Deep Echo: "Conversion Therapy" in China from 1910-2020.
On April 28th, an online art exhibition with the theme "The History of Conversion Therapy in China" was held via Zoom. Host Qing Que and a graduate student in history, as well as the former leader of a university's Rainbow Feminist group, Asia Africa, shared their thoughts and had discussions on the topic. Asia Africa talked about the development and characteristics of "conversion therapy"
in China from 1910 to 2020, tracing its historical trajectory. In China, "conversion therapy" has always affected the LGBT community in a complex and unjustified way. Asia Africa shared that since the Republican era, homosexuality has been viewed as a disease that is incurable.
In the second half of the twentieth century, society's understanding of homosexuality shifted from a pathological perspective to an issue of attitudes and beliefs. In this era, society viewed homosexuality as a political stigma, as a manifestation of immoral and outdated thinking.
In the 1980s and 1990s, homosexuality was transformed from a political issue to a medical one. Society began to publicly and massively conduct pathological reconstruction on homosexuality.
Even now, as we enter the post-CCMD-3 era, "conversion therapy" remains a complex issue. The obstacles facing homosexuality come from legal, power, and social ideological factors. It can be said that this issue has been caught in a cycle of repression and error, oscillating between the past and present.
Ya Fei proceeded to enlighten us by introducing the earliest worldwide practices of "conversion therapy," as well as shedding light on the distinctive features of this approach when implemented domestically within China. In today's context, "conversion therapy" is inextricably linked to China's modernization process, with the country's political institutions intervening and discriminating against the LGBT community, thereby reinforcing public vigilance towards this marginalized group. Ya Fei emphasized that this discrimination and prejudice have become a discernible basis of China's present-day "conversion therapy" problem, warranting further reflection and discourse.
How can we go about opposing "conversion therapy"?
According to Ya Fei, in the current climate where political and medical discrimination still prevail, our task is to fight against such discrimination. This involves countering political discrimination by spreading accurate and positive ideas, and combating medical discrimination through media exposure. Additionally, legal measures can be taken to defend our own rights. At the end of the event, Ya Fei engaged in a Q&A session with the participants to answer more questions about "conversion therapy".