LGBTQIA+ rights and neoconservative reaction: anti-discriminatory legal analysis of legislative “gay cure” initiatives

Abstract

Taking into account the social and political disputes surrounding the so-called “gay cure” in the contemporary Brazilian scenario, this paper examines the respective parliamentary initiatives, which establish discriminatory treatments. It analyzes their reasons,  particularly (1) the use of outdated concepts and the attribution of sexual dysfunctions to homoerotic practices; (2) the consideration of privileges for homosexuals to the detriment of heterosexuals, while aiming to confront disadvantages and stigmas; (3) the misunderstanding of free sexual orientation as a fundamental right; (4) the disqualification of the CFP's normative competence in matters of professional ethics; (5) the allegation of violation of freedoms of expression and science, disregarding the prohibition of hate speech and the historical instrumentalization that scientific discourse has undergone; (6) the accusation of prejudice against supporters of sexual reversion therapies, through the distortion of the legal concept of discrimination, since heterosexuality, in itself, is not historically a triggering factor for discrimination and (7) the claim that the “gay cure” aims to address egodystonic sexualities, as if such a diagnosis did not imply itself the maintenance of the pathologization of homosexuality.