This week on๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐, I had the pleasure of being joined by Dr. Lucas F.W. Wilson for a vital conversation about the reality of conversion therapy, delving into chilling truths behind these abhorrent and coercive practices.
His new book, โShame-Sex Attraction: Survivorsโ Stories of Conversion Therapyโ is an edited collection that brings together the experiences of those who have been subjected to queer conversion therapy; it is an effort to expose conversion practices for what they areโpseudoscientific, bogus, ineffective, and wildly traumatic - and to recognise and listen to survivors.
For those not familiar with conversion therapy, it is an effort to change someoneโs sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Itโs rooted in social norms that uphold traditional gender roles and bias against LGBTQIA2S+ people.
Conversion attempts may include religious rituals, psychological or behavioural counselling, and aversion therapy aimed at promoting heterosexual attraction or aligning a person's gender identity with their sex assigned at birth.
It often involves instilling in you intense self-loathing through social pressure and gaslighting. The gaslighting is the key. Getting you to cease trusting your own feelings and to instead submit to authority by isolating you. Then, you interact only with other self-loathing people until you learn to censor your own behaviour and feelings. The result can be intense repression and disassociation, as told by numerous accounts throughout the book.
Having these conversations about the very confronting reality of these so-called 'therapies' is incredibly important. By giving these stories the platform to breathe in their authenticity, Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivorsโ Stories of Conversion Therapy shows bravery, solidarity, and how our collective voices can rise up against shame ๐.
๐ก Check out the links below to find out more:
๐ Buy Shame-Sex Attraction here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shame-Sex-Attraction-Survivors-Stories-Conversion-ebook/dp/B0D1S6SHC8
UK: https://www.whsmith.co.uk/Product/Lucas-Wilson/Shame-Sex-Attraction--Survivors-Stories-of-Conversion-Therapy/15579707
๐ข Connect & Support Lucas's advocacy initiatives:
LinkedIn: / lucas-wilson-2a0753b1
Facebook: / luke.wilson.96
Instagram: @lukeslamdunkwilson
Bluesky: @lukeslamdunkwilson.bsky.social
Twitter: @wilson_fw
Threads: @lukeslamdunkwilson