The Troubling History Of Conversion Therapy

Conversion therapy makes headlines as individuals, states, and legal institutions assess its efforts to change a person's sexual orientation. Though it may seem like a recent development, conversion therapy dates back to the 19th century. Its origins, also known as 'reparative therapy' or 'sexual orientation change efforts,' stem from outdated beliefs about homosexuality and how to 'cure' it. In the late 19th century, psychiatrists like Richard von Krafft-Ebing and Albert Moll discussed homosexuality, with Krafft-Ebing advocating for hypnosis as a 'cure.' Austrian endocrinologist Eugen Steinach even theorized that homosexuality was linked to a man's testicles, leading to testicle transplantation surgeries. Sigmund Freud, a prominent neurologist, believed homosexuality resulted from stunted sexual development. Despite the American Psychological Association removing homosexuality from the DSM-III in 1973, conversion therapy persisted. It wasn't until 2009 that the APA reported insufficient evidence to support psychological interventions to change sexual orientation. Today, conversion therapy is widely considered a pseudoscience, with over 20 US states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia banning it.