The Pathways to Join, Engage in, and Quit Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE): A Qualitative Study of Sexual Minority Individuals who Self-Initiated SOCE in Hong Kong

Despite the growing recognition of their harmful effects, sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) continue to be practiced in various societies. This study examines the experiences of 11 sexual minority individuals in Hong Kong who have undergone SOCE. The findings reveal the pervasive influence of deeply ingrained homonegativity values within religious, family, educational, and soiocultural contexts during LGBTQ+ individuals' formative years. These prevailing stigmas compelled them to pursue SOCE through different methods. However, these methods have been proven ineffective and psychologically harmful, leading to increased distress and internalized homonegativity. The availability of knowledge and access to affirming LGBTQ+ values within religious, community, and sociocultural spheres played a crucial role in helping the respondents come to accept their sexual orientation and cease their attempts at SOCE. This study shed light on how the interplay of Chinese familial values and Christian doctrine in Hong Kong contributes to the promotion of homonegativity, consequently restricting the diverse expressions of sexuality. It is important to recognize that the notion of individuals actively "choosing" to undergo SOCE is misguided, as these decisions are often driven by social stigma and external pressures. Progress in this area requires confronting the systemic heteronormativity embedded within Hong Kong's cultural fabric.

The Queer, the Cross and the Closet: Religious Exceptions in Equality Law as State-Sponsored Homophobia

The struggle for queer people to be recognised as full sexual citizens continues to be thwarted by the existence of religious exceptions to equality law. These exceptions reactivate and legitimise the historical oppression of queer people, who have long been plagued by the Four Horsemen of Homophobia. War—because the language of war is often used in the context of religious conscientious objection to gay equality. Famine—because public spending cuts have led to religious groups filling the gap in service provision. Pestilence—because old tropes of infection, promiscuity, and corruption of youth persist, albeit masked by a concern for religious freedom. Finally, Death—because exceptions to equality law operate to limit the citizenship of non-heterosexuals. This paper argues that religiously motivated attempts to restrict queer people’s participation, in a hetero- and theonormative public space, constitutes harm which can be characterised as degrading treatment contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The state must be more interventionist in its pursuit of genuine gay citizenship, and remove religious exceptions to equality law; otherwise, it is implicated in the constructive delegation of religious homophobia.

The De-Scent of Sexuality: Did Loss of a Pheromone Signaling Protein Permit the Evolution of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior in Primates?

Primate same-sex sexual behavior (SSSB) is rarely observed in strepsirrhine species, and only somewhat more common in platyrrhines, but is observed in nearly all catarrhine species, including humans, suggesting the common catarrhine ancestor as the origin of routine SSSB. In mice, disruption of the transient receptor potential cation channel 2 (TRPC2) gene, which is crucial for transducing chemosensory signals from pheromones in the vomeronasal organ, greatly increased the likelihood of SSSB. We note that catarrhine primates share a common deleterious mutation in this gene, indicating that the protein was dysfunctional in the common catarrhine ancestral primate approximately 25 mya (million years ago). We hypothesize that the loss of this protein for processing pheromonal signals in males and females made SSSB more likely in a primate ancestral species by effectively lifting a pheromonally mediated barrier to SSSB and that this was an important precursor to the evolution of such behavior in humans. Additional comparisons between SSSB and the functional status of the TRPC2 gene or related proteins across primate species could lend support to or falsify this hypothesis. Our current research indicates that loss of TRPC2 function in developing mice leads to the loss or attenuation of sexually dimorphisms in the adult brain, which may help us to understand the biological underpinnings of SSSB. Our hypothesis offers an ultimate evolutionary explanation for SSSB in humans.

Ungodly Genders: Deconstructing Ex-Gay Movement Discourses of “Transgenderism” in the US

This research investigates a neglected topic within both transgender studies and religious studies by analyzing ex-gay movement discourses of “transgenderism” from the 1970s to the present, focusing primarily on the US-American context. The oppression of transgender people in the US and globally is fed and fueled by the religious, scientific, and political discourses of the transnational “ex-gay” movement, which provides the ideological and material foundation of Christian Right politics. Using critical discourse analysis of ex-gay texts, we analyze the implications of these discourses in the individual, interactional, and institutional dimensions of society’s gender structure. This movement is one of the most insidious—and overlooked—sources of cisgenderism and transmisogyny today, constructing gender variance as sin, mental illness, and danger—with catastrophic consequences for transgender people, and those along the transfemale/feminine spectrum in particular. Finally, we discuss the public policy implications of these discourses.

Music Therapy as a Psychospiritual Ministry of Intercession During Imminent Death

Imminent death is a critical stage in end-of-life care requiring a shared attention to the preparatory needs of both patient and caregiver(s). For many patients and caregivers who identify as Christian, the Holy Spirit can be an integral resource capable of facilitating a healthy death experience. Music therapy, as a resource-oriented practice, has the potential to be a ministry facilitating access to the Holy Spirit for patients and caregivers to use for unique purposes. Drawing from both music therapy and theological concepts and identifying their intersections, this paper frames an ethical and effective model of music therapy as ministry as shaped through three unique stakeholder roles: music therapist as minister of intercessory prayer; patient as vertically transcendental worshiper; and caregiver(s) as horizontally transcendental worshiper. These roles are implicitly and simultaneously assumed, fulfilling the functions necessary for a holistic, comprehensive plan of care to be enacted during a time-limited stage of urgent need such as imminent death. Theoretical postulations related to each stakeholder role are posited and discussed in context of clinical practice. Future examinations of music therapy as ministry through other faith lenses have the potential to yield additional psychospiritual functions of music therapy at the end of life, including identifying additional resources music therapy can address with Christian patients in end-of-life care settings.