Amanda Leslie
Often referred to as “praying away the gay,” conversion therapy, or reparative therapy, is the practice of attempting to convert LGBT+ teens into heterosexuals.
There is no scientific proof to conversion therapy, it’s just a result of bigoted and frequently religion-fueled homophobes.
In 2001, the Surgeon General issued a report that said “there is no valid scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed,” meaning such cruel practices are useless and unnecessary.
Why would you subject your child to this kind of mental and physical torture? (I’ll give you a hint: it’s because you’re a horrible, or at least horribly ignorant, person.) Things like these leave a lasting impression on the patients, even scarring them for life.
The decision for parents to enroll their child into this therapy stems from many things, as well as a rejection of the child. Since LGBT+ youth born into families that reject them are eight times as likely to attempt suicide, families that subject their child to this process are essentially killing them.
There are bans in a few states on conversion therapy for minors, including California, and there are bans in progress in many more currently, such as Oregon, New Jersey, Iowa, and Colorado.
It is the 21st century. We are supposed to be better than this. We should not be subjecting people to this torture with the hope of “fixing” them. You cannot “fix” LGBT+ teens because there is nothing wrong with them that needs to be fixed.
Sexuality is not an issue, or a problem; if your child is gay, you should love and nurture them, not send them away to conversion camps, or enroll them in conversion therapy in an attempt to change their sexual orientation.
This is a horrifying process that no one should ever have to be put through. I hope for a future where homophobic, ignorant people don’t feel the need to “convert” their children anymore, because they are perfect just the way they are.
