Stephen Wittek
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781474482721
- eISBN:
- 9781474495844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474482721.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter considers similarities between early modernity and the present era in terms of theatricality and practices of conversion. Examples of conversional practices from the past hundred years ...
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This chapter considers similarities between early modernity and the present era in terms of theatricality and practices of conversion. Examples of conversional practices from the past hundred years include the forced conversion of Aboriginal children in Canadian residential schools, the so-called ‘conversion therapies’ purporting to ‘cure’ LGBTQ people, and the conversions imposed on Jews by entrenched structures of anti-Semitism. In readings of three 21st Century plays that explore these issues, the author emphasizes the unique ability of drama to bring critical analysis and insight to the performative nature of conversional social practices. His study asserts the centrality of dramatic and social performance to the ongoing evolution of conversional phenomena, drawing lines of connection between the theatrical representations explored in the preceding chapters and similar offerings in our own age.Less
This chapter considers similarities between early modernity and the present era in terms of theatricality and practices of conversion. Examples of conversional practices from the past hundred years include the forced conversion of Aboriginal children in Canadian residential schools, the so-called ‘conversion therapies’ purporting to ‘cure’ LGBTQ people, and the conversions imposed on Jews by entrenched structures of anti-Semitism. In readings of three 21st Century plays that explore these issues, the author emphasizes the unique ability of drama to bring critical analysis and insight to the performative nature of conversional social practices. His study asserts the centrality of dramatic and social performance to the ongoing evolution of conversional phenomena, drawing lines of connection between the theatrical representations explored in the preceding chapters and similar offerings in our own age.
Tom Waidzunas
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780816696147
- eISBN:
- 9781452953663
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816696147.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
The Straight Line argues that scientific definitions of “sexual orientation” are not merely reflections of human nature, but emerged through a process of social negotiation involving opposing social ...
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The Straight Line argues that scientific definitions of “sexual orientation” are not merely reflections of human nature, but emerged through a process of social negotiation involving opposing social movements, professionals seeking jurisdiction, and historical context. Following the demedicalization of homosexuality, relegating reparative therapies, “ex-gay” ministries, and reorientation research to the scientific fringe has required scientists to enforce key boundaries around scientific expertise and research methods. The book traces reorientation debates in the United States from the 1950s to the present, following homosexuality therapies from the mainstream to the margins. As the ex-gay movement has become increasingly transnational in recent years, the last chapter turns to Uganda, where understandings of the scientific nature of homosexuality played important roles in the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014. The book brings together sexuality studies, science studies, and sociology of social movements to examine dynamics when opposing social movements target knowledge producing institutions. Waidzunas develops a theory of “intellectual opportunity structure” as features of knowledge producing institutions that enable and constrain movements when trying to shape the content of scientific facts. While most literature on the ex-gay movement treats it as a religious phenomenon, this book takes seriously the engagements of this movement with scientific institutions, and its attempts to use research to establish the legitimacy and ethics of reorientation therapies, with important consequences for public policy.Less
The Straight Line argues that scientific definitions of “sexual orientation” are not merely reflections of human nature, but emerged through a process of social negotiation involving opposing social movements, professionals seeking jurisdiction, and historical context. Following the demedicalization of homosexuality, relegating reparative therapies, “ex-gay” ministries, and reorientation research to the scientific fringe has required scientists to enforce key boundaries around scientific expertise and research methods. The book traces reorientation debates in the United States from the 1950s to the present, following homosexuality therapies from the mainstream to the margins. As the ex-gay movement has become increasingly transnational in recent years, the last chapter turns to Uganda, where understandings of the scientific nature of homosexuality played important roles in the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014. The book brings together sexuality studies, science studies, and sociology of social movements to examine dynamics when opposing social movements target knowledge producing institutions. Waidzunas develops a theory of “intellectual opportunity structure” as features of knowledge producing institutions that enable and constrain movements when trying to shape the content of scientific facts. While most literature on the ex-gay movement treats it as a religious phenomenon, this book takes seriously the engagements of this movement with scientific institutions, and its attempts to use research to establish the legitimacy and ethics of reorientation therapies, with important consequences for public policy.
Garrard Conley (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781469646800
- eISBN:
- 9781469646824
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469646800.003.0012
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gay and Lesbian Studies
In Self Portrait, an excerpt from his memoir, Boy Erased, Garrard Conley describes his preparation for attending the Love In Action (LIA) gay conversion therapy during his freshman year of college. A ...
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In Self Portrait, an excerpt from his memoir, Boy Erased, Garrard Conley describes his preparation for attending the Love In Action (LIA) gay conversion therapy during his freshman year of college. A romantic encounter with Caleb, a senior art student, gives him a new perspective on things.Less
In Self Portrait, an excerpt from his memoir, Boy Erased, Garrard Conley describes his preparation for attending the Love In Action (LIA) gay conversion therapy during his freshman year of college. A romantic encounter with Caleb, a senior art student, gives him a new perspective on things.
