An LGBTQ Kid Gets Reality Slapped
By: James Finn
Tags: Equality, LGBTQ, Youth, Politics, Religion

Meet Shane, a teenager who thought things were totally cool

Have things changed mostly for the better for LGBTQ people? How YOU answer the question may have a lot to do with where you live and who your friends are. Many of us LGBTQ folks and our allies live in pockets of privilege where life is pretty easy, but sometimes reality sneaks up and slaps us in the face.

Eighteen-year-old Shane just got reality-slapped

He wrote to me to tell me all about it. He lives in the Northeast and goes to high school surrounded by progressive teachers and accepting students. He describes himself as bisexual, doesn’t care who who knows, and says, “I’m not discriminated against for being bi.”

But being a video game fan, he recently joined a Discord server and started chatting with teens from around the country. He was shocked to run into kids who had been through so-called LGBT “conversion therapy” or who are going through it right now.

It’s my generation getting hit the hardest. I’ve gotta stand up and take action.

I’ll let him tell you about it in his own words —

I’ve found that conversion therapy has been a major source of pain in their lives, with one of them being manipulated into it by their counselor, as they attend Catholic school in a very conservative area in the deep South. Their stories and others I learned from my counselors motivated me to fight to illegalize conversion.

One of Shane’s new friends was blackmailed by a school counselor, told to attend a therapy program or face being involuntarily outed as transgender and bisexual to their parents.

Shane was shocked

Sadly, I’m not. I know tactics like that are common in parts of America. He did shock me with another tidbit, though. He told me about a boy whose parents sent them against his will to a residential program in Utah, where he underwent electroshock aversion therapy.

Harsh aversion techniques are becoming quite rare in most conversion-therapy programs, so I was saddened to learn about a kid having their genitals electrocuted.

Shane is angry and super motivated. I ran into him on Facebook where he was promoting a campaign to call for criminalizing conversion therapy across the United States. “It’s my generation getting hit the hardest,” he told me. “I’ve gotta stand up and take action.” He has good reason to be motivated.

Conversion therapy is ineffective and dangerous —

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry : “ finds no evidence to support the application of any “therapeutic intervention” operating under the premise that a specific sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression is pathological. Furthermore, based on the scientific evidence, the AACAP asserts that such “conversion therapies” lack scientific credibility and clinical utility. Additionally, there is evidence that such interventions are harmful. As a result, “conversion therapies” should not be part of any behavioral health treatment of children and adolescents.”

finds no evidence to support the application of any “therapeutic intervention” operating under the premise that a specific sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression is pathological. Furthermore, based on the scientific evidence, the AACAP asserts that such “conversion therapies” lack scientific credibility and clinical utility. Additionally, there is evidence that As a result, “conversion therapies” should not be part of any behavioral health treatment of children and adolescents.” American Academy of Pediatrics : “Therapy directed at specifically changing sexual orientation is contraindicated, since it can provoke guilt and anxiety while having little or no potential for achieving changes in orientation.”

“Therapy directed at specifically changing sexual orientation is contraindicated, since it can provoke guilt and anxiety while having little or no potential for achieving changes in orientation.” American College of Physicians: “The College opposes the use of “conversion,” “reorientation,” or “reparative” therapy for the treatment of LGBT persons… Evidence shows that the practice may actually cause emotional or physical harm to LGBT individuals, particularly adolescents or young persons… The American Psychological Association literature review found that reparative therapy is associated with the loss of sexual feeling, depression, anxiety, and suicidality.”

How dangerous? Suicide rates are alarmingly high —

New data from the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention help agency for LGBTQ young people, examines the damage experienced by queer youth who undergo conversion therapy. Researchers surveyed more than 34,000 queer young people in the US and found that 42% of those who have undergone conversion therapy had attempted suicide compared to just 17% of those who have not.

The numbers were even worse for trans and gender non-conforming youth — 57% of those who had undergone conversion therapy reported attempting suicide.

Some states have banned conversion therapy already

Image courtesy of Equality Maps. Key — Solid green: state law bans conversion therapy for minors. Striped: state law partially bans conversion therapy for minors. Tan: No laws ban conversion therapy for minors.

But Shane has his work cut out for him —

Existing bans are partial and won’t protect most LGBTQ youth. Let’s look at some important numbers. According to a study conducted by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, roughly 20,000 LGBTQ youth who are between the ages of 13 and 17 right now will undergo conversion therapy by a licensed health care professional before they turn 18.

Another 57,000 will be subjected to “therapy” in religious settings like church conversion camps and clinics. According to the Williams Institute, the state bans largely do not apply to conversion therapy programs sponsored by churches. In some states, even licensed mental health professionals are exempted from the laws so long as they affirm that their “therapy” is a religious practice not connected to their professional licensing.

Because state laws typically only ban conversion therapy by licenced professionals, activists are concerned that existing conversion therapists will simply rebrand their practices as religious and carry on. Even in states where laws prohibit religious conversion therapy programs that charge for their services, clinics have stayed in business by rebranding fees as donations to sponsoring churches.

Religious privilege is harming young people —

State legislatures are unwilling or politically unable to effectively ban conversion therapy, given that it’s practiced almost exclusively by conservative Christians with religious motivation. Religious exemptions make the bans almost meaningless. Two thirds of young people being subjected to conversion therapy receive it in a setting that’s already exempt from bans. The remaining one third may not be protected given that camps and clinics easily rebrand themselves as religious to get around new bans.

My generation of advocates and activists has accomplished a lot.

When I was Shane’s age, same-gender sex was illegal in most of the US. If I’d been “out” during my military career, I’d have been kicked out of the service and possibly been charged with a crime. I would have lost my security clearance.

I did lose my New York City apartment when my partner died — just because we weren’t able to be legally married.

We’ve come a long way, but we have a long road ahead of us.

Conservative and religious forces in our nation are working hard to cement their privilege to harm LGBTQ people in the name of religious liberty. Conversion therapy is a sad example.

But as the ACLU points out consistently, while religious freedom is a fundamental American value that we cherish, it must not be used to harm or discriminate against minorities like LGBTQ people.

The battle is heating up. Confronting legal harm and challenging discrimination from even religious sources is Shane’s challenge and the challenge of his generation. The outcome is far from certain, but I have faith in the energy and passion of today’s young people.

Something ALL of need to be aware of is that no matter where we live, or how comfortable we are, the fight is nowhere close to over. Just ask Shane!