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)

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,

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