EDITOR’S NOTE: This conversation may not be appropriate for all listeners.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs this summer signed an executive order that bans state agencies from using federal or state money to "promote, support or enable any practice or treatment on minors known to be a form of conversion therapy." That’s the practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
It’s been widely debunked and more than 20 states have banned it, although Arizona is not one of them.
The LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD cites data from UCLA that says nearly 700,000 LGBTQ+ adults in the U.S. have received conversion therapy, including about 350,000 who received it as adolescents. Separate research has shown that minors who undergo conversion therapy are more vulnerable to depression, homelessness and suicide, among other negative outcomes.
Sadie Redfern knows all about that. The 61-year old Arizona native underwent conversion therapy as a child, and as she told The Show, it caused some long-lasting damage. It took her decades to be able to live as herself: a transgender woman.
The Show sat down with Redfern, who’s now a teacher in the Valley, to talk about her experiences, and what she thinks about Hobbs' executive order.
