a&e features
For God’s sake?
Filmmaker says ‘ex-gay’ camps exist in U.S.
David, a victim of the abusive practices employed at Escuela Caribe as depicted in the documentary ‘Kidnapped for Christ.’ (Photo by Katrina Marcinowski)
You’re sleeping soundly in bed when suddenly you’re being yanked awake.
Men crowd your bedroom and force you from your bed. Your parents stand idly by and watch. You’re disoriented and confused as they take you from your home, put you in a car and drive you to the airport.
No one will answer your questions. You board a plane for the Dominican Republic leaving your friends and family behind. Your new home is now a religious camp/school in the quick span of one day. There is no way out.
This is what happened to David, a gay 17-year-old honor student from Colorado; Beth, a 15-year-old from Michigan; Tai, a 16-year-old girl from Boston; and countless other teenagers sent to stay at Escuela Caribe, a non-denominational Christian behavior modification school for teenagers.
“Kidnapped for Christ,” a documentary by filmmaker Kate Logan and produced by pop singer Lance Bass (of ’N Sync fame), follows these three teenagers during part of their stay at what Escuela Caribe called a “therapeutic boarding school.” It premieres on Showtime Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Logan was a film student in college working on a project. As an evangelical Christian, she wanted to document the supposedly good work Escuela Caribe was doing for wayward teens. The school allowed her and her crew to film on campus, interview students and show what day-to-day life is like there.
“We got permission to film there because we had no idea anything controversial was happening,” she says in an interview with the Blade from Los Angeles. “I thought I was making a short, heartwarming film. Investigative journalists wouldn’t have gotten permission. We got permission because we were naïve.”
The film was always meant to follow the students around and get their insights on how they felt about the school. But the more Logan interviewed the students and saw how they were living, it became clear that abuse was at the forefront of this so-called behavior modification school.
David was one of the students Logan frequently interviewed during her stay. In the film, he says that once he came out to his parents they sent him away to Escuela Caribe for “relationship issues.” David never explicitly told the school he is gay. During his interviews with Logan, David becomes increasingly hysterical and frightened as he talks about the punishments the students receive for bad behavior and the amount of control the staff has over students.
David is forced to out himself to the school after a private conversation with a fellow student, who is bisexual, is overheard. In the film, he describes how shameful he felt having to tell everyone his sexual orientation. But it would be the last time it would be recognized.
Logan says the gay conversion therapy used on David was more of a gay aversion therapy.
“There wasn’t anything specific geared toward converting David from being gay. They denied it existed and never let him address it.”
Punishments toward these students ranged from bizarre to inhumane. Logan observes one girl standing outside facing the wall for hours on end. There would be morning bedroom checks by the “house father” or “house mother,” fellow students given more authority. Clothing hangers had to be spaced apart at a certain angle, shirts buttoned up on the hangers and shoelaces tucked inside the shoes.
If anything was not done in accordance with the rules, the “house father” or “house mother” would throw the clothes or shoes on the floor or even in the trash.
The worst punishment was being sent to “QR” or “the quiet room.” Explanation on the quiet room was vague but the consensus is that students were left in an isolated room with just a sheet for days and beaten.
Beth was sent to Escuela Caribe for severe panic attacks and a suicide attempt. The film shows that she is not allowed to do anything without the permission of the “house father.” She asks permission to sit down for dinner and even enter a room. She claimed it was done for her own good to keep her from hurting herself.
Tai, sent to Escuela Caribe by her parents for drugs and stealing, is agitated with the system like David. She wants to come home and says she will do “whatever it is I need to do” to get home. This includes going on Escuela Caribe’s yearly summer hiking trip and playing in the mud — a trip that is meant to be fun but that all the students despise. Tai confesses to Logan in a whispered conversation she hates it and thinks the practices at the school are suspicious.
David frequently tries to send messages to his friends in the outside world by asking a student leaving Escuela Caribe to find them and even asking Logan to send a letter pleading for help escaping to his best friend. Both times the school discovers his attempts and he is punished severely. Meanwhile, as Logan documents David’s struggles to get out, she also shows David’s friends and teachers wondering where he has disappeared to and trying to bring him home.
Executive producer Mike Manning, who is bisexual and a former cast member of the “Real World D.C.,” is friends with David and took a personal interest in the film.
“It was kind of a happy accident,” he says. “David was a friend of mine from Colorado. He stayed with me in L.A. and told me he was doing this film. He told me about it and I asked how could I help.”
Shortly after Bass was shown the film, he took an interest in the story and came on board as another executive producer.
Escuela Caribe has since shut down and re-opened under a new name, Crosswinds. Logan says their practices are still much the same. Crosswinds has only commented about “Kidnapped for Christ” to say that they are not the same institution as Escuela Caribe.
Crosswinds isn’t the only teen behavior modification school of its kind. There are more throughout the world and many in the United States, none of which are government regulated. Logan says she has spoken with students who have attended these schools in the United States and their experiences are the same as Escuela Caribe, if not worse.
Logan now says she is no longer Christian and considers herself agnostic. She attributes making this film as one of the factors for her change in beliefs.
“Most of the staff were normal people and harming students because they said God wanted them to do it. That kind of scared me. I left the school not able to pray. They said God sent them here and God sent me here to expose them, so who is right?”
Despite what has transpired, Logan is optimistic about evangelical Christians changing their views about gay people.
“In 20 or 30 years they will look back and feel embarrassed,” she says.
Manning agrees.
“I absolutely think there’s hope,” he says. “I attend a church in L.A. and they are very accepting. They are very forward thinking. Being a part of that community, there’s no doubt in my mind Christians will get it one day.”
a&e features
Memorial for groundbreaking bisexual activist set for May 2
Loraine Hutchins remembered as a ‘force of nature’
The Montgomery County Pride Center will host a celebration honoring the life and legacy of Loraine Hutchins, Ph.D., on May 2. People are invited to attend the onsite memorial or a livestream event. The on-site event will begin at 10 a.m. with a meet-and-greet mixer before moving into a memorial service around the theme “Loraine a Force of Nature!” at 11 a.m., a panel talk at 12 p.m., break out sessions for artists, academics, and activists to build on her legacy at 1 p.m. and a closing reception at 2 p.m.
Attendees are encouraged to register for the on-site memorial gathering or the livestreamed memorial. The goal of this event is also to collect stories and memories of Loraine. Attendees and others can share their stories at padlet.com.
An obituary for Hutchins was published in the Bladelast Nov. 24, where people can learn more about her activism in the bisexual community. A private service for friends and family was held in December but this memorial service is open to all.
Alongside her groundbreaking work organizing for U.S. bisexual rights and liberation including co-editing “Bi Any Other Name: BIsexual People Speak Out” (1991), she also integrated faith into her sexual education and advocacy work. Her 2001 doctoral dissertation, “Erotic Rites: A Cultural Analysis of Contemporary U.S. Sacred Sexuality Traditions and Trends,” offered a pointed queer and feminist analysis to sex-neutral and sex-positive spiritual traditions in the United States. Her thesis was also groundbreaking in exploring the intersections between sex workers and those in caregiving professionals, including spiritual ones.
In an oral history interview conducted by Michelle Mueller back in August 2023, Hutchins described herself as a “priestess without a congregation.” While she has occasionally had a sense of community and feels part of a group of loving people, she admitted that “I don’t feel like we have the shape or the purpose that we need.”
“I’ve often experienced being the Cassandra in the room, the Cassandra in the community. Somebody who’s kind of way out there ahead, thinking through the strategic action points that my community hasn’t gotten to yet, and getting a lot of resistance and hostile responses from people who are frightened by dissent and conflict and not ready for the changes we have to make to survive,” she said.
“For somebody who’s bisexual in an out political way and who’s been a spokesperson for the polyamory movement in an out political way, it’s very exposing. And it’s very important to me to be able to try to explain and help other people understand the connection between spirituality and sexuality,” she explained citing how even as a graduate student she was “exploring how to feel erotic and spiritual, and not feel them in conflict with each other in my own spiritual contemplative life and my own sensual body awareness of being alive in the world.”
“Every religion has a sense of sacred sexuality. It’s just they put a lot of boundaries and regulations on it, and if we have a spiritual practice that is totally affirming of women’s priesthood and of gay people, queer people’s ability to minister to everyone and to be ministered to be everyone, what does that do to the gender of God, or our understanding of how we practice our spirituality and our sexuality in community and privately?”
“There’s no easy answer,” she concludes, and she continued to grapple with these questions throughout her life, co-editing another seminal text, “Sexuality, Religion and the Sacred: Bisexual, Pansexual, and Polysexual Perspectives,” published in 2012. Her work blending spiritual and queer liberation remains groundbreaking to this day.
Rev. Eric Eldritch, a local community organizer and ordained Pagan minister with Circle Sanctuary who has worked for decades with the DC Center’s Center Faith to organize the Pride Interfaith Service, is eager to highlight this element of her legacy at the memorial service next month.
a&e features
Queery: Meet artist, performer John Levengood
Modern creative talks nightlife, coming out, and his personal queer heroes
John Levengood (he/him) describes himself as a modern creative with a wide‑ranging toolkit. He blends music, technology, civic duty, and a sharp sense of wit into a cohesive artistic identity. Known primarily as a recording artist and performer, he’s also a self‑taught music producer and software engineer who embodies a generation of creators who build their own lanes rather than wait for one to appear.
Levengood, 32, who is single and identifies as gay and queer, is best known as a recording artist who has performed at Pride festivals across the country, including the main stages of World Pride DC, Central Arkansas Pride, and Charlotte Pride.
“Locally in the DMV, I’m known for turning heads at nightlife venues with my eye-catching sense of style. When I go out, I don’t try to blend in. I hope I inspire people to be themselves and have the courage to stand out,” he says.
He’s also known for hosting karaoke at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va., on Thursday nights. “I like to create a space where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, building community, and showcasing their talents.”
He also creates social media content from my performances and do interviews at LGBTQ+ bars and theatres in the DMV. Follow the Arlington resident @johnlevengood.
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I have been fully out of the closet since 2019. My parents were the hardest people to tell because my family has always been my rock and at the time I couldn’t imagine a world without them. Their reactions were extremely positive and supportive so I had nothing to fear all along.
I remember sitting on the couch with my mom, dad, and sister in our hotel room in New Orleans during our winter vacation and being so nervous to tell them. After I finally mustered up the nerve and made the proclamation, I realized my dad had already fallen asleep on the couch. My mom promised to tell him when he woke up.
Who’s your LGBTQ hero?
My LGBTQ heroes are Harvey Milk for paving the way for gays in politics and Elton John for being a pioneer for the fabulous and authentic. My local heroes in the DMV are Howard Hicks, manager of Green Lantern, and Tony Rivenbark, manager of Freddie’s Beach Bar. Both of them are essential to creating spaces where I’ve felt welcome and safe since moving to the DMV.
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
Trade tops the list for me because of the dance floor and outdoor space. It’s so nice to get a break from the music every once and a while to be able to have a conversation.
We live in challenging times. How do you cope?
I’m still figuring this out. What is working right now is writing music and spending time with family and friends. I’ve also been spending less time on social media going to the gym at least three times a week.
What streaming show are you binging?
After “Traitors” Season 4 ended, I was in a bit of a show hole, but “Stumble” has me in a laughing loop right now. The writing is so witty.
What do you wish you’d known at 18?
At 18, I wish I would have known how liberating it is to come out of the closet. It would have been nice to know some winning lottery numbers as well.
What are your friends messaging about in your most recent group chat?
We are planning our next trip to New York City. If you can believe it, I visited NYC for the first time in 2025 for Pride and I’ve been back every quarter since. Growing up in the country, I was subconsciously primed to be scared of the city. But my mind has been blown. I can’t wait to go back.
Why Washington?
It’s the closest metropolitan area to my family, but not too close. I love the museums, the diversity, the history, and the proximity to the beach and mountains. It’s also nice to live in a city with public transportation.
Aging RFK Stadium has come down, but the RFK grounds are still getting lit up. Welcome back to the stage Project GLOW, D.C.’s homegrown electronic festival, on May 30-31. Back for its fifth year on these musically inclined acres, Project GLOW returns with an even more diverse lineup, and one that continues to celebrate LGBTQ antecedents, attendees, and acts.
Project GLOW 2026 headliners include house and techno star Mau P, progressive house legend Eric Prydz, hard-techno favorite Sara Landry, and bass acts Excision b2b Sullivan King, among the lineup of trance, bass, house, techno, dubstep, and others for the fifth anniversary year.
President & CEO Pete Kalamoutsos — born and raised in D.C. — founded Club GLOW in 1999. In 2020, GLOW entered into a partnership with global entertainment company Insomniac Events to produce live events like Project GLOW, which kicked off in 2022.
As in past years, Project GLOW not only makes space, but is intentionally inclusive of the LGBTQ community, one of its most dedicated fan bases. The festival’s LGBTQ-focused Secret Garden stage blooms again — a more intimate dance area that stands on the strength of DJs and musicians who draw from the LGBTQ community. D.C.’s LGBTQ nightlife mastermind Ed Bailey is the creative mind behind Secret Garden again. He joined Project GLOW in 2023.
“Kalamoustos says that “he’s proud of his partnership with Ed Bailey, along with Capital Pride and [nightlife producer] Jake Resnikow. It’s amazing to collaborate with Bailey at the Secret Garden stage, especially after the curated lineup we worked on at Pride last year.”
The Secret Garden will be a bit different from other stages: Eternal (“At the Eternal stage, time stands still. Lose yourself in the dance of past, present, and future, surrendering to the eternal rhythm of the universe”) and Pulse (“Feel the rhythm of the beat pulse through your veins as the heartbeat of the crowd synchronizes into one. Here, every moment vibrates with life as it guides you through a new dimension of euphoria”). The Secret Garden stage is in the round, surrounded by 16 shipping containers. The containers play canvas to muralists from around the world, who are coming in to paint them in a vibrant garden-style vibe. “We gave this stage some extra love with this layout,” K says, “ we finally cracked the code.”
K says that this will be the biggest lineup yet for the Secret Garden, featuring Nicole Moudaber b2b Chasewest, Riordan b2b Bullet Tooth, Ranger Trucco, Cassian, Eli & Fur, Cosmic Gate and Hayla. The stage is also the largest yet, featuring an expanded dance floor and 360-degree viewing.
Across all stages, K says that his goal for the fifth anniversary is “More art and fan interactive experience, more like a festival, strive to be like a Tomorrowland, as budget grows to add more experience.” Last year’s Project GLOW alone drew 40,000 attendees over two days.
K, however, was not satisfied with one festival this spring. GLOW recently announced a “pop-up” one-day event. Teaming up with Black Book Records, GLOW is set to throw a first-of-its-kind dance-music takeover of Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., headlined by electronic music star Chris Lake. Set for April 18, this euphoric block party will feature bass and vibes blocks from the White House. Organizers expect as many as 10,000 fans to attend. Beyond music, there will be food, activations, and plenty of other activities taking place around 6th St and Pennsylvania Ave NW – a location familiar to many in the LGBTQ community, as this sits squarely inside the blocks of the Capital Pride party that takes place in DC every June.
Over the past two decades, Club GLOW has produced thousands of events, from club nights to large-scale festivals including Project GLOW, Moonrise Festival, and more. Club GLOW also operates Echostage.
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