"Curing" Gay People? There's an App for That.

"Curing" gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people? Yep, there’s an app for that -- unless we can convince Apple to get rid of it.

Truth Wins Out, an organization that uncovers the fraudulent tactics and research of the "ex-gay" movement, was one of the first to point out that Exodus International, an outfit that promotes and endorses "conversion therapy" for gay people, launched an iPhone app earlier this month. The Exodus app is intended to reach tech-savvy young adults, and deliver this dangerous message: you can be "freed from homosexuality" and have your sexual orientation "cured" if you're LGBT.

Worse, Apple has given the Exodus app a 4+ rating on iTunes, labeling the app "non-offensive," even though the group tells gay kids that their sexual orientation is "immoral," "satanic," and in need of a cure -- factors that we all know contribute to depression, anxiety, isolation, and even suicide.

Truth Wins Out has started a petition on Change.org, asking Apple to follow their own editorial standards -- and remove Exodus' dangerous "ex-gay" app from iTunes now. The more signatures they deliver, the more likely Apple executives -- like Steve Jobs -- will do the right thing. Click here to add your name.

Apple has been a strong ally to the LGBT community for years, even donating $100,000 to defeat California’s Proposition 8, the state’s ban on marriage equality. Just a few months ago, Apple actually removed another app from iTunes that labeled same-sex couples "immoral sexual partnerships."

Exodus International’s "ex-gay" app deserves to be pulled from iTunes as well. "Conversion therapy" has been universally condemned by every major medical and scientific organization around the world. The American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, and American Counseling Association have all rejected "ex-gay" therapy, saying that it results in catastrophic damage to the mental health of its victims.

If you haven't yet signed Truth Wins Out's petition asking Apple to remove this app, do so here. And once you've done that, head on over to the Apple iTunes store, and give the Exodus International app the review it deserves. As some commenters have already noted over there, this app's presence in iTunes only reinforces dangerous myths that sexual orientation can be "cured" or "treated." In fact, we couldn't say it better than one reviewer, who sums it up this way:

"This is a hate-based initiative ... intending to brainwash and emotionally destroy gay and lesbian people by coercing them to hate themselves based on their natural sexual orientation."

Apple, do you really want to give a platform to the harmful, damaging, and dangerous practice of "ex-gay" therapy?

Photo credit: Jorge Quinteros