Scared straight?--Conversion therapists prey on fears, misconceptions about homosexuality (2)

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Scared straight?--Conversion therapists prey on fears, misconceptions about homosexuality (2)

By Zhang Yiqian (Global Times) 11:19, September 03, 2013

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Cruel treatments

But not all doctors are as responsible as the one Yang consulted. Lu told the Global Times there are still many medical organizations and individuals who are offering varieties of conversion therapy in China.

According to a survey conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are at least 10 million gay men in China. But it's difficult to calculate how many have gone through conversion therapy or how many clinics offer such treatment. No official data exists in China.

This is part of the reason the Beijing LGBT Center has launched the project investigating the negative effects of such therapy.

"Since I started actively working on gay rights in 2001, I've always heard about the damage of such treatment, either turning them mentally ill or impotent," said Xin Ying, director of the center.

When the doctor talked with Ah Yan, he determined that he wasn't "truly gay" and decided there was room for change. He recommended drug and shock treatments to Ah Yan, saying they would work.

During the shock treatment, the doctor showed both homosexual and heterosexual pornography to Ah Yan. Whenever he had a reaction to gay porn, the doctor would shock him in an attempt at crude Pavlovian treatment. Shock therapy, a treatment originally copied from the Soviet Union, is still commonly used in China for a variety of treatments, although its use in the West is now far more limited.

At first, Ah Yan thought if suffering some pain could mean he would be "cured" and wouldn't have to face all the difficulties ahead, it would be worth it. But soon enough, he realized his sexuality wasn't something that could be changed with electric shocks.

The shock treatment lasted for more than two months; Ah Yan went once every week for about 15 minutes to an hour. The doctor used this method combined with drug and talk therapy as well. Ah Yan doesn't remember the name of the drug, but was told was an anti-depressant.

He decided he wanted to take a break at the end of two months and stopped the treatment. By then it had cost him 10,000 yuan ($1,634). Then, the effects started to show.

"After a while, I started hating the idea of being with a man, even though I knew that I still like men," he said.

In that period, he felt nothing. No liking for men, but not for women either. He didn't want to talk to anyone and wasn't interested in sex anymore.

That's when he decided it wasn't the life he wanted; it would've been better to embrace who he really was.