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Being a religious and Torah observant believer I have never took the time to learn about religions, people, or cultures other than my own. When I started to explore the topic of homosexuality through this queer religiosities class I did not think that I was going to learn about conversion therapy. I came into this class with the notion that homosexuality, was strictly a “choice” or “type of lifestyle”. Previous to being in this class, I have never read any books or watched any films that detailed the historical, religious, and medical notions of the nature of homosexuality. I feel that, now having attained more knowledge, I have come to an understanding that homosexuality is not simply a “choice”, or a hormonal imbalance disorder, but is …show more content…
By its terms alone, “conversion therapy” connotes powerful imagery that defies and defiles what therapeutic practice represents: understanding and healing. Conversion therapy, today, has taken the form of talk therapy. Today most conversion therapists are not even psychologists, they are mostly religious practitioners (Drescher). They convince LGBT people that something is wrong with them, rather than helping them accept who they are, all for the name of G-d. Through conversion therapy, they assist the “client” in understanding possible reasons why the homosexual behavior exists for them, what the behavior entails, and how to eradicate it. Of course, it is impossible to erase one’s sexuality and so the client is eventually made to feel, either directly or indirectly, that they are “failing” or a “lost …show more content…
I did not draw hands on the arms of the body to symbolizes and emphasize the fact that the homosexuals “physically” can’t do anything to revert themselves from being homosexual. The only way they can “become” heterosexual is if they “choose” to. There is a rainbow band aid on the forehead being removed by a hand to represent the oppressors (doctors, religious leaders and doctrine, etc.) trying to “eradicate” the individuals homosexual thoughts, feelings, impulses by telling them “it’s just a phase”, “you’re only homosexual because you must have went through sexual abuse as a child”, or “there was a deficiency in sex-role modeling by your parents” (Tomeo, et. al). In 2009, Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist at the Christian Grove City College, noted in response to an analysis that “the research on sexual abuse among LGBT populations is often misused to make inferences about causation [of homosexuality]”. They think that these methods would serve as a solution to end their homosexuality when in reality all it will do is leave permanent psychological scars. Not including eyes on the face emphasizes the idea that through conversion therapy people who identify as LGBT lose sight of who they are. People who are heterosexual also lose sight of the other
Even though these practices have hurt, or even killed some of their “patients,” there are still some survivors, and journalists that have proven that conversion therapy does not work.
Making a stands that being a homosexual is natural and homosexuality isn’t a mental disorder. Conversion or reparative therapy only suppress their sexual conduct, not their sexual desires. Those type of therapy infuses shame and guilt in a person which can cause the person the shutdown. Secondly, conversion therapy can make a person feel like they have no way out. The highly disapproved therapy can push a person to make a bad rational decision possibly committing suicide. LGBT people are three to seven times more likely to commit suicide. Thirdly, they promote sexual orientation is a choice but your sexual orientation is not a choice. Conversion and Reparative therapy are supported by James Dobson which created a Christian organization called “ Focus On The
People that’ve gone through conversion therapy tell stories about things they went through. Something therapists do is force people to watch heterosexual porn. Therapists believe that watching porn will make men attracted to women while it will make women attracted to men (A Survivor Of Gay Conversion Therapy Shares His Chilling Story, 2016). Another method therapists use is force people to pray the gay away. One man named Paul Southwick wrote about how he tried to pray the gay away but all that did was make him hate himself be felt like wasn’t trying hard enough. Some therapist give their patients electric shocks while showing them homoerotic images. This leads to patients associating homosexuals with pain (A Survivor Of Gay Conversion Therapy Shares His Chilling Story, 2016). Conversion therapy can last for years. This mean that patients are subject to abuse for years. Conversion therapy is extremely harmful. People learn to associate homosexuality with pain and that leads to them hating homosexuals and themselves. It is also very traumatizing. People that have served conversion therapy say they still feel the harmful effects years
Reparative therapies, also known as conversion therapies, are a group of interventions whose aim is to alter one's sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Any attempts to reform or 'cure' one’s sexual orientation using these 'therapies' are likely to fail and to cause harm such as depression, anxiety, suicidality, and, in some cases, a loss of sexual feeling altogether. In cases where patients themselves expressed the desire to change their sexual orientation, the most effective and appropriate therapeutic responses that resulted in maximum mental health benefit have been provider-initiated support, acceptance, and validation of same-sex sexual orientation. These desires to change are the result of internalized social stigma, discrimination, external pressure.
Scientists in fields connected to neurobiology and psychiatry remain mystified about the cause of Conversion Disorder. The disorder is characterized by physical symptoms of a neurological disorder, yet no direct problem can be found in the nervous system or other related systems of the body. This fact alone is not unusual; many diseases and symptoms have unknown origins. Conversion Disorder, however, seems to stem from "trivial" to traumatic psychological events and emotions rather than biological events. The extreme symptoms often disappear as quickly as they appear without the patient consciously controlling or feigning them. Thus, Conversion Disorder serves as a significant example of how blurred the conceived demarcated divisions of mind/body/behavior can be.
It is very reasonable to conclude that research on depression of those who identify as gay, lesbian or transsexual is not accurate; there is an underreporting of people who identify as these sexual orientations because of the fear of being different. It is understood that those apart of the LGBTQ community actively hide their identity in hopes to avoid being rejected or abused (Bird, 2013). Once the reporting issue of having a smaller percentage of the actual representation of the LGBTQ population is put aside, there is evidence that highly suggests that lesbians and gay men are at higher risk for psychiatric disorders than heterosexuals (Cochran, 2001). Even after underreporting, there is still enough information to conclude that sexual discrimination can have harmful effects on the quality of life. Common factors that have been observed in lesbians and gays that can potentially increase depression during Cochran's study are anxiety and mood disorders and decreased self esteem. Cochran and her partner also noted that dissatisfaction with how one is treated beca...
“Homosexuality is found in over 1,500 species. Homophobia is found in only one” ("1,500 Animal” 1). Conversion therapy, or otherwise known as “reparative therapy,” is a homophobic process by which many therapists attempt to “cure” homosexuality. Conversion Therapy demonstrates the ignorance of this world by causing mental and physical harm to its participants in an attempt to “cure” something that is not a problem, and that is why the federal government needs to ban it once and for all.
"[I]t seems appropriate to understand sexual orientation (heterosexual or homosexual) as a deep-seated dimension of one's personality and to recognize its relative stability in a person. Generally, homosexual orientation is experienced as a given, not as something freely chosen. By itself, therefore, a homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, for morality presumes the freedom to choose. The teachings of the Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against them"(Pastoral).
Worthington, E. L. Jr., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., & McDaniel, M. A. (2011). Religion and spirituality. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press
According to the Human Rights Campaign, Conversion therapy is a practice that claims to be able to "turn gay people straight" through therapy. Conversion therapy leads to a variety of negative side effects. According to the Human Rights Campaign, "minors are especially vulnerable, and conversion therapy can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide." Conversion therapy is a horrific practice that should be banned in all fifty states. Conversion therapy is a horrible practice that should be
As humans, it is natural to shy away from things that are different than the norm; we discriminate. It is very important to rid oneself of discrimination to better clarify the decision at hand. To make a valid conclusion on homosexuality, it is essential for one to forget what they were taught when socialization occurred, mainly birth to adulthood. As an example: You were told as a young child to hate and not associate yourself with African Americans because of the color of their skin, because they are different. When you grow older, you obtain a six-figure job, but y...
Now in order to fully understand the importance of addressing the topics of religion and spirituality into therapy as well as with grasping the importance of becoming skilled at integrating these issues into counseling, it is of great importance to distinguish between spirituality and religion and knowing how a client identifies with each one. And with religion and spirituality playing significant roles in aiding emotional well-bein...
Even though it is against nature, some individuals are born with complete desire to same sex. Abraham Verghese in his article A fresh look at homosexuality said, “While welcoming and agreeing with a positive perception of homosexuality, it is difficult to accept the position that homosexuality is a normal psychosexual development. A normal variant cannot be considered completely normal. It is, in fact, an aberration in the psychosexual development, caused by genetic and psychosocial factors for which the person is not responsible. There are research findings, which suggest that there are structural differences in the brains of people with homosexual orientation.”(qdt pg 1) This quote proves the claim of having a different biological format for homosexuals from any normal heterosexual. These cases are completely helpless and have nothing to do with being homosexuals; it is a natural stimulus that they were born with. Therefore in such cases, it is critical to understand that they have no control over their unnatural
Everyone in civil society has heard of the latest dispute at least once in the past few months – is homosexuality really a choice, or is it just the product of many genetic and hormonal differences? Some argue that homosexuality is a combination of both, but the scientific aspect argues that it is solely based on biological differences. Whether or not homosexuality is exclusively one or the other, the topic itself has caused a ripple of social unease and activist movements.
Society is one of the corporeal that plays a major role in a homosexual’s life. If you go into public schools, you will see this behavior is becoming more prevalent. Not to mention, the attraction of same sex even start as early as elementary schools. Therefore, young children experiment with same sex interaction, and if the parents don’t address this interaction this could potentially carry over into adulthood. If fact, society makes it appears this is a chosen lifestyle. Additionally, this lifestyle is heavily influence by the radio, television, and peers. Often, young children grow up with this in the household. Some may say that homosexuality is inherit, in addition, it caused by poor parenting. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge on homosexuality. Consequently, some people may think that homosexuality is a disease that is contagious. In addition, many people frowned upon people that are