski & Mulachy, 2010). Prayers for Bobby encompasses theories on the psychological development of sexual orientation, including the impact of religious influences on sexual identity and Cass’s model of homosexual identity formation.
The percentage of teens that experience an attraction for members of the same sex is considered modest, and this attraction appears to involve different patterns in boys and girls.

For example, boys tend to begin exhibiting interests that are gender-divergent; however, for girls, the first awareness may contain intense emotions concerning a specific female. While the causes of same-sex attraction are not yet well apparent, it is evident that individuals of the gay and lesbian community are prone to a number of ominous challenges. Not only are household and peer relationships often interrupted, but verbal and bodily attacks are also a frequent occurrence. Consequently, these challenges cause many gay and lesbian youth to endure crises with self-esteem, mental health and even suicide (Kail & Cavanaugh,

2013).
Research has shown that roughly two-thirds of gay and lesbian youth experience contention between religious and sexual identity while coming out (Dahl, 2009; Dahl & Galliher, 2009; Mahaffy, 1996; & Schuck & Liddle, 2001).

Pressures of a religious context may be heightened for gay, lesbian, transgendered and questioning adolescents, contributing to a magnified sense of distress and vexation pertaining to family and peers (Dahl, 2009). Moreover, gay youth that has been taught God is condemnatory and wrathful have been found to have lower levels of self-image (Dahl & Galliher, 2010). In fact, a number of spiritual denominations cast out and denounce gay youth (Sherkate, 2002). In reflective studies, this has been connected to feelings of self-reproach, humiliation, hopelessness and suicidal thoughts (Rodriguez & Oullette, 2000; & Shuck & Liddle, 2001). Accordingly, the pressures of religious philosophy, tradition, and his family’s blatant disapproval appeared to inhibit the healthy formation of Bobby’s sexual

identity.
The period of development for adolescents can be extremely challenging, and as in Bobby’s case, youth usually enter adolescence with no preparation for the social identity that comes with being a sexual minority. There are numerous concepts that attempt to explain the sexual orientation development of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youth. Vivian Cass proposed a foundational theory for sexual orientation development in 1979 known as Cass’s Model of Homosexual Identity Formation, which involves six stages of development. During stage one, identity confusion, adolescents begin to experience conflict with their inner feelings and sexuality. Individuals may struggle with the belief that homosexuality is either improper and disagreeable, truthful but unfavorable, or accurate and satisfactory. In stage two, identity comparison, teens acknowledge the possibility that they may be homosexual and come to recognize the possible challenges associated with their sexual identity. Stage three, identity tolerance, is when young people seek to establish relationships in the gay community; subsequently, with a beneficial support system, teenagers may acquire a higher level self-esteem. Identity acceptance occurs in stage four, where individuals continue to engage in relationships with other members of gay society for confirmation and acclimatization of identity. Although the adolescent has accepted a homosexual identity, he or she is unsure whether or not to be open about this identity with heterosexual peers or family and thus maintains a heterosexual facade. According to Cass adolescents do not develop a sense of self-confidence and pride until stage five, identity pride. Teens are more likely to reveal their sexual orientation during this time. The last stage in Cass’s model is identity synthesis, where a person’s public and private life merge; furthermore, they come to terms with his or her sexual identity and find a sense of inner peace (Cass, 1979).
Further, Cass’s theory recognized that the individual’s development as a homosexual was greatly influenced by social relationships in each stage. The influence of interpersonal relationships could result in either the achievement of a given task or could result in the individual going into identity foreclosure (Stevens, 2004). A teenager in identity foreclosure fails to make additional improvement toward developing a homosexual identity. This often leads to a rising sense of self-loathing as the adolescent discovers that he or she cannot operate adequately in either a homosexual or heterosexual environment; in extreme cases identity foreclosure may even lead to suicide (Cass, 1979). The potential to experience identity foreclosure can occur in each stage but can be averted if the person finds themselves supported in constructive relationships. Although Bobby had the support of his cousin and boyfriend, the estrangement from his family essentially ceased, perhaps even regressed, the proper development of his identity and resulted in identity foreclosure.
For gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youth, the progression of a positive and authentic identity includes the realization and acceptance of their sexual minority status. Unlike Bobby, those who have attained a united sense of self as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered have overcome the trials of being publicly stigmatized because of their sexual orientation. They have gained the ability to inwardly accept and embrace who they are, and they have bravely proclaimed that identity to others. Developing self-acceptance, along with valued support and encouragement from family and school relations (support that had the potential to save Bobby’s life), can assist in this progressive process of identity development.