Title page: The title page is decorated with strips of red and yellow paper that are decorated with plants and other scientific drawings and annotations. The title “Conversion Therapy” and subtitle “A brief scientific history of how society has tried to fix LGBTQIA+ people” are written on white card and stuck on top.
Contents page: this lists the sections (in black ink) and page numbers (in red) on a white background. The contents are as follows: Content warning… page 1, Part 1: What is Conversion Therapy? pages 2 to 6, Part 2: Does Conversion Therapy work? pages 7 to 8, Part 3: Is Conversion Therapy (un)ethical? pages 9 to 10, Part 4: The role of science in Conversion Therapy… pages 11 to 12, Part 5: Fact & Fiction… pages 13 to 14
Content warning: The content warning is written in pencil on white card and stuck on a red card background. It reads This zine describes (in as little detail as possible) anti-LGBTQIA+ prejudice including homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, acephobia and intersexism; sexism and misogyny; death or dying; physical violence; sexual assault; self-harm and suicide; lack of consent.
Page 2: The title, Part 1: What is Conversion Therapy? is written in block capitals and black ink on white card with a red, flower featuring border. Beneath it, in black ink on white card and stuck above a ripped piece of red card that shows a drawing of a leaf and a caterpillar, is the definition - Conversion Therapy, also known as Sexual Reorientation Therapy and Reparative Therapy is an extremely broad school of thought designed to change the sexual orientation, gender and behaviour of a wide variety of different communities. Sexual Reorientation in Sexual Orientation Therapy is underlined and annotated with the word inaccurate, Reparative in Reparative Therapy is underlined and annotated with the word bleurgh and the change in “to change the sexual orientation…” has been crossed out and replaced with the word fix. All edits have been made in red ink.
Page 3: At the top of the page, in pencil, a paragraph reads “Conversion Therapy” is illegal in some parts of the US, some parts of Australia, Brazil, Exuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, and Malta. Switzerland, Tawiwan and Albania have de facto bans and Canada, France, the UK, Ireland, some parts of Australia, Norway, Austria and the Netherlands have proposed bans. China operates on a case by case basis. Beneath this is the title, in black, block capitals “Where can you experience Conversion Therapy?” and, just below that, is the word Everywhere. This is written in red and is upside down.
In the centre of the page is a poorly drawn map of the world. It is bordered by the following “This map was inspired by Wikicommons: Countries banning conversion therapy.svg I’m sorry it’s drawn so badly. Especially Oceania and Japan. And where is Italy?!” The majority of the map is coloured in blue which, as the legend indicates, means Conversion Therapy is legal in these countries. The general area of the countries listed in the first paragraph are shaded red.
In three separate pieces of white card, stuck below the map on a red background, are three facts. “The US: scientists often funded by the Exodus Church machine exported conversion therapy across the country and around the world.”, “Apartheid South Africa: the military enforced brutal Conversion Therapy on soldiers to make them fit to fight.”, “UK: In the latter 1/2 of the 20thC Conversion Therapy was widely practiced in an adhoc and unregulated way.”
At the bottom of the page is one final paragraph, written in black ink. “The National LGBT Survey (2018) estimates that 2% of LGBT people have undertaken some form of Conversion Therapy and a further 5% have been offere it (Government Equalities Office, 2018). The Williams Institute estimates that 6.7% of LGB & 13% of transgender adults in the US have received some form of Conversion Therapy (Mallory, Brown & Conron, 2019). These statistics only exist now because we are looking for them. It is much harder to get hte data from 30 years ago or in countries where Conversion Therapy is explicitly endorsed.”
Page 4: This page is entitled “Who is Conversion Therapy for?” This title, in block black capitals is stuck at the top of the page. Beneath it is a block of black text “Anyone who is not, scientifically speaking, “heterosexual”, that is to say not cis-heteronormative, that is to say not having sex or not having sex in the right way or not existing in the right way.”
Below this is a second text block with is stuck on a red and green square at a slight angle. This block reads “Our history of CT focuses on the stories of White ‘male’ ‘homosexual’ patients. This, it has been argued by ACADEMICS, is because the sexuality of these idividuals is is perceived as might be considered more important by society. BUT many trans & nonbinary femme patients were misgendered and their identities (and the misogyny they faced) have been erased.” the “is” and “is perceived as” have been crossed out as if the author is choosing their words more carefully.
In the background of this page, written in red crayon, is a list of identities and behaviours that have been attended to by Conversion Therapy. The list reads “homosexuals; bisexuals; nonheterosexual women; women and men who identify as gay, lesbian, same-sex attracted or questioning; transvestities; transsexuals; cross-dressing children; gender identity disordered people; people with intersex varients; asexuals; sadomasichists; fetishists; exhibitionists; voyeurs; paedophiliacs; or other sexual deviants; depressinves; ob*se people; phobics; patients with manifest substantial deviation in gender role development; obsessional ruminations; patienst with writer’s cramp; alocholics; smokers; effeminate homosexuals; patients complaining of homosexuality; primary and secondary homosexuals; active bisexuals; overt homosexuals; “typical boy” with cross gender identification; ex gays… “
Page 5: This page forms one half of the double page spread “What does Conversion Therapy involve?”, this title is written in bold in the centre of the spread. Along the bottom runs a timeline from 1892 to 2020. Half of that timeline is displayed on this page. Around the page are different types of Conversion Therapy, and their descriptions, with arrows showing where in the timeline they fit.
In the top right hand corner the CT “Ride a bike real far” is written and, beneath it, “(you can’t have sex if you’re tired)”. This is linked to the time line in red ink at the date 1892.
Below and to the right of this is written “Sex! Sex! Sex! (Scientists suggested sex with sex workers or supportive partners and Nazi scientists forced patients to be raped or to rape.)”. A yellow arrow indicates that this CT took place from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s.
Below and to the left of this is written “Injections (to ‘correct’ your hormones or, if that doesn’t work, to lower your sex drive).” An orange arrow shows this CT occurred from the early 1900’s to just after the mid 1900’s.
To the right of this is the CT “Operations” which is described as “Lobotomies, castration, testiclar implants, hysterectomies, spinal cauterisation, and clitoridectomies. + reassignment surgery.)” A green arrow shows that these surgeries have been used as therapies from the early 1900’s to the present day. in a red bordered box to the left of this CT is the statement “Yes reassignment surgery but only for basically everyone except the trans people asking for it. We will force surgery on intersex infants but won’t give hormone blockers to trans kids because they should try to be normal instead.”
In the top right hand corner is the CT “Gender conformity (Learn how to put on make up or ride a motorcycle or play with dolls or hit a home run or submit to sexism or punch someone and then you’ll be the right person and be with the right people.)”
Page 6: This is the second half of the page What does Conversion Therapy involve?
In the top right hand corner, a red bordered box reads “The history of CT is the history of how WOMXN’S BODIES have been instrumentalised to HELP MEN, and why womxn should be subservient to men. In CT, womxn have been forced to become men, required to help men and made to subjugate to men. Where trans men and masc folk & non binary people have been misgendered as ‘female’, their bodies have been brutalised using misogynistic weapons. Ultimately, CT is built on the premise that men > womxn, male > female, masculinity > femininity and must be guarded from those who are not worthy AND that behaviour associated with womxn is a sign of weakness that must be fixed.”
Below this the CT Behaviour Therapy “(Retrain your body’ responses to stimulus)”. A purple arrow shows this technique has been used from the mid 1900’s to the present day. A black arrow links it to Aversion Therapy “(associates undesirable behaviour with negative things, like electric shocks, bad smells and a mark in the bad behaviour column on the fridge, and appropriate behaviour with positive things like praise and biscuits.)” and a thought bubble links it to Covert Sensitisation “Like aversion therapy but the punishment is imaginary.”
Finally, below this is Pyschoanalysis “Let’s find out what trauma led to your deviance and treat that. To be cured you actually have to really want to be cured, though.”
Page 7: This is one half of the double page entitled “Part 2: Does Conversion Therapy Work?” The title is written in capital letter bubble writing and stuck on a blue background. Beneath it is scrawled “(No)”.
The main body of this page is in the mid left hand side to bottom left corner. This block of text reads “How do you know Conversion Therapy has worked?” and then, in bullet points “By asking the researcher if it did (they’ll say yes because it’s their technique); By asking the participant (they’ll probably say yes because if it didn’t they’ll be told it they failed.)” (the it is crossed out); By measuring physiological responses because we all know that sexuality (and gender?!) are defined by our responses to pornography; By only following up on patients long term through Conversion Therapy advocates”
In the bottom center of the double page spread is an upside down blue pyramid. In the bottom point of the pyramid is written “Gender and sexual binaries”, in the second layer are two blocks. The left hand block reads “small samples and bad methodology” and the right hand block reads “poor understanding of sexuality and gender”. In the top layer there are three blocks which read, from left to right, “not generalisable”, “not proving what you say you’re proving”, “bias”.
In the top center of the double page spread is the statement “Forget about this and focus on this. We can’t trust the data, whatever it says, because it is is collected under these assumptions.” A large black arrow points left to a statement framed in a blue border that reads “There are NO scientifically sound pieces of research that demonstrate the efficacy of Conversion Therapy.”
Page 8: In the center of this page, next to the title (Part 2: Does Conversion Therapy work?) is written “Conversion Therapy Assumptions” in black ink. This is surrounded by 7 assumptions written in blue: “(Homo)sexuality can be changed by sexuality is not fluid.”, “Cis-heterosexuality is default”, “LGBTQIA+ identities are caused by trauma.”, “Sexuality = gender”, “body=gender”, “LGBTQIA+ people are fundamentally different.”, “LGBTQIA+ bodies belong to society & should conform for society.”
Page 9: THis is one half of the double page spread “Part 3: Is Conversion Therapy Unethical?” This title, written in block capitals and bordered in pink is stuck in the center of both pages and below it (in red) is written “Yes! (very)”.
At the top of the page is written “ethical medical research must statisfy four pillars.” In black ink on white card with a pink border.
The page is divided by a thick black vertical line which separates it into two columns. The left most column is labelled, at the bottom, Benficience (has benefit). This is written on white card on a green and pink background. Written in block capitals down the column is IT DOES NOT WORK!
The right hand column is labelled “non-maleficience (does no harm). Written in the column are two blocks of text. The first reads “ANxiety, depression, nervous breakdowns, shame, guilt, loss of self, PTSD, paranoia, suicide, suicidal ideation, self-harm, self-mutilation, being trapped with desires and urges that you can no longer disconnect from negative emotions, burns, asphyxiation, complications from surgery, headaches, dehydration, unwanted or distressing desires, death.” This is annotated witha red arrow and red text reading “worth it to be straight?!”
The second block of text reads “Beyond the clear (although often undocumented or considered) side effects for CT patients, the existence of CT says that LGBTQIA+ identities are a SICKNESS with a CURE - a state sanctioned way of getting rid of us”.
Page 10: this is a continuation of the previous page. It is also divided by a thick black vertical line. In the left hand column (the third column overall) a green and pink bordered label at the bottom reads “(can be freely chosen) Autonomy). This column also contains two blocks of text. The first says “So many researchers have justified Conversion Therapy by saying their patients were desperate and begging for it” the second says “Non-consenting patients” in bold and, beneath this “patients recruited from prison/offered CT instead of prison; military conscripts; children; people existing in a society that tells them they are wrong & sick.”
In the right hand column (fourth overall) which is labelled “Justice (must comply with laws/morals” is a block of text written in pencil. It reads “Technically, on these grounds, Conversion Therapy is ethical. In 2018, the British Government said they would make a move to ban it. They have done NOTHING and in the time since the climate in the UK has grown ever more transphobic making the use of CT practices and principles in the name of “protecting” gender non conforming and trans kids ever more palatable.”
Page 11: This is the first page in the double page spread “Part 4: The role of science in Conversion Therapy” this title is written in bubble writing on a brown background.
On this first page is a timeline or “A brief history of the pathologisation of LGBTQIA+ identities”. The timeline is drawn vertically from 1973 to 2013 and annotated with the following: “1973 Homosexuality removed from the DSM and replaced with ego-dystonic sexual orientation (distress caused by one’s sexual orientation); 1980 Gender Identity Disorder (for children) and transsexualism (for adults) added to the DSM. Inhibited Sexual Desire added to the DSM; 1987 ego-dystonic sexual orientation replaced with “persistant and marked distress at one’s sexual orientation”. ISD also replaced - with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder and Sexual Aversion Disorder (a lack of interest in sex and a phobic aversion to sex); 1994 the criteria of a “marked distress or interpersonal difficulty” was added to HSDD.; 2013 GID removed and replaced with Gender Dysphoria, or “the distress a person feels due to a mismatch between their gender identity and their sex assigned at birth” HSDD was split into male HSDD and female HSDD, a disclaimer has also been added saying that the label does not apply to people identifying as asexual.”
This page ends with the comment “did you spot the pattern yet?”
Page 12: This is the second half of the section Part 4: The role of science in Conversion Therapy.
It features a hand drawing of two interlocking spirals. The first, larger spiral, drawn in dark brown spirals inwards. It is labeled “Bad Science” with the “bad” crossed out. Written on the spiral is “Development of the theory and practice; National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality; Scientific research to demonstrate LGBTQIA+ people are abnormal and unstable and unhappy and different”
The second spiral spirals outwards and has been drawn in a lighter brown pen. It is labelled “Good Science” with the “good” crossed out. On it is written “Evidence against CT”
Page 13: In the center of this page is the word “Fact” stuck on in wooden letters. In the top left hand corner is written “Conversion Therapy is still practiced in the UK today”, in the bottom right hand corner is writtern “Conversion Therapy is torture”. In the top right hand corner is a block of text in a brown border. It reads “You can help to end conversion therapy and infant intersex surgery” in the bottom left hand corner is another block of text in a brown border, it reads “Trying to force or train children to change their behaviour into something more gender ‘appropriate’ is Conversion Therapy”.
Page 14: In the center of this page, in wooden block letters, is the word Fiction. Beneath it is written (the following statements are true).
The rest of the page is mostly text. Starting from the top, in black ink, it reads “Hormone blockers are NOT a form of Conversion Therapy. They are a valide and important option for many trans youths. Attempts to characterise them as such ARE a way of enforcing the same prejudices that created Conversion Therapy.”
In a lighter grey, the text then reads “Sexuality and gender do NOT have to be fixed and immutable to refute Conversion Therapy. They can be (and often are) fluid. Covnersion Therapy has helped to enforce a vocabulary of sexuality and gender with strict definitions and measurement criteria. The fact that many Conversion Therapy patients may have been ‘actually bisexual’ isn’t the proof that it doesn’t work as bisexuality is no more easily forcibly changed than homo or heterosexuality.”
At the bottom of the page, in large, bold print is the statement “Conversion Therapy does not work (and is not therapy)”
Page 15: the final page of the zine features more information and advice. It is separated into two boxes.
The uppermost box is entitled “For More Information:” it reads “contact the author @hashtagcerys (they/them) on Twitter or Instagram for a full list of the ~175 academic papers this zine is based on or a more comprehensive account of the scientific field of Conversion Therapy.”
The second box is entitled “What next?” and reads “You can sign a petition to make LGBT conversion Therapy illegal in the UK by visiting petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300976 The petition, started by Mahed Asad has over 200,000 signatures.
Support charities providing support and information to empower trans youths. Charities like Mermaids, Gendered Intelligence, GIRES, IMAAN, LGBT Youth Scotland.
Support the Intersex Justice Project in their campaign to END INTERSEX Surgery.”