Conversion therapy

Pseudoscientific attempts to change sexual orientation or gender identity

Conversion therapyClaims| One's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression can be changed to fit heterosexual, heteroromantic, and cisgender norms.

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Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms.[1] Methods that have been used to this end include forms of brain surgery, surgical or chemical (hormonal) castration, aversion therapy treatments such as electric shocks, nausea-inducing drugs, hypnosis, counseling, spiritual interventions, visualization, psychoanalysis, and arousal reconditioning. There is a scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity and that it frequently causes significant long-term psychological harm.[2] An increasing number of jurisdictions around the world have passed laws against conversion therapy.[3]

Historically, conversion therapy was the treatment of choice for individuals who disclosed same-sex attractions or exhibited gender nonconformity, which were formerly assumed to be pathologies by the medical establishment.[4] When performed today, conversion therapy may constitute fraud, and when performed on minors, a form of child abuse. It has been described by experts as torture; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and contrary to human rights. The position of current evidence-based medicine and clinical guidance is that homosexuality, bisexuality, and gender variance are natural and healthy aspects of human sexuality.[2][4]

## Terminology

[edit]

Medical professionals and activists consider "conversion therapy" a misnomer, as it does not constitute a legitimate form of therapy.[5] Alternative terms include "sexual orientation change efforts" (SOCE)[5] and "gender identity change efforts" (GICE)[5]—together, sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE).[1] According to researcher Douglas C. Haldeman, SOCE and GICE should be considered together because both rest on the assumption "that gender-related behavior consistent with the individual's birth sex is normative and anything else is unacceptable and should be changed".[6] "Reparative therapy" may refer to conversion therapy in general,[5] or to a subset thereof.[7] Some sources prefer the term "conversion practices" to "conversion therapy", on the grounds that the practices in question are not actually therapeutic.[8]

Advocates of conversion therapy do not necessarily use the term either, instead using phrases such as "healing from sexual brokenness"[9][10] and "struggling with same-sex attraction".[11]

## History

[edit]

Main article: History of conversion therapy

### Sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE)

[edit]

The term homosexual was coined by German-speaking Hungarian writer Karl Maria Kertbeny and was in circulation by the 1880s.[12][3] Into the middle of the twentieth century, competing views of homosexuality were advanced by psychoanalysis versus academic sexology. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, viewed homosexuality as a form of arrested development. Later psychoanalysts followed Sandor Rado, who argued that homosexuality was a "phobic avoidance of heterosexuality caused by inadequate early parenting".[3] This line of thinking was popular in psychiatric models of homosexuality based on the prison population or homosexuals seeking treatment. In contrast, sexology researchers such as Alfred Kinsey argued that homosexuality was a normal variation in human development. In 1970, gay activists confronted the American Psychiatric Association, persuading the association to reconsider whether homosexuality should be listed as a disorder. The APA delisted homosexuality in 1973, which contributed to shifts in public opinion on homosexuality.[3]

Despite their lack of scientific backing, some socially or religiously conservative activists continued to argue that if one person's sexuality could be changed, homosexuality was not a fixed class such as race. Borrowing from discredited psychoanalytic ideas about the cause of homosexuality, some of these individuals offered conversion therapy.[3] In 2001, conversion therapy attracted attention when Robert L. Spitzer published a non-peer-reviewed study asserting that some homosexuals could change their sexual orientation. Many researchers made methodological criticisms of the study, and Spitzer later repudiated his own study.[3]

### Gender identity change efforts (GICE)

[edit]

Gender Identity Change Efforts (GICE) refer to practices of healthcare providers and religious counselors with the goal of attempting to alter a person's gender identity or expression to conform to social norms. Examples include aversion therapy, cognitive restructuring, and psychoanalytic and talk therapies.[13] Western medical-model narratives have historically institutionalized transphobia: systemically favoring a binary gender model and pathologizing gender diversity and non-conformity.[14] This aided the development and proliferation of GICE.[15]

Early interventions were rooted in psychoanalytic hypotheses.[16] Robert Stoller advanced the theory that gender-nonconforming behavior and expression in children assigned male at birth (AMAB) was caused by being overly close to their mother. Richard Green continued his research; his methods for altering behavior included having the father spend more time with the child and mother less, expecting both to exhibit stereotypical gender roles, and having them praise their child's masculine behaviors, and shame their feminine and gender-nonconforming ones. These interventions resulted in depression in the children and feelings of betrayal from parents that the treatments failed.[16]

In the 1970s, UCLA psychologist Richard Green recruited Ole Ivar Lovaas to adapt the techniques of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to attempt to prevent children from becoming transsexual.[17] Deemed the "Feminine Boy Project", the treatments used operant conditioning to reward gender-conforming behaviors, and punish gender non-conforming behaviors.[17]

Kenneth Zucker at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health adopted Richard Green's methods, but narrowed the scope to attempting to prevent the child from identifying as transgender by modifying gender behavior and presentation to conform to the expectations of the assigned gender at birth, which he dubbed the "living in your own skin" model. His model used the same interventions as Green with the addition of psychodynamic therapy.[16][18][19][20]

## Motivations

[edit]

A frequent motivation for adults who pursue conversion therapy is religious beliefs that disapprove of same-sex relations, such as evangelical Christianity, Orthodox Judaism, and conservative interpretations of Islam.[21] These adults prioritize maintaining a good relationship with their family and religious community.[22]

Adolescents who are pressured by their families into undergoing conversion therapy also typically come from a conservative religious background.[22] Youth from families with low socioeconomic status are also more likely to undergo conversion therapy.[23]

## Theories and techniques

[edit]

As societal attitudes toward homosexuality have become more tolerant over time, the most harsh conversion therapy methods such as aversion have been reduced. Secular conversion therapy is offered less often due to reduced medical pathologization of homosexuality, and religious practitioners have become more dominant.[24]

### Aversion therapy

[edit]

See also: Behavior modification

Aversion therapy used on homosexuals included electric shock and nausea-inducing drugs during presentation of same-sex erotic images. Cessation of the aversive stimuli was typically accompanied by the presentation of opposite-sex erotic images, with the objective of strengthening heterosexual feelings.[25] Another method used was the covert sensitization method, which involves instructing patients to imagine vomiting or receiving electric shocks, writing that only single case studies have been conducted, and that their results cannot be generalized. Haldeman writes that behavioral conditioning studies tend to decrease homosexual feelings, but do not increase heterosexual feelings, citing Rangaswami's "Difficulties in arousing and increasing heterosexual responsiveness in a homosexual: A case report", published in 1982, as typical in this respect.[26]

Other methods of aversion therapy in addition to electric shock included ice baths, freezing, burning via metal coils, and hard labor. The intent was for the subject to associate homosexual feelings with pain and thus result in them being reduced. These methods have been concluded to be ineffective.[27]

Aversion therapy was developed in Czechoslovakia between 1950 and 1962 and in the British Commonwealth from 1961 into the mid-1970s. In the context of the Cold War, Western psychologists ignored the poor results of their Czechoslovak counterparts, who had concluded that aversion therapy was not effective by 1961 and recommended decriminalization of homosexuality instead.[28] Some men in the United Kingdom were offered the choice between prison and undergoing aversion therapy. It was also offered to a few British women, but was never the standard treatment for either homosexual men or women.[29]

In the 1970s, behaviorist Hans Eysenck was one of the main advocates of counterconditioning with malaise-inducing drugs and electric shock for homosexuals. He wrote that this type of therapy was successful in nearly 50% of cases. However, his studies were disputed.[30] Behavior therapists, including Eysenck, used aversive methods. This led to a protest against Eysenck by gay activist Peter Tatchell in a London Medical Group Symposium in 1972. Tatchell said that the therapy promoted by Eysenck was a form of torture.[30] Tatchell denounced Eysenck's form of behavioral therapy as inducing depression and suicide among gay men who were subjected to it.[29]

### Brain surgery

[edit]

In the 1940s and 1950s, U.S. neurologist Walter Freeman popularized the ice-pick lobotomy as a treatment for homosexuality. He personally performed as many as 3,439[31] lobotomy surgeries in 23 states, of which 2,500 used his ice-pick procedure,[32] despite the fact that he had no formal surgical training.[33]

In West Germany, a type of brain surgery usually involving destruction of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus was done to some homosexual men during the 1960s and 1970s. The practice was criticized by sexologist Volkmar Sigusch.[34]

### Castration and transplantation

[edit]

See also: Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany

Friedrich-Paul von Groszheim (1908–2006) was spared from a concentration camp after agreeing to castration under pressure in 1938.

In early twentieth century Germany, experiments were carried out in which homosexual men were subjected to unilateral orchiectomy and testicles of heterosexual men were transplanted. These operations were a complete failure.[35]

Surgical castration of homosexual men was widespread in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century.[36] SS leader Heinrich Himmler ordered homosexual men to be sent to concentration camps because he did not consider a time-limited prison sentence sufficient to eliminate homosexuality.[37] Although theoretically voluntary, some homosexuals were subject to severe pressure and coercion to agree to castration. There was no age limit; some boys as young as 16 were castrated. Those who agreed to castration after a Paragraph 175 conviction were exempted from being transferred to a concentration camp after completing their legal sentence.[38] Some concentration camp prisoners were also subjected to castration.[39] An estimated 400 to 800 men were castrated.[40]

Endocrinologist Carl Vaernet attempted to change homosexual concentration camp prisoners' sexual orientations by implanting a pellet that released testosterone. Most of the victims, non-consenting prisoners at Buchenwald, died shortly thereafter.[41][42]

An unknown number of men were castrated in West Germany and chemical castration was used in other Western countries, notably against Alan Turing in the United Kingdom.[43]

### Ex-gay/ex-trans ministries

[edit]

Main article: Ex-gay

OneByOne booth at a Love Won Out conference

Ex-gay ministries are religious groups that attempt to use religion to eliminate or change somebody's sexual orientation.[44][45][46][47] The ex-gay umbrella organization Exodus International in the United States ceased activities in June 2013, and the three member board issued a statement which repudiated its aims and apologized for the harm their pursuit had caused to LGBT people.[48][49] Ex-trans organizations often overlap and portray being trans as inherently sinful or against God's design, or pathologize gender variance as due to trauma, social contagion, or "gender ideology".[50][51]

### Hypnosis

[edit]

Hypnosis was used in conversion therapy since the 19th century by Richard von Krafft-Ebing and Albert von Schrenck-Notzing. In 1967, Canadian psychiatrist Peter Roper published a case study of treating 15 homosexual (some of which would probably be considered bisexual by modern standards) people with hypnosis. Allegedly, 8 showed "marked improvement" (they reportedly lost sexual attraction towards the same sex altogether), 4 mild improvements (decrease of "homosexual tendencies"), and 3 no improvement after hypnotic treatment; he concluded that "hypnosis may well produce more satisfactory results than those obtainable by other means", depending on the hypnotic susceptibility of the subjects.[52][better source needed]

### Psychoanalysis

[edit]

Main article: Psychoanalysis

Haldeman writes that psychoanalytic treatment of homosexuality is exemplified by the work of Irving Bieber et al. in Homosexuality: A Psychoanalytic Study of Male Homosexuals. They advocated long-term therapy aimed at resolving the unconscious childhood conflicts that they considered responsible for homosexuality. Haldeman notes that Bieber's methodology has been criticized because it relied upon a clinical sample, the description of the outcomes was based upon subjective therapist impression, and follow-up data were poorly presented. Bieber reported a 27% success rate from long-term therapy, but only 18% of the patients in whom Bieber considered the treatment successful had been exclusively homosexual to begin with, while 50% had been bisexual. In Haldeman's view, this makes even Bieber's unimpressive claims of success misleading.[53]

Haldeman discusses other psychoanalytic studies of attempts to change homosexuality. Curran and Parr's "Homosexuality: An analysis of 100 male cases", published in 1957, reported no significant increase in heterosexual behavior. Mayerson and Lief's "Psychotherapy of homosexuals: A follow-up study of nineteen cases", published in 1965, reported that half of its 19 subjects were exclusively heterosexual in behavior four and a half years after treatment, but its outcomes were based on patient self-report and had no external validation. In Haldeman's view, those participants in the study who reported change were bisexual at the outset, and its authors wrongly interpreted capacity for heterosexual sex as change of sexual orientation.[54]

### Reparative therapy

[edit]

The term "reparative therapy" has been used as a synonym for conversion therapy generally, but according to Jack Drescher it properly refers to a specific kind of therapy[clarification needed] associated with the psychologists Elizabeth Moberly and Joseph Nicolosi.[7] For example, he wrote:

. . . the pursuit of fulfillment through same-sex eroticism is spurred by the fearful anticipation that their masculine self-assertion will inevitably fail and result in humiliation.[55]

The term reparative refers to Nicolosi's postulate that same-sex attraction is a person's unconscious attempt to "self-repair" feelings of inferiority.[56][57]

After California banned conversion practices, Nicolosi argued that "reparative therapy" didn't attempt to directly change sexual orientation but instead encourage exploration into its underlying causes, which he believed was often childhood trauma.[58]

A phone study by Robert Spitzer reported that "about 66 percent of the men respondents and 44 percent of the women were able to function as heterosexuals after the therapy," while conceding that "his subjects did not constitute a study population representative of the gay and lesbian population in the U.S."[59]

### Marriage therapy

[edit]

See also: Relationship counseling

Previous editions of the World Health Organization's ICD included "sexual relationship disorder", in which a person's sexual orientation or gender identity makes it difficult to form or maintain a relationship with a sexual partner. The belief that their sexual orientation has caused problems in their relationship may lead some people to turn to a marriage therapist for help to change their sexual orientation.[60] Sexual orientation disorder was removed from the most recent ICD, ICD-11, after the Working Group on Sexual Disorders and Sexual Health determined that its inclusion was unjustified.[61]

### Gender exploratory therapy

[edit]

Gender exploratory therapy (GET) is a form of conversion therapy[62][63][64][65][66] characterized by requiring mandatory extended talk therapy attempting to find pathological roots for gender dysphoria while simultaneously delaying social and medical transition and viewing it as a last resort.[62][64][65][58][67] Practitioners of GET propose their patient's dysphoria is caused by factors such as homophobia, social contagion, sexual trauma, and autism.[64][66] Some practitioners of GET avoid using their patients' chosen names and pronouns while questioning their identification.[67] Commenting on gender exploratory therapy in 2022, bioethicist Florence Ashley argued that its framing as an undirected exploration of underlying psychological issues bore similarities to gay conversion practices such as "reparative" therapy.[58] States that have banned gender-affirming care for minors in the United States have called expert witnesses to argue that exploratory therapy should be the alternative treatment.[68]

There are no known empirical studies examining psychosocial or medical outcomes following GET.[67][69] Concerns have been raised that by not providing an estimated length of time for the therapy, the delays in medical interventions may compound mental suffering in trans youth,[64][67] while the gender-affirming model of care already promotes gender identity exploration without favoring any particular identity, and individualized care.[67] GET proponents deny this.[70]

In 2017, Richard Green published a legal strategy which called for circumventing bans on conversion therapy by labelling the practice "gender identity exploration or development".[71][72] Multiple groups now exist worldwide to promote GET and have been successful in influencing legal discussions and clinical guidance in some regions.[65] The Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (GETA) asserts that "psychological approaches should be the first-line treatment for all cases of gender dysphoria", that medical interventions for transgender youth are "experimental and should be avoided if possible", and that social transition is "risky".[70] All of GETA's leaders are members of Genspect, a "gender-critical" group that promotes GET and argues that gender-affirming care should not be available to those under 25.[70] In late 2023, GETA changed their name to "Therapy First".[68]

GETA also shares a large overlap with the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), which promotes GET as first-line treatment for those under 25.[73] GETA co-founder Lisa Marchiano stated U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order safeguarding trans youth from conversion therapy would have a "chilling effect" on GET practices.[70][74] GETA also opposed Biden's Title IX changes protecting trans students from discrimination, stating allowing trans youth in restrooms would harm the mental health of their peers.[74] The American College of Pediatricians, a small group aligned with the Christian Right,[Note 1] has cited numerous studies from SEGM to claim GET is necessary to restore transgender people's "biological integrity".[73]

## Effects

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by making an edit requestadding to it . (June 2022)

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There is a scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective at changing a person's sexual orientation.[2]

Conversion therapy can cause significant, long-term psychological harm.[2] This includes significantly higher rates of depression, substance abuse, and other mental health issues in individuals who have undergone conversion therapy than their peers who did not,[75][76] including a suicide attempt rate nearly twice that of those who did not.[77] After conversion therapy has failed to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, participants often feel increased shame that they already felt over their sexual orientation or gender identity.[22]

Modern-day practitioners of conversion therapy—primarily from a conservative religious viewpoint—disagree with current evidence-based medicine and clinical guidance that does not view homosexuality and gender variance as unnatural or unhealthy.[2][4] Advocates of conversion therapy rely heavily on testimonials and retrospective self-reports as evidence of effectiveness. Studies purporting to validate the effectiveness of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity have been criticized for methodological flaws.[78]

In 2020, ILGA World published a world survey and report Curbing Deception listing consequences and life-threatening effects by associating specific public testimonies with different types of methods used to practice conversion therapies.[79]

A 2022 study estimated that conversion therapy of youth in the United States cost $650.16 million annually with an additional $9.5 billion in associated costs such as increased suicide and substance abuse.[76] Youth who undergo conversion therapy from a religious provider have more negative mental health outcomes than those who had consulted a licensed healthcare provider.[22]

## Public opinion

[edit]

Opinion polls have found that conversion therapy bans enjoy popular support among the U.S. population. As of 2019[update], no nationwide opinion poll has been carried out, though surveys in three states (Florida, New Mexico and Virginia) show support varying between 60% and 75%. According to a 2014 national poll, only 8% of the U.S. population believed conversion therapies to be successful.[80]

A 2020 survey carried out on US adults found majority support for banning conversion therapy for minors.[81]

A 2022 YouGov poll found majority support in England, Scotland, and Wales for a conversion therapy ban for both sexual orientation and gender identity, with opposition ranging from 13 to 15 percent.[82]

## Legal status

[edit]

Main article: Legality of conversion therapy

Map of jurisdictions that have bans on sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts with minors as of January 2025:

Criminal prohibition against conversion therapy on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

Only medical professionals are banned from performing conversion therapy

Ban on conversion therapy pending or proposed

No ban on conversion therapy

Some jurisdictions have criminal bans on the practice of conversion therapy, including Canada, Ecuador, France,[83] Germany, Malta, Mexico and Spain.[84] In other countries, including Albania, Brazil, Chile, Vietnam and Taiwan, medical professionals are barred from practicing conversion therapy.[85]

In some states, lawsuits against conversion therapy providers for fraud have succeeded, but in other jurisdictions those claiming fraud must prove that the perpetrator was intentionally dishonest. Thus, a provider who genuinely believes conversion therapy is effective could not be convicted.[86]

Conversion therapy on minors may amount to child abuse.[87][88][89]

### Human rights

[edit]

In 2020, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims released an official statement that conversion therapy is torture.[87] The same year, UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, said that conversion therapy practices are "inherently discriminatory, that they are cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and that depending on the severity or physical or mental pain and suffering inflicted to the victim, they may amount to torture". He recommended that it should be banned across the world.[90] In 2021, Ilias Trispiotis and Craig Purshouse argue that conversion therapy violates the prohibition against degrading treatment under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, leading to a state obligation to prohibit it.[85][91] In February 2023 Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, qualified those practices as “irreconcilable with several guarantees under the European Convention on Human Rights" and having no place in a human rights-based society urging the Member States of the Council of Europe to ban them for both adults and minors,[92] later in July 2023 she advocated for clear actions during a public hearing at the European Parliament studying different approaches to legally ban "conversion therapies" in the European Union.[93] In September 2024 it was reported that the European Union is considering banning "conversion therapies" across its Member States,[94] while a European Citizens' Initiative that started collecting signatures in May 2024 is also calling on the European Commission to outlaw such practices.[95]

## In media

[edit]

Efforts to change sexual orientation have been depicted and discussed in popular culture and various media. Some examples include: Boy Erased, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Book of Mormon musical, Ratched, and documentary features Pray Away, Homotherapy: A Religious Sickness.[96][97]

## Medical views

[edit]

Main article: Medical views of conversion therapy

National health organizations around the world have uniformly denounced and criticized sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts.[98][99][100] They state that there has been no scientific demonstration of "conversion therapy's" efficacy.[44][101][102][103] They find that conversion therapy is ineffective, risky and can be harmful. Anecdotal claims of cures are counterbalanced by assertions of harm, and the American Psychiatric Association, for example, cautions ethical practitioners under the Hippocratic oath to do no harm and to refrain from attempts at conversion therapy.[102] Furthermore, they state that conversion therapy is harmful and that it often exploits individual's guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide.[104]

There is also concern in the mental health community that the advancement of conversion therapy can cause social harm by disseminating inaccurate views about gender identity, sexual orientation, and the ability of LGBT people to lead happy, healthy lives.[99] Various medical bodies prohibit their members from practicing conversion therapy.[105]

## See also

[edit]

* Christianity and homosexuality
* Corrective rape
* Recovering from Religion
* Sexual orientation change efforts and the LDS Church

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ not to be confused with the American Academy of Pediatrics

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Fenaughty, John; Tan, Kyle; Ker, Alex; Veale, Jaimie; Saxton, Peter; Alansari, Mohamed (January 2023). "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts for Young People in New Zealand: Demographics, Types of Suggesters, and Associations with Mental Health". Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 52 (1): 149–164\. doi:10.1007/s10964-022-01693-3. ISSN 0047-2891. PMC 9813061. PMID 36301377.
2. ^ a b c d e Higbee, Madison; Wright, Eric R.; Roemerman, Ryan M. (2022). "Conversion Therapy in the Southern United States: Prevalence and Experiences of the Survivors". Journal of Homosexuality. 69 (4): 612–631\. doi:10.1080/00918369.2020.1840213. PMID 33206024. S2CID 227039714.
3. ^ a b c d e f Drescher, Jack; Schwartz, Alan; Casoy, Flávio; McIntosh, Christopher A.; Hurley, Brian; Ashley, Kenneth; Barber, Mary; Goldenberg, David; Herbert, Sarah E.; Lothwell, Lorraine E.; Mattson, Marlin R.; McAfee, Scot G.; Pula, Jack; Rosario, Vernon; Tompkins, D. Andrew (2016). "The Growing Regulation of Conversion Therapy". Journal of Medical Regulation. 102 (2): 7–12\. doi:10.30770/2572-1852-102.2.7. PMC 5040471. PMID 27754500.
4. ^ a b c Haldeman 2022, p. 5.
5. ^ a b c d Haldeman 2022, p. 4.
6. ^ Haldeman 2022, p. 8.
7. ^ a b Drescher 2000, p. 152
8. ^ "Explainer: What are conversion practices? And why Australia needs stronger laws to combat them". Amnesty International Australia. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2025. "To this day, these practices are commonly misrepresented in the media as 'gay conversion therapy', however, Australian survivor groups use the term 'LGBTQA+ conversion practices' to avoid associating the practices with therapy, as they are not at all therapeutic."
9. ^ Lee, Jin (1 January 2019). "Diversity or a flavor of diversity?". Gateway Journalism Review. 47 (352): 34–35\. Gale A586241649.
10. ^ Stephens, John Bryant (1997). Conflicts over homosexuality in the United Methodist Church: Testing theories of conflict analysis and resolution (Thesis). OCLC 41964052. ProQuest 304408101.
11. ^ Creek, S. J.; Dunn, Jennifer L. (2012). "'Be Ye Transformed': The Sexual Storytelling of Ex-gay Participants". Sociological Focus. 45 (4): 306–319\. doi:10.1080/00380237.2012.712863. JSTOR 41633922. S2CID 144699323.
12. ^ Whisnant 2016, p. 20.
13. ^ Rivera & Pardo 2022, p. 52.
14. ^ Rivera & Pardo 2022, p. 53.
15. ^ Rivera & Pardo 2022, p. 56.
16. ^ a b c Rivera & Pardo 2022, p. 58.
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## Bibliography

[edit]

* Bright, Chuck (December 2004), "Deconstructing Reparative Therapy: An Examination of the Processes Involved When Attempting to Change Sexual Orientation", Clinical Social Work Journal, 32 (4): 471–481, doi:10.1007/s10615-004-0543-2, S2CID 189871877
* Cohen, Richard A. (2000). Coming Out Straight: Understanding and Healing Homosexuality. Oakhill Press. ISBN 978-1-886939-41-7.[unreliable source?]
* Cruz, David B. (July 1999). "Controlling desires: sexual orientation conversion and the limits of knowledge and law". Southern California Law Review. 72 (5): 1297–1400\. hdl:10822/925326. PMID 12731502.
* Drescher, Jack (June 1998a), "I'm Your Handyman: A History of Reparative Therapies", Journal of Homosexuality, 36 (1): 19–42, doi:10.1300/J082v36n01_02, PMID 9670099
* Drescher, Jack (2001), "Ethical Concerns Raised When Patients Seek to Change Same-Sex Attractions", Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 5 (3/4): 183, doi:10.1300/j236v05n03_11, S2CID 146736819
* Drescher, Jack; Zucker, Kenneth, eds. (2006), Ex-Gay Research: Analyzing the Spitzer Study and Its Relation to Science, Religion, Politics, and Culture, New York: Harrington Park Press, ISBN 978-1-56023-557-6
* Drescher, Jack (2000). "Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Gay Man". The American Journal of Psychoanalysis. 60 (2): 191–196\. doi:10.1023/a:1001968909523. PMID 10874429.
* Haldeman, Douglas (1991). "Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy for Gay Men and Lesbians: A Scientific Examination". Homosexuality: Research Implications for Public Policy. pp. 149–160\. doi:10.4135/9781483325422.n10. ISBN 978-0-8039-3764-2.
* Haldeman, Douglas C. (2022). "Introduction: A history of conversion therapy, from accepted practice to condemnation". The case against conversion 'therapy': Evidence, ethics, and alternatives. pp. 3–16\. doi:10.1037/0000266-001. ISBN 978-1-4338-3711-1. S2CID 243777493.
* Jones, Stanton L.; Yarhouse, Mark A. (2007). Ex-Gays?: A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-2846-3.[unreliable source?]
* Rivera, David P.; Pardo, Seth T. (2022). "Gender identity change efforts: A summary". In Haldeman, Douglas C. (ed.). The Case Against Conversion Therapy: Evidence, Ethics, and Alternatives. American Psychological Association. pp. 51–68\. doi:10.1037/0000266-003. ISBN 978-1-4338-3711-1. S2CID 243776563.
* Rolls, Geoff (2019). Rolls, Geoff (ed.). Classic Case Studies in Psychology. doi:10.4324/9780429294754. ISBN 978-0-429-29475-4.
* Schmidt, Gunter (1985). "Allies and Persecutors". Journal of Homosexuality. 10 (3–4): 127–140\. doi:10.1300/J082v10n03_16.3–4&rft.pages=127-140&rft.date=1985&rft_id=info:doi/10.1300/J082v10n03_16&rft.aulast=Schmidt&rft.aufirst=Gunter&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Conversion+therapy" class="Z3988">
* Schwartz, Michael (25 June 2021). "Homosexuelle im modernen Deutschland: Eine Langzeitperspektive auf historische Transformationen" [Homosexuals in Modern Germany: A Long-Term Perspective on Historical Transformations]. Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte (in German). 69 (3): 377–414\. doi:10.1515/vfzg-2021-0028. S2CID 235689714.
* Waidzunas, Tom (2016), The Straight Line: How the Fringe Science of Ex-Gay Therapy Reoriented Sexuality, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 978-0-8166-9615-4
* Wachsmann, Nikolaus (2015) [2004]. Hitler's Prisons: Legal Terror in Nazi Germany. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-22829-8.
* Weindling, Paul (2015). Victims and Survivors of Nazi Human Experiments: Science and Suffering in the Holocaust. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-4411-7990-6.
* Whisnant, Clayton J. (2016). Queer Identities and Politics in Germany: A History, 1880–1945. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-1-939594-10-5.
* Yoshino, Kenji (2002), "Covering", Yale Law Journal, 111 (4): 769–939, doi:10.2307/797566, hdl:20.500.13051/9392, JSTOR 797566, archived from the original on 25 October 2015, retrieved 7 May 2015
* Zinn, Alexander (2020b). "'Das sind Staatsfeinde' Die NS-Homosexuellenverfolgung 1933–1945" ["They are enemies of the state": The Nazi persecution of homosexuals 1933–1945] (PDF). Bulletin des Fritz Bauer Instituts (in German): 6–13\. ISSN 1868-4211. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Haldeman, Douglas C. (2021). Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts: Evidence, Effects, and Ethics. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-1-939594-36-5.

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* Legal status of transgender people
* Transgender rights movement
* United Nations/Yogyakarta Principles
* La Francophonie
* Commonwealth of Nations

LGBTQ rights movements|

* Homophile
* Gay liberation
* LGBTQ rights groups
* LGBTQ rights activists
* Rainbow capitalism
* Separatism
* Gay
* Lesbian

Sexual orientation — Medicine, science and sexology

* Autism and LGBTQ identities
* Biology
* Birth order
* Demographics
* Disability and LGBTQ identities
* Environment
* Homosexuality and psychology
* Homosexuality in the DSM
* Kinsey scale
* Klein Grid
* Life expectancy
* Neuroscience
* Prenatal hormones
* Sexual inversion
* Conversion therapy
* Split attraction model
* Sexual orientation identity
* Timeline of sexual orientation and medicine

* Societal attitudes
* Prejudice
* Violence

| Societal attitudes|

* Amatonormativity
* Heteronormativity
* Heteropatriarchy
* Homonationalism
* Pinkwashing
* Gay panic defense
* Opposition to LGBTQ rights
* Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric
* LGBTQ stereotypes
* Suicide among LGBTQ people
* list
* Monuments and memorials
* Queerbaiting
* Homosexuality and religion
* Transgender people and religion

|

Prejudice and discrimination|

* Arophobia
* Acephobia
* Anti-gender movement
* AIDS stigma
* Biphobia
* Gayphobia
* Grooming conspiracy theory
* Heterosexism
* Homophobia
* Liberal homophobia
* Discrimination against lesbians
* Discrimination against non-binary people
* Racism
* Riddle scale
* SPLC-designated list of anti-LGBTQ hate groups
* Transmisogyny
* Transphobia

Violence against LGBTQ people|

* Corrective rape
* Capital punishment for homosexuality
* Gay bashing
* History of violence in the UK
* History of violence in the US
* Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany
* Acts of violence against LGBTQ people
* Stop Murder Music
* Violence against transgender people
* Unlawfully killed transgender people

* LGBTQ portal
* Category

* v
* t
* e

Pseudoscience

List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

Terminology|

* Cargo cult science
* Charlatan
* Crank
* Fringe theory
* Fringe science
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Pseudohistory
* Pseudomathematics
* Junk science
* Paranormal
* Pathological science
* Quackery
* Snake oil
* Superseded scientific theory
* True-believer syndrome
* Voodoo Science

Topics
characterized as
pseudoscience|

| Medicine|

* Acupuncture
* Aromatherapy
* Adrenal fatigue
* Alternative medicine
* Anthroposophic medicine
* Applied kinesiology
* Ayurveda
* Bates method
* Biorhythms
* Bloodletting
* Body memory
* Chiropractic
* Chromotherapy
* Correactology
* Cryonics
* Crystal healing
* Cupping
* Detoxification
* Colon cleansing
* Doctrine of signatures
* Doktor Koster's Antigaspills
* Ear candling
* Electromagnetic hypersensitivity
* Energy medicine
* Fad diet
* FasciaBlaster
* Germ theory denialism
* HIV/AIDS denialism
* Homeopathy
* Humorism
* Iridology
* Leaky gut syndrome
* LGBTQ chemicals conspiracy theory
* Lunar effect
* Macrobiotic diet
* Magnet therapy
* Miracle Mineral Supplement
* Naturopathy
* Palmistry
* Panchagavya
* Patent medicine
* Phrenology
* Primal therapy
* Radionics
* Reiki
* Traditional medicine
* Traditional Chinese medicine
* Trepanning
* Vertebral subluxation
* Wind turbine syndrome
* Young blood transfusion

|

Social science|

* 2012 phenomenon
* Ancient astronauts
* Arabian Judah theory
* Catastrophism
* Conspiracy theory
* 5G conspiracy
* 9/11 conspiracy theories
* Chemtrail conspiracy theory
* Climate change denial
* COVID-19 misinformation
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Opposition to water fluoridation
* Conversion therapy
* Expanding Earth Theory
* Generational theory
* Generationism
* Strauss–Howe generational theory
* Hollow Earth theory
* Indigo children
* Japhetic theory
* Mediumship
* Nazi archaeology
* Nibiru cataclysm
* Parapsychology
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Pseudohistory
* Genocide denial
* Historical negationism
* Holocaust denial
* Tartarian Empire
* Pseudolaw
* Recovered-memory therapy
* Past life regression
* Scientific racism
* Aryan race
* Melanin theory
* Myers–Briggs Type Indicator
* Enneagram of Personality

Physics|

* Anti-gravity
* Cold fusion
* Faster-than-light travel
* Perpetual motion
* Quantum mysticism
* Reactionless drive
* Dean drive
* EMDrive
* Teleportation
* Tractor beam
* Water-fueled car

Other|

* Alchemy
* Aquatic ape hypothesis
* Astrology
* Biodynamic agriculture
* Biological transmutation
* Creation science
* Cryptozoology
* Dianetics
* Auditing
* Dowsing
* Electronic voice phenomenon
* Eugenics
* Facilitated communication
* Feng shui
* Flat Earth theory
* Modern flat Earth beliefs
* Graphology
* Intelligent design
* Laundry ball
* Law of attraction
* Levitation
* Lysenkoism
* Numerology
* Orgone
* Polygraph
* Pseudoscientific metrology
* Rapid prompting method
* Statement analysis
* Ufology
* Voice stress analysis
* Water memory

Promoters of
pseudoscience|

* Sucharit Bhakdi
* Del Bigtree
* Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff
* Brigitte Boisselier
* Rhonda Byrne
* Robert Charroux
* Deepak Chopra
* Clonaid
* Vernon Coleman
* Michael Crichton
* Ignatius L. Donnelly
* Gaia, Inc.
* Max Gerson
* Nicholas Gonzalez
* Goop (company)
* Graham Hancock
* David Icke
* William Donald Kelley
* Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
* Corentin Louis Kervran
* The Light (newspaper)
* Mike Lindell
* Jenny McCarthy
* Joseph Mercola
* Judy Mikovits
* Ministry of Ayush
* Theodor Morell
* Hans Alfred Nieper
* Mehmet Oz
* Raël (Claude Vorilhon)
* Robby Starbuck
* Randolph Stone
* Paul Joseph Watson
* Andrew Wakefield

Related topics|

* Bogdanov affair
* Bourgeois pseudoscience
* Demarcation problem
* Scientific method
* Suppressed research in the Soviet Union

Resources|

* Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
* Cults of Unreason
* An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
* Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
* Fortean Times
* James Randi Educational Foundation
* Quackwatch
* Skeptical Inquirer
* The Demon-Haunted World
* The Natural History of Quackery
* The Psychology of the Occult
* The Ragged Edge of Science
* The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
* The Skeptic's Dictionary

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