On Thursday, the U.S. government issued a report calling for an end to "ex-gay" conversion therapy. A practice devastating to LGBTQ+ children and teenagers, conversion therapies "reinforce harmful gender stereotypes and are not appropriate mental health treatments," according to a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration official.
Essentially, conversion therapy is the practice of repressing an individual’s sexuality or gender-identity curiosities and replacing them with heterosexual tendencies. Geared primarily toward young LGBTQ+ individuals, the "therapy" consists of one-on-one talk therapy, emotional or physical isolation of the child, or, in the most tragic cases, abuse through shock therapy and physical harm.
Underlying this practice is the notion that homosexuality is unnatural, which prevailed until psychological research in the ‘50s and ‘60s led the American Psychiatric Association, albeit hesitantly, to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-II classification of mental disorders in 1973.
Not all psychologists agreed with the changing times, however, which led to the creation of institutions such as the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality and Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing dedicated to the research of "curing" homosexuality. Such institutions persist to this very day.
On the surface, the conversion therapies appear gentle and unimposing. Christopher Rosik, former president of NARTH, contends "people with unwanted same-sex attractions and behaviors have the right to self-determination and autonomous decision making in pursuing goals that match their values."
Unfortunately, we live in a society still coming to terms with embracing LGBTQ+ people (along with a slew of other minority groups). Consequently, many culturally conservative parents of children who come out or express gender-identity curiosities feel helpless or resent their children’s differences.
As a result, these parents send their children to ostensibly professional or religious (sometimes both) institutions to make them "normal." And the effects can be devastating: A 2014 University of California, Los Angeles, study revealed 22.8 percent of surveyed LGBTQ+ youth attempted suicide the previous year, and a Human Rights Campaign study found family rejection was the No.1 personal problem youths faced.
In fact, LGBTQ+ children are still not protected by law from being bullied in schools. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) is currently pushing this legislation through the senate, but it is still in progress. And while there is gridlock in Congress, more minority children face isolation and depression.
Take the case of Leelah Alcorn, a victim of gender discrimination and conversion therapy. In December 2014, at 17 years old, Alcorn took her life because, as she expressed in her publicly posted suicide note, "The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in…because I’m transgender." Alcorn ended her note with, "My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say ‘that’s f----d up’ and fix it. Fix society. Please."
Although many professionals and clerics who facilitate conversion therapy claim to operate with humble and noble intentions, the consequences are immensely devastating.
We have evidence dating back to the ‘70s as well as the extensive report released Thursday to prove conversion therapy does not work. Now it is a matter of ridding it from society. Four states — New Jersey, California, Illinois and Oregon as well as the District of Columbia — have officially banned gay conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youths. Even the White House, back in April of this year, called for the banning of conversion therapy.
"Fix society," Alcorn and thousands just like her have asked of us. In my estimation, we have an obligation to.
David Hoffman is a UF history and physics sophomore. His column appears on Tuesdays.
