For many years, the social services have been an under-reported battleground in the fight over LGBTQ youth. Spanning adoption, foster care, and the systems most frequently referred to as “child protection” and “child welfare”, social services straddle the line between public and private more than any other domain of government. Despite the widespread attention focused on attacking inclusive education and gender-affirming care, battles over the social services predate much of the current moral panic.

In the past two years, large language models have replaced traditional information search and delivery systems in increasingly jarring ways. As they become more integrated into our everday lives, it will likely become harder to distinguish fact from fiction. Simultaneously, corporations like Meta have moved away from efforts to stop misinformation under the thin guise of “free speech.” While this will be dangerous for everyone, it offers particularly worrying prospects for groups most routinely targeted by intentional disinformation efforts.

As much as I like getting in a good dig, it has a much darker side than just vapid articles on “hook-up culture” and whatever some junior Jordan Peterson sees as an immutable psychological difference between men and women. Psychology today is actually host to an extraordinary number of conversion therapists. But before you can understand that, first you need to know a little bit about the conversion therapy ecosystem.

Beginning with Jean-Martin Charcot, modern psychiatry began largely with the study and control of the other. A French neurologist, Charcot routinely saw women of all ages in his clinic for any manner of perceived ills. And ultimately, in part due to his now infamous student Sigmund Freud, It was his focus in this area that gave rise to psychoanalysis.