A 26-year-old Kentucky man has described in an op-ed the horrors he endured a decade ago when, at the age of 16, he was forced to undergo so-called "conversion therapy." Curtis Galloway, in an op-ed published by the River City News, recalled entering a spiral of depression and isolation, losing trust in the parents he'd once been close to, and even, despite his status as a minor, being advised as to how to masturbate. Galloway wrote, the traumatic experience "centered around my sexuality and left me with permanent mental and emotional scars." The ordeal began when Galloway "finally came to terms with my sexuality" at age 16, but acknowledging he was gay meant that he "was to go through the most traumatic experience in my life." Galloway explained that the "therapy" was "an attempt to indoctrinate [the idea] that homosexuality is some kind of a choice." Galloway recounted how "the counselor instructed me to end time with 'gay-affirming friends,' or in other words, anyone who loved and supported me despite being a gay man," a directive that caused Galloway to pull away from his social circle out of fear that he would be taken out of school, "which was my only safe haven." Tap link in bio to continue on @EDGEmedianetwork ?️‍?⁠ ⁠ ?: Curtis Galloway / Instagram / @lordcurtisg⁠ ?️: Kilian Melloy / @dragelruairi

A 26-year-old Kentucky man has described in an op-ed the horrors he endured a decade ago when, at the age of 16, he was forced to undergo so-called "conversion therapy." Curtis Galloway, in an op-ed published by the River City News, recalled entering a spiral of depression and isolation, losing trust in the parents he'd once been close to, and even, despite his status as a minor, being advised as to how to masturbate. Galloway wrote, the traumatic experience "centered around my sexuality and left me with permanent mental and emotional scars." The ordeal began when Galloway "finally came to terms with my sexuality" at age 16, but acknowledging he was gay meant that he "was to go through the most traumatic experience in my life." Galloway explained that the "therapy" was "an attempt to indoctrinate [the idea] that homosexuality is some kind of a choice." Galloway recounted how "the counselor instructed me to end time with 'gay-affirming friends,' or in other words, anyone who loved and supported me despite being a gay man," a directive that caused Galloway to pull away from his social circle out of fear that he would be taken out of school, "which was my only safe haven." Tap link in bio to continue on @EDGEmedianetwork ?️‍?⁠
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?: Curtis Galloway / Instagram / @lordcurtisg⁠
?️: Kilian Melloy / @dragelruairi