Southern queer youth face hardships. A Supreme Court ruling made things worse.

Shifting perspective to Capitol Hill, the same scene cannot be found. On the final day of March, the Supreme Court of the United States, in an 8-1 vote, sided with a Christian-rooted medical therapist to overturn a ban on “conversion therapy” imposed by the Colorado Legislature on the basis of the First Amendment’s protection of free speech.

For context, “conversion therapy” refers to the practice of, in theory, changing an individual’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or their gender identity to cisgender.

Justices failed to protect queer students

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Historically, “conversion therapy” has involved electroshock, nausea-induced condition, and broader humiliations and abuse, all in the ruse of making one’s orientation “moral.” While the Chiles v. Salazar ruling refers solely to the use of talk therapy for attempts at changing a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, the repulsive nature of “conversion therapy” must be acknowledged.

Conversion therapy has been repeatedly proved ineffective and harmful to the mental health of queer minors, often resulting in suicidal ideation.

When Exodus International — previously one of the largest “conversion therapy” organizations in the world — ceased operations in 2013, its founder openly apologized to the gay community for being part of a “system of ignorance.”

In the words of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the only dissenting SCOTUS Justice, “First Amendment principles have far less salience when the speakers are medical professionals.”

To put her opinion and broader medical expertise into perspective, the American Psychological Association (APA) has taken formal positions opposing the use of “conversion therapy” since 1998, followed by all other integral American medical agencies.

Only 25 years prior, the APA first removed the designation of homosexuality as a mental illness, showcasing the recent and seismic shift in medical support for queer Americans.

Consequently, in an attempt to protect the Constitution, the Supreme Court has lapsed in protecting queer students from the degrading and mentally exhausting threat of “conversion therapy”. Of course, this protection has never been extended to students in the South.

Let’s be clear: The political, religious, and cultural chokeholds on the Southeast United States have not left ample room for bans on “conversion therapy” practices on minors. In fact, Georgia alongside neighboring Alabama and Mississippi have passed prohibitions on banning “conversion therapy”, illustrating the true influence of religious-based counseling on Southern medical infrastructure.

The two dozen states that have banned the practice and, thus, will have to re-evaluate their legislation, are on the West Coast, Midwest or the Northeast.

Young people should stand up for who they are

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

As a Southern student who faced his fair share of obstacles, from coming out and accepting his identity to founding a queer-focused nonprofit, my advice to students in similar positions is clear: Never change.

The phrase “never change,” equally cliché and overused, is less of a message of goodwill but more of a reminder. While sexual orientation and gender identity can grow and, for some, change fluidly within a lifetime, it has been proved by social and medical experts alike that these factors cannot be manipulated by attempts at psychotherapy.

Put bluntly, “conversion therapy” is cited as pseudoscience and lacks any notion of credibility in the eyes of queer students and establishments alike, even if protected under a lawful loophole.

Beyond the dialogue on “conversion therapy”, it is vital as a queer student, especially in a controversial atmosphere like that of the South, to know that your identity is never something to be ashamed of, nor is it something that can be altered.

A universal experience within the Bible Belt: queer kids attempting to “Pray the Gay Away” through pleading with a higher power, despite the ludicrousness of these attempts. Any people who claim they have successfully changed their orientation are simply testaments to the effect of internalized homophobia.

Ultimately, no court ruling or legislative bill overrides your right to stand firm in your queerness. Despite seemingly arbitrary decisions in governance, medical consensus and lived experience makes it clear that your sexual orientation and gender identity are not “choices,” but the way you choose to live, embrace, and defend that identity is.

Alexander Royal is the founder of HealthPride, a queer-focused nonprofit aimed at distributing free health educational materials to Southern high schools and supporting local LGBTQ+ health initiatives around college campuses. He is a Fulton County resident and an incoming Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying health policy and management.