The oft-repeated idea that conversion therapy doesn& #39;t work is predicated on the idea conversion therapy aims at truly turning people cis, straight, and gender conforming.

Quite the contrary, I think that its goal is to engineer the social death of the trans, queer, gender non-conforming subject. It doesn& #39;t care at all whether it & #39;truly& #39; changes the person: its goal is to make trans, queer, and gender non-conforming disappear.

By making them disappear, conversion therapy maintains the illusion of the unlivability of trans, queer, and gender non-conforming lives. Which, in turn, solidifies the norms that discipline our gendered lives.

That& #39;s why my work always resists the question of whether conversion therapy & #39;works& #39; at changing people& #39;s identities and desires. Because that& #39;s not the point, nor the problem with conversion therapy. Its dehumanizing nature isn& #39;t dependent on whether or not it & #39;works& #39; that way.

My friends who experienced conversion therapy deserve our labour and support because their lives are worth living. Because they& #39;re amazing people who bring richness to the world. Because they don& #39;t deserve that awfulness, shame, and hurt. Not because they& #39;re & #39;unchangeable& #39;.

The goal of conversion therapy isn& #39;t to eradicate the trans, queer, and gender non-conforming that lies inside people. It& #39;s to ensure the social death of trans, queer, and gender non-conforming people. And at that, conversion therapy works exceptionally well.