[NYTr] Lavender & Red: Cuba Brings Humanity to All Aspects of Life Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 19:29:08 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Workers World - Aug 18, 2007 http://www.workers.org/2007/world/lavender-red-109/ Lavender & Red, part 109 Cuba: 'Bringing revolution's humanity to all aspects of life' By Leslie Feinberg bI want to bring the revolutionbs humanity to those aspects of life that it hasnbt reached because of old prejudices,b Mariela Castro EspC-n, who has worked hard to eradicate pre-revolutionary prejudices about same-sex love, transsexuality and gender variance in Cuba, said in summer 2006. (Reuters, June 29, 2006) Castro EspC-n is director of Cubabs National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), which has accomplished a great deal in a relatively short time to replace prejudices about same-sex love and transsexuality with positive attitudes. CENESEX created its own Internet Web sitebwww.cenesex.sld.cubshortly after the 16th World Congress of Sexology met in Havana in March 2003. CENESEXbs site incorporates a section on sexual diversity, which, in Spanish and English, offers basic information and opportunities to consult with experts and to voice personal opinions. The site gets right to the point about its objective, which it states is to bovercome the taboos and prejudices that persist about same-sex love: Being homosexual or bisexual is not a disease, it is not synonymous with perversity, nor does it constitute a crime.b Homosexuality, the Web site makes clear, bis a sexual orientation that is not caused by seduction at any age, it is not contagious, and is not acquired by educational defects or negative examples in the family environment.b This Internet site receives the most visitsb150,000 bhitsb a daybof any Cuban World Wide Web portal. (IPS/GIN, July 3, 2004) Castro EspC-n said in the summer of 2004 that these developments are bthe result of an effort of more than 30 years, and now we are seeing its fruits more clearly.b Work accomplished, work to do When asked by a BBC reporter in September 2006 whether perceptions about homosexuality had changed in Cuban society, Mariela Castro EspC-n answered, bI think so; it has changed very much.b She told interviewer Eduardo GarcC-a JimC)nez: bI do believe that since the 1990s there is greater acceptance of the presence of homosexuals by some portion of the population and public institutions. That does not mean that the contradiction has been resolved for all individuals at all levels of society. (bAlma Mater,b journal of the University of Havana, reprinted in Green Left Weekly, March 3, 2004) Castro EspC-n added, bI think we are at a good moment to implement policies that are more explicit about the defense of the human rights of homosexuals, so that we are better prepared to confront any manifestation of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. I see this very humanistic attempt to achieve greater respect for the rights of homosexuals as the waging of a battle of ideas in our society. I believe this notion has to be part of the cultural and political battle because that would mean a cultural, social and political strengthening for the Cuban Revolution.b Castro EspC-n said she is advocating for an amendment to the Cuban Constitution to add homosexuality to the groups against which discrimination is outlawed. bIt is a proposal I am making from my position of responsibility as the director of the CENESEX. I assure you it has been heard by receptive listeners. My proposal is in no way removed or distant from the spirit of the Revolution, or from the entire process that has brought about this call to a battle of ideas. bIt would be wonderful to be able to spark meaningful, inter-group discussion on this subject,b Castro EspC-n emphasized, bso that Cuban society could develop a healthier culture of sexuality, one that is fairer, that helps to erode old, erroneous beliefs and prejudices that emphasize sexual orientation. bSomething like this would put the revolution even more in line with its humanistic ethic; the Cuban Revolution has been possible because of the participation of all men and women, of all Cubans who have identified with the conquests and dreams of that social project. Among all those who have participated there are also people of diverse sexual orientations.b Donbt measure with imperial ruler As earlier articles in this series documented, the CIA, Hollywood and corporate media tried to deflect resistance to U.S. imperialismbs covert war against Cuba, and the domestic discrimination, police brutality and bashing of same-sex-loving and gender-variant people that are commonplace in the U.S., by focusing on the onerous tasks Cubabs revolution faced in uprooting centuries of prejudice about same-sex love. Of course, each poisonous seed had been planted and cultivated by U.S. capitalism and, earlier, Spanish colonialism. Today, the Cuban Revolution has made enormous strides in raising popular consciousness about sexual liberation, including same-sex love. Building ties of unity between the lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) movement in the U.S. and the Cuban Revolution require conscious leadership of the most resolutely anti-imperialist activists in the liberation movement for LGBT and other sexually, sex- and gender-oppressed peoples. Yet some activists in the U.S. still argue that Cuba wonbt have bpassed the testb until lesbians and gays are boutb in Cuba with their own autonomous organizational formations. Lesbians and gay men in the U.S. and other capitalist countries are boutb in order to unite against shared and/or overlapping mechanisms of oppression. Castro EspC-n stated categorically to journalist Mary Lamey via a translator, bThere is no official repression of lesbians and gays in Cuba. What remains are social and cultural reactions that must be transformed, the same as in many other countries.b (Canada.com, The Gazette, July 29, 2006) She pointed to the bashings of transsexuals and homosexuals in England and other imperialist countries. bThis doesnbt exist in Cuba. The Cuban population is much more respectful of differences than in other places,b she emphasized. bWhen Ibm afraid I will find a very strong resistance, I find a high degree of sensibility in the Cuban population.b Cubans defining their bliberationb In a capitalist country, being boutb is not only an assertion of individual identity and personhood. The movement to end the oppression has to be boutb and independent, as well. That is because of the LGBT movementbs relationship to its own ruling class in capitalist countries. In the class struggle, it is imperative for the movement to break free of its own capitalist bosses and their ideology. In that case, the movement is only as powerful as it is independent. But what about a socialist country in which the laboring class rules and is trying to build socialism in the liberated turf of a workersb state? What would Cuban men who have sex with men, women who have sex with women, and bisexuals, transsexual and transgender Cubans gain by identifying bawayb from their own class? Castro EspC-n addressed the question of organizing for change in Cuba in her 2003 interview with Eduardo JimC)nez GarcC-a. bI think the greatest difficulty is that there is no unifying and convincing project, because male and female homosexuals are as heterogeneous as heterosexuals,b she said. bYet, I donbt see this as an obstacle; I see it as a complicated reality. bI believe that male and female homosexuals should participate more in different loci of social and political discussion, despite the prejudices, so they can make their truth, their real need for equality, their beliefs known, in order to gain support from the scientific community, and in that way bring to bear arguments that can effect the changes that are necessary in societyband see that they are just.b However, an international network of both LGBT social democrats and those far to the right of them is developing in the imperialist countries, particularly the U.S. and Britain. It makes an appeal to Cubans, and others in countries menaced by imperial powers, to identify first and foremost based on what is presumed to be an identical and shared sexuality. In turn, this network asserts its readiness to defend gay and lesbian Cubans and othersbbut only against their own people, culture and national liberation struggle. When aligned with overall and sometimes specific imperialist interests, such a position can offer a bleft coverb for regime changebthrough covert and/or military intervention. Defend Cuba! Cubans are defining their own liberation. The Cuban Revolution merits the support of progressives and communists around the world, without demands that it measure up as bperfectb using an imperial ruler. A socialist revolution is a process, not a single act. Solving the economic and social problems that the capitalists cannot and will not tackle is the dynamic forward motion of revolution. Regarding the revolutionbs efforts to eliminate old prejudice against homosexuality, Fidel Castro concluded during a 1988 interview with a Galician television station: bGiven that we can make mistakes, we obsessively follow the idea [of] what is just, right and best for the people, and what is most humane for our people and our society. However, the task is not easybI think that each time we get closer to the right criteria for making the world we want. Nonetheless, I think that we still have many faults, and that future generations will have to continue to perfect this new world.b The whole population of Cubabof all races, sexes, genders, sexualities, ages and abilitiesbdoes not need to be defended against its own culture or its own revolution. It needs and deserves defense against the U.S. blockade of its island and every other illegal act of imperialist war, overt and covert, which impedes revolutionary progress. International support for Cubabs right to sovereignty and self-determination will allow the islandbs population to spend more time, energy and resources on socialist construction, rather than on defense. It is the LGBT movements in the imperialist citadels that have to break with their own ruling classes in order to build bonds of genuine international solidarity. Itbs a hard position to take. It requires ideological valor; the refusal to remain silent about the emperorsb bnewb clothing. The Cuban Revolution has had to take up the tasks that history presented it, including the eventual eradication of the legacies of racism, sexism and anti-gay bigotry. In order to move forward toward their own liberation, the LGBT and other progressive movements in the U.S. and other capitalist countries have to combat anti-communismbwhich is, in the long run, a defense of capitalismband develop a powerful anti-imperialist current that can extend its solidarity to Cuba and all countries fighting for their sovereignty and self-determination against finance capital. Revolutionary Cubabthe bhope of the hemispherebbhas done a better job dealing with its tasks. Next: Rainbow Solidarity for the Cuban Five. To find out more about Cuba, read parts 86-106 of Lavender & Red at workers.org. Articles copyright 1995-2007 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. 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