The Fight Against Gay Conversion Therapy
The President came out as a supporter of LGBT folks. The Supreme Court just announced that they're in favor of same-sex marraige, nationwide. All in all, it hasn’t been a terrible couple of years for gay rights advocates.
Now there’s another major push towards ending discrimination and negative attitudes towards a lifestyle that modern science continues to prove is an inborn characteristic rather than a choice: The National Center for Lesbian Rights has announced their new #BornPerfect campaign, which aims to end Conversion Therapy. In case you don’t watch American Horror Story or live in the ‘50s, conversion therapy is a range of treatments that seeks to teach gay men and women how to be heterosexual. The incredibly controversial and widely condemned practice features techniques such as aversion therapy -- in which the subject receives shocks to their hands or genitals or is given nausea-inducing drugs while watching same-sex erotic images -- and reparative therapy -- in which subjects are conditioned to traditional feminine/masculine gender roles, ie. women should wear makeup and cook while men must play sports and avoid “homosexual” areas of interest such as opera and museums -- among others.
According to NCLR executive director Kate Kendell, now is the time to act. America is becoming more and more accepting of the rights of its gay citizens, and medical establishments are beginning to take a stand against the practice as well. “It is now generally understood that sexual orientation cannot and should not be changed and that efforts to change it are damaging,” Kendell told Time magazine.
Researchers have the proof to back Kendell’s claim that conversion therapy can lead to a road of depression, substance abuse, psychological trauma and even suicide. One such study makes the case that subjecting a minor to the “treatment” can constitute child abuse. And, while the American Psychological Association has removed homosexuality from their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- ie. the bible of mental disorder diagnoses -- and publicly condemned the practice, as of this moment, only two states have laws protecting minors from conversion therapy (though several others are in the process of considering legislation).
There is good news for those awaiting the results of the campaign with baited breath: tons of bipartisan supporters have already added their names to NCLR’s campaign. And, for those in need of some help vanquishing personal demons, there are plenty of safe spaces out there as well. Until then, at least we’ve all got some awesomely empowering tunes to get us through the wait.
[Pic via Flickr - Steve Bott]
