Castro's Cuba was less than perfect with regard to the treatment of the queer community. Many queer people were put in labor camps and anti-gay reform programs early on and many, many fled. However like most of the world, things changed over the years with regard to laws, but not as much in terms of mindsets. Raul Castro's daughter Mariela, who is the head of the National Center for Sex Education is trying to pass legislation that will further support the rights of the GLBT community in Cuba.
She is currently attempting to get the Cuban National Assembly to adopt what would be among the most liberal gay and transsexual rights law in Latin America.The proposed legislation would recognize same-sex unions, along with inheritance rights. It would also give transsexuals the right to free sex-change operations and allow them to switch the gender on their ID cards, with or without surgery.
There are limits: adoption is not included in the bill and neither is the word marriage.
Interesting stuff. Early homophobia and mistreament of the gay community in Cuba was not unique to Cuba. At that point there were not many countries that protected the rights of gay citizens. In fact there are many states in the United States where sodomy is still illegal, lest we forget.
Thanks to Candice for the link.
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"In fact there are many states in the United States where sodomy is still illegal, lest we forget."
Didn't the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the Texas sodomy law cover the other states as well? Just checking.
Yes. Sodomy is now legal everywhere in this great land of ours.
Glad to see Cuba moving in this direction. Obviously, there record on human rights leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe gays today, dissidents tomorrow?
Oh dear God.
"THEIR record on human rights."
*Shame*
Early homophobia and mistreament of the gay community in Cuba was not unique to Cuba. At that point there were not many countries that protected the rights of gay citizens.
Well, as Alexander Berkman said to an English comrade defending the depredations of the Russian CP by comparing it to England, "But comrade, the revolution has happened in Cuba."
Just my little joke.
It happens to the best of us, Rusty!
Cuba has much bigger fish to fry.
Oh, dear God, seriously? Do we seriously have a "all other struggles are mere minor distractions from the true struggle to justice, the class struggle" commenter? Wow. Now there's the rhetoric I grew up hearing coming back.
Less than perfect?
Sodomy between consenting adults is now legal everywhere in the U.S., since Lawrence v. Texas (2003?). What confuses people is that some states still have a crime of sodomy, re-defined as forcible or otherwise non-consensual oral or anal sex.
true @ harlemjd, re Lawrence v. TX
also (fun fact, ok not really) some states retain otherwise discriminatory legislation around sex acts; eg, Matthew Limon's case, in which Limon was convicted of statutory rape for having sex with someone 4 years younger--had they been a hetero couple they would have been protected by the state's romeo and juliet legislation which provides a waiver for teens around statutory rape laws (so it's legal to sleep with someone under the age of consent if they're w/in 4 years of your age). after lawrence, the supreme court decided the law didn't apply to same-sex couples and upheld Limon's 17 year prison sentence.
consanguine sex is also illegal in many states, and (if memory serves) some states treat forced sodomy with different legal gravity than nonconsensual vaginal sex--which, one could make a case, also comes from a questionable/heteronormative mindset.
thanks for posting this. i'm giving a presentation next week in my masculinities class on gay oppression in Cuba and it will be nice to include this.
Putting people in labor camps for their sexuality is "less than perfect"? Wow! I suppose early US was less than perfect with its treatment of Africans.
"Cuba was less than perfect...."
Cuba was and is a violent, totalitarian state with a surveillance apparatus that makes Dick Cheney look like an anarchist. It could have chosen another path, if not capitalism than Scandanavian social democracy. Instead, queer (or non-queer) Cubans cannot flee Cuba for Canada, Sweden, or anywhere unless Castro's thugs give them what amounts to parole from an island jail.
It would be understandable maybe if Castro did not allow Cubans to go to the U.S.; it would simply mirror our policies. But Cubans cannot visit or emigrate to their country's trading partners, even social democratic ones.
"Less than perfect" seems something entirely different from "totalitarian and thuggish."