In The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a novel that follows a young lesbian adolescent, Cameron, through her experiences of what its like being attracted to other girls, we see the main character forced off to a conversion therapy camp named “God’s Promise” by her Aunt Ruth in an attempt to “fix” her homosexuality. As I was reading this novel, I was reminded of one of my favorite movies that also stars a lesbian main character: But I’m a Cheerleader. This film is also mainly set in a conversion camp where the main character, Megan, is forced to do various tasks that are typical of female gender roles, such as cleaning, changing a baby, and learning how to properly apply makeup. This is different than what we see with Cameron Post; she mostly just goes to talk therapy with the two leaders, Lydia Marsh and Reverend Rick, in order to discover her underlying experiences that have, in the eyes of those around her, led her to homosexuality. I wondered how accurate each of these depictions of conversion therapy really was: do they really force these minors to confine to their gender roles? Or does it more so focus on talk therapy?
Before I get into describing the realities of conversion therapy, I want to make a point that no matter what, conversion therapy does not, and never will, work. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has not identified homosexuality as a mental illness since 1973. This is because there is no scientific evidence to qualify homsexuality as a mental illness; there are no differences in the brains of homosexuals versus heterosexuals, and it is identified as a normal part of human development; furthermore, conversion therapy does not have a single scienfically proven case of having worked (The Trevor Project).
The worst part of the conversion therapy in “But I’m a Cheerleader,” in my opinion, is when the adolescents, towards the end of the film, are forced to participate in a simulation of heterosexual intercourse with another camper of the opposite sex. Though this scene was filmed in a humorous light for the movie, if practiced in real life, this is obviously an incredibly uncomfortable, embarrassing, and potentially traumatic experience for these teenagers. I was scared to find that attempts at “curing sexuality” actually went this far. Unfortunately, it wasn’t entirely uncommon in the 1960’s for the use of behavior-modification therapy to be used through “sex workers (and) organismic reconditioning,” while others used more physical methods, such as electroshock and chemical therapy (Streed, Anderson, Babits, & Ferguson). Physical harm could be used to try and have the campers associate their homosexuality with pain (The Trevor Project).
Unfortunately, some of these physical measures are still in use today. However, they’re not as common, and it seems like “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” illustrated what happens in modern day conversion camps quite realistically. These camps typically take place in religious settings, as seen in the novel, and make use of prayer and talk therapies along with behavioral therapies (Reynolds). In one case, a boy attended weekly therapy sessions where the therapist attempted to put the blame of his homosexuality on various experiences, such as his too distant or too involved relationships with his parents or abuse that he’d never actually experienced (Guay).
It seems like in most instances, the leaders of these interventions are trying to get to the “root of the cause;” one victim of these therapies has stated that they’ve been told that their homosexuality was a result of wanting to be like others of their same sex, and mistook it for attraction, while another said that they were forced to go through an exorcism amongst their peers (Reynolds).
Exorcism’s don’t seem to be too uncommon: in another case, a woman described her experiences of attending a conversion camp where she experienced a private exorcism between her, a pastor, and two assistants immediately upon her arrival (Tsoulis-Reay). Her response to this event was traumatic: she was unable to stop shaking out of fear that she’d be face to face with the devil. She then describes how aggressive prayer was used for hours on end; the experience was so terrifying that she left the same day she came.
Clearly, these people are involuntarily participating in events that are manipulative and traumatic, and they don’t come without serious consequences, either.
These conversion therapy camps have led to increased cases of depression, suicidal ideation, feelings of loneliness, and lowered self esteem (Reynolds). Only negative effects come out of these conversion therapy programs, and yet, only twenty states have some sort of ban against it (Movement Advancement Project). These conversion therapy camps are seriously harming LGBT+ youth, and it’s important that we continue to fight for them to be banned everywhere.
– Emily Schellinger
Works Cited
“About Conversion Therapy.” The Trevor Project,
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-involved/trevor-advocacy/50-bills-50-stat
es/about-conversion-therapy/. Accessed 20 October 2020.
Guay, James. “My Hellish Youth in Gay Conversion Therapy and How I Got Out.” Time,
https://time.com/2986440/sexual-conversion-therapy-gay/. Accessed 20 October 2020.
Movement Advancement Project. “Equality Maps: Conversion Therapy Laws.” Family Equality,
https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy. Accessed 20 October 2020.
Reynolds, Emily. “The cruel, dangerous reality of gay conversion therapy.” Wired,
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-gay-conversion-therapy. Accessed 20 October 2020.
Streed, Carl G., Anderson, J. Seth, Babits, Chris, Ferguson, Michael A. “Changing
Medical Practice, Not Patients- Putting an End to Conversion Therapy.” N Engl J Med 2019, doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1903161. Accessed 20 October 2020.
Tsoulis-Reay, Alexa. “What It’s Like To Experience Gay Conversion Therapy.” The Cut, https://www.thecut.com/2018/01/conversion-therapy-experience.html. Accessed 20 October 2020.
Representing Adolescence @ Pitt 