Would the Real Conversion Therapists Please Stand Up?

Let’s see who’s doing the actual converting here

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and previous Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, whose parties unanimously passed the Canadian “conversion therapy” bill. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

“Conversion therapy” is a hot-button issue nowadays, but not in the traditional sense. When most people think of conversion therapy, they think of attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation through such extreme aversion treatments as electric shocks and nausea-inducing medications. Even hormonal castration has been used to these ends (remember this for later).

Trans activists have quite successfully expanded the definition of conversion therapy to include efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, despite the fact that the practice has historically been used to refer to efforts to alter same-sex attraction only.

Nevertheless, I was genuinely curious to explore what rationale activists believe they have to make these claims and to once again co-op the gay movement, as …