The Looming Storm Surrounding Conversion Therapy
There has been a storm quietly brewing for a few years in Canada. It is a storm that is now gaining considerable strength, with the clouds starting to burst very close to home. It is centred around the issue of so-called 'conversion therapy.' And with the passing of Bill C-6 in the House of Commons, it is all but assured to be a problem in coming days. [ Note: since publishing this, a new bill has since been passed, Bill C-4, which indeed criminalizes conversion therapy ] Conversion Therapy Origins Historically, conversion therapy referred to therapy that relied on pseudoscientific techniques in order to "convert" homosexuals (or bisexuals) back to heterosexuality. These techniques included things like hypnosis, castration, testicle transplants (yes, you read that correctly), electroshock, and lobotomies. Many who underwent such therapy did so against their wills. It was, of course, largely believed that homosexuality was aberrant in the 19th century, and when combine...