Topic of the Week: Curing Homosexuality?

Before we get to our topic, "curing homosexuality," we have a few short updates about the center for everyone. We have an official date for our WRC week poetry slam: April 6th at the *new* Pickler's Famous! From 8:30 to 11 PM and it will be awesome! Pickler's Famous will have food and drinks available, alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike, and we will be featuring women-themed art before, during and after the show. We also have a trivia night for Women's History month, an amazing guest speaker, and more -- which you can learn more about on our Facebook page.


Now, to the topic at hand. In our email this morning, we received an email alerting us to a new Apple iPhone app -- an app that can "cure" those who download it of their dreaded condition: homosexuality. The app, started by Exodus International, offers ways in which young GLBT community members can "fix" themselves, rid themselves of the "immoral" and "satanic" condition that is homosexuality. 


This app, which Apple has thus far decided not to remove from the store, lead us to investigate other forms of "curing the gay" -- rituals that can get rid of this affliction. Other methods of curing GLBT members can include exorcisms: scenarios where church elders exorcise the homosexual demons out of the afflicted, curing them of this disease. Sometimes the "cure" can include hypnosis or praying so that you will be saved from your fate; other "cures" sound like trying to break a bad habit: snapping rubber bands on your skin in order to deter you from acting on your desires. And these "therapies" are fairly common, and are spreading throughout the country, on the backs of extremist religious *and* nonreligious organizations alike. 


But some progress is being made. For years, "corrective rape" has been occurring in South Africa. Yes, "corrective rape": when a man rapes a known lesbian in order to "turn her straight." But after increasing activism and grassroots campaigns by South African groups such as The Triangle Project, Rape Crises Trust Cape Town and Women's Legal Centre, the South African ministry finally agreed to create an intervention plan to stop these kinds of discriminatory crimes from occurring in South Africa. This is a small step, but an important one, and while much works needs to be done still, this was a step in the right direction to get notice to these kinds of hate crimes. 


Hopefully U.S. legislatures will see that if South Africa can make this stride to end anti-GLBT crimes then the U.S. can as well. Again, hopefully we will see the end of "cure" therapies, claiming to rid the afflicted of the dreaded homosexuality. Hopefully, there will no longer be "gay exorcisms," trying to rid the afflicted of the homosexual demons infesting their bodies. What are your thoughts on "curing homosexuality"? Do you think it's as big of an issue here as it is in other countries?


Feel free to comment below and tell us what you think!