Boy Erased and Movies That Matter
The Utah Bee is excited to partner with the Salt Lake Film Society (Broadway and Tower Theaters) to help bring quality films to Utah. We love SLFS for one main reason: SLFS loves movies that matter!
Don’t get us wrong. We enjoy special effects and car chases as much as the next guy. But, the Utah Bee really enjoys artistic exploration of social issues, public policy, and the human condition. And, SLFS routinely delivers.
This weekend, I watched Boy Erased at the Broadway Theater. The film depicts the spiritual, emotional, and physical torture of conversion therapy, as Gerrard (Lucas Hedges) enters The Refuge in hopes that he will be cured of being gay. Gerrard and the other program participants are told, “You cannot be born a homosexual” and “God will not love you as you are.”
If there is a god, I do not pretend to speak for her. Modern medical science, however, is quite clear that sexual orientation is not a choice and that conversion therapy not only does not work, it is harmful. Fact: efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation significantly increase depression and suicide rates. I do intend to end youth conversion therapy in Utah.
Currently, Equality Utah is approaching stakeholders to advocate for a ban of youth conversion therapy. The Utah Bee will follow this issue closely and report on who supports the effort, who opposes it, and—if there is backdoor interference (heaven and the Utah Constitution forbid)—who is pulling the strings.
Watching Boy Erased, I thought of a bizarre legal case in Iron County 18 years ago. Two men from Beryl, Utah, (medical quacks like the people who run conversion therapy programs) were prosecuted for drilling holes in the head of a man from England. The weirdest thing was that the Brit travelled here and paid the men to drill the holes. It was “therapy.” The process has a name: trepanation. It has a purpose: to restore the man’s youth, by increasing blood flow to the brain. But, it is bunk.
Despite the 3 men’s voluntary participation and belief that the process was science, the “doctors” were prosecuted. Why? Because the process is harmful quackery. For the exact same reason, Utah needs to outlaw youth conversion therapy. Quacks might believe it works; and people might voluntarily participate. But, conversion therapy is harmful quackery. It must be stopped.
Boy Erased broadly told the story of conversion therapy, highlighting one family in Arkansas. The Utah Bee will narrowly tell the story of ending youth conversion therapy in Utah, highlighting one legislator at a time, one victim at a time, and Utah stakeholder at a time. The Utah Bee will host town meetings on the issue, inviting victims to speak of their conversion therapy torture and, of course, anyone who wants to speak in favor of youth conversion therapy. Importantly, the Utah Bee will detail any backdoor dealings (and dealers) that might impact the legislative battle. Yes, that is a warning: best to do this in the clear light of day, people.
The Utah Bee outed the origin of the 2018 effort to outlaw secret recordings. It outed the origin of the Prop 2 “compromise” ploy. The Bee outed the Utah Senate’s attempt to violate Utah’s Open Meetings Act, to rehearse lines for the unveiling of the “compromise.” The Bee outed the email compelling Senators’ attendance at the December 3 special session to address the “compromise.” If the issue of conversion therapy is subjected to backdoor political control, The Utah Bee will out it, with the help of Utahns who value democracy. It’s a new day.
Stay tuned. Dig in. #CommunityJournalism #CoJo
When you give on #GivingTuesday, consider a donation to the Salt Lake Film Society. The Utah Bee will be matching donations made. #slfs