'Odd Men Out' reveals gay men's hardships in Britain between 1950s and 1970s, all thanks to conversion treatments. Read details

John-Pierre Joyce, the author of 'Odd Men Out', has highlighted conversion practices in the UK between the 1950s and 1970s in the book. It also talks about the lack of a complete ban on the procedure.

The tale of painful conversion treatment

The books describes the story of Bill, a man who was subjected to conversion treatment. Bill, who is a 74-year-old man now, said, received electric shock therapy back in 1971 when he was 24. He had been aware that he was gay since he was 11. Without telling anyone, he went to seek conversion treatment.

He was told to choose 40 images of men and 40 images of women he was attracted to, and he used to get electric shocks when the images of men were projected.


Bill said at that time he thought if he were straight, life would be easier.

John-Pierre Joyce and the Odd Men Out

John-Pierre Joyce said he was shocked to learn about the aversion and conversion practices, prevailing between the 1950s and 1970s.
According to John's research, thousands of men were submitted for conversion therapy and treatment.
Odd Men Out is a result of 15 years of research and interviews with many men. It's the history of gay men.
Joyce said the lack of a complete ban on conversion practices hints at knowing the importance of history.

FAQs

1. How many people have gone through conversion therapy?
   As per the National LGBT Survey of the UK government, about 13% of trans respondents have either undergone or offered conversion treatment.
2. What were the treatments that many gay men had to undergo during the so-called post-war period?
   Joyce's work exposed several conversion treatments during the post-war era, including psychotherapeutic cures in which gay men were given Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), chemical aversion-inducing drugs in patients and female hormone injections.