Conversion Therapy in "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by Emily M. Danforth (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,0, University of Bonn (Institut für Anglistik, Amerikanistik und Keltologie), language: English, abstract: This term paper discussed the portrayal of conversion therapy in the book "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by Emily M. Danforth. Methods and effects of conversion therapy are covered and how those are visible in the book in various aspects. Furthermore, the protagonist is analysed as a survivor of conversion therapy. Throughout history, the opinion regarding members of the LGBTQ+-community has changed drastically. From accepting homosexuality as normal in ancient Greece to presenting homosexuality as a sin in medieval and still modern times. Nowadays an overall accepting and even supporting position for the community can be seen, but certain negative tendencies still exist.

Those negative tendencies can be especially seen in the church and are often validated with religious arguments but naturally, not all tendencies can be noticed from religious institutions. Those tendencies differ in intensity; however, a certain number of individuals is feeling threatened by members of the LGBTQ+-community and desire to interfere in personal lives to change the homosexuality of a person. This is often done with conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is an issue that many people are unaware of but if they do know of it, people are commonly uncertain of what conversion therapy is like.

Most information is gathered from media and books as in the book The Miseducation of Cameron Post. The teenage girl Cameron Post is sent to a conversion therapy camp to be cured of her homosexuality. Before and during her time in the camp, she writes down her experiences and her eventual escape. Since conversion therapy is not banned in all US states and considering that society only knows about conversion therapy through books and media, it is interesting to examine if the conversion therapy in "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" is an accurate portrayal of conversion therapy in the United States in the 1990s.