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3.8l.1-.09zm6.41-19.6a9.78 9.78 0 01-6.91 2.3 8.92 8.92 0 01-6.3-2.9l-.2.1v14.6h3.8l9.7-14zm22.9 43.41l-8.8-6.91-2.71 2.7-1.3-1.29 3.1-3.21V39.4H671l-.2-.2 3.5-5.2h2.5v-6.7L687.41 16l.2.2V34h8l.2.2-3.5 5.2h-4.7v30.3l4.8 3.7 3.3-3.4 1.3 1.4z"></path></svg><span class="alic gray font-xxxxs font--body">Democracy Di Darkns</span></div></div><hear class="w-100" data-qa="ma-full"><div class="hi-for-prt"><div class="wpds-c-bHXelH wpds-c-kBYYkb wpds-c-bHXelH-fGHEql-maxWidth-fluid wpds-c-bHXelH-iiAiuHj-css"><nav class="wpds-c-hwIWrt wpds-c-hwIWrt-kcWQLv-alignment-left wpds-c-hwIWrt-hmLULQ-cv flex overflow-hidn overflow-xscroll b bb mw-vw-100 grid-mobile-full-bleed" aria-label="Sectn" data-qa="sendary-nav" tabx="0"><div class="wpds-c-sertR"><a href=" by history_tle" data-qa="sendary-nav-primary-lk" class="flex ems-center h-100 bold font-xxs font-xs-ns ma-0-ns black">Ma by History</a><a class="wpds-c-bgVtfq wpds-c-jxcbnu wpds-c-bgVtfq-ecTIdS-variant-primary ml-md" href=" by history_1/" data-qa="sendary-lk">About Ma by History and Contact<!-- --> </a></div></nav></div><div class="wpds-c-bHXelH wpds-c-kBYYkb wpds-c-bHXelH-erqBZw-maxWidth-md wpds-c-bHXelH-ihSmMVC-css"><nav class="wpds-c-hwIWrt wpds-c-hwIWrt-kcWQLv-alignment-left wpds-c-hwIWrt-hmLULQ-cv flex overflow-hidn overflow-xscroll b bb mw-vw-100" aria-label="Sectn" data-qa="sendary-nav" tabx="0"><div class="wpds-c-sertR"><a href=" by history_tle" data-qa="sendary-nav-primary-lk" class="flex ems-center h-100 bold font-xxs font-xs-ns ma-0-ns black">Ma by History</a><a class="wpds-c-bgVtfq wpds-c-jxcbnu wpds-c-bgVtfq-ecTIdS-variant-primary ml-md" href=" by history_1/" data-qa="sendary-lk">About Ma by History and Contact<!-- --> </a></div></nav></div></div><div class="mt-lg"><div data-qa="kicker" class="wpds-c-eyomNc wpds-c-PJLV wpds-c-PJLV-jYXVnY-lor-black wpds-c-PJLV-mlvxn-size-lg"></div></div><div class="w-100" style="max-width:1000px"><h1 class="font--headle offblack headle mb-xs pb-xxs-ns" data-ttid="headle" data-qa="headle" id="ma-ntent"><span data-qa="headle-text">Communist stat have sometim been havens for LGBTQ rights</span></h1></div><h2 class="font--subhead font-light offblack mb-sm pb-xxs-ns subheadle" data-qa="subheadle" style="max-width:1000px">When munism was queer</h2><div class="flex prt-byle prt-mt-none"><div class="byle-wrapper flex-lumn flex"><div class="PJLV PJLV-ihSmMVC-css"><div class="mb-xxs" style="gap:0.5rem" data-qa="thor-byle"><span class="wpds-c-PJLV"><div class="flex" data-qa="thor-byle"><div class="mr-sm flex lh-0"><div class="wpds-c-iTcer"><img src=" alt="" class="wpds-c-dgBqAZ"/></div></div><span class="left"><div class="flex"><div class="dib font-xxs mb-xxs" data-qa="name-wh-optnal-lk" data-cy="name-wh-optnal-lk"><span data-qa="attributn-text" class="wpds-c-cNdzuP">Perspective by <!-- --> </span><span data-qa="thor-name" rel="thor" class="wpds-c-cNdzuP wpds-c-cNdzuP-cIdiJW-isLk-false">Samuel Huneke</span></div></div><span class="wpds-c-ewNrgJ thor-scriptn" data-qa="thor-scriptn">Samuel Huneke is a historian of morn Germany and an assistant profsor of history at Gee Mason Universy.</span></span></div></span></div></div><div data-ttid="timtamp" class="wpds-c-kgabfe wpds-c-kgabfe-ikrKXLV-css"><span data-ttid="display-date" class="wpds-c-iKQyrV">March 22, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT</span></div></div></div></hear></div><article class="grid-article mb-xxl-ns" data-qa="ma"><div data-ttid="le-art" data-qa="le-art" class=""><figure class="overflow-hidn relative hi-for-prt center center mb-sm mb-md-ns ml-to-ns mr-to-ns grid-mobile-full-bleed"><div style="filter:blur(10px);transn:filter .1s;le-height:0" class="w-100 mw-100 h-to" width="600" height="403"><img style="background-size:ver;max-width:1600px;background-image:url('data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http%3A//; xmlns%3Axlk='http%3A//; viewBox='0 0 1280 853'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' lor-terpolatn-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGssianBlur stdDeviatn='.5'%3E%3C/feGssianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA type='discrete' tableValu='1 1'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage filter='url(%23b)' x='0' y='0' height='100%25' width='100%25' xlk%3Ahref='data%3Aimage/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAkAAAAGCAIAAACepSOSAAAACXBIWXMAAC4jAAAuIwF4pT92AAAAs0lEQVQI1wGoAFf/AImSoJSer5yjs52ktp2luJuluKOpuJefsoCNowB+kKaOm66grL+krsCnsMGrt8m1u8mzt8OVoLIAhJqzjZ2tnLLLnLHJp7fNmpyjqbPCqLrRjqO7AIeUn5ultaWtt56msaSnroZyY4mBgLq7wY6TmwCRfk2Pf1uzm2WulV+xmV6rmGyQfFm3nWSBcEIAfm46jX1FkH5Djn5AmodGo49MopBLlIRBfG8yj/dfjF5TUAAAAASUVORK5CYII='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E')" alt="" class="w-100 mw-100 h-to" width="600" height="403" srcSet=" 400w, 540w, 691w, 767w, 916w, 1200w" siz="(max-width: 440px) 440px,(max-width: 600px) 691px,(max-width: 768px) 691px,(m-width: 769px) and (max-width: 1023px) 960px,(m-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1299px) 530px,(m-width: 1300px) and (max-width: 1439px) 691px,(m-width: 1440px) 916px,440px" dg="async"/></div><figptn class="ml-gutter mr-gutter mr-to-ns ml-to-ns font--subhead font-xxxs mt-xs left gray-dark">Football supporters wh LGBT pri flags at the Allianz Arena Munich on June 23. 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In the last year, the Cuban health mistry <a href=">unfurled</a> an enormo rabow flag to mark Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, and former print Raúl Castro <a href=">clared</a> that nontg homophobia remaed one of the ernment’s chief goals.</p></div></div><div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="db dn-ns mr-neg-gutter ml-neg-gutter mb-md hi-for-prt" data-qa="subscribe-promo"><div data-orientatn="horizontal" role="separator" class="wpds-c-dbVHzF wpds-c-dbVHzF-hDkAcj-variant-flt"></div><a class="pt-sm pb-sm flex ems-center bold font-xxxs font-xxs-ns jtify-center" href=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="lor:#166dfc;borr:none"><svg class="ntent-box" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" xmlns=" aria-hidn="te" focable="false" role="img"><tle>Wp</tle><path d="M11.055 8.728l-1.018-1.019-.782.782v6.292l1.782 1.564.018-.019v-7.6zm-4.11.236L5.674 7.71l-.836.855v6.237l1.545 1.327.564-.636V8.964zm2.656 9.074l-2.528-2.182-1.927 2.182-2.619-2.255v-3.564h-.509c-.454 0-.672.273-.745.636H1.09a2.89 2.89 0 0 1-.091-.69c0-.473.2-1.71 1.527-1.71V7.691c0-1.073-.709-1.127-.709-2.054 0-1.037.982-2 2.782-2.637l.164.145c-.6.291-1.09.655-1.09 1.437 0 1.2 1.163.89 1.163 2.782v.727l2.127-2.236 2.237 2.2 2.109-2.2 2.036 2v6.728l-3.745 3.455zm11.108-9.625l-1.073-.982-.964 1.018v6.6c.855.11 1.491.4 2.019.964l.018-.018V8.413zm-2.382.418l-.528.545v10.237l.528.492V8.83zm1.49 9.055c-.308-.382-.69-.709-1.145-.836v3.782l-.036.018-1-.927-2.11 1.945-.036-.018V16.96c-.636.145-1.327.545-1.854 1.2l-.146-.091c.127-1.4.818-2.436 2-2.837v-3.545h-.382c-.527 0-.89.363-.963.763h-.219c-.054-.145-.127-.381-.127-.836 0-.891.6-1.564 1.582-1.564h.11V8.085l-.655-.582-.51.51-.254-.237 2.018-2.073 1.71 1.564V9.05l.527-.564v-2.09h.345v1.727l2.273-2.419L23 7.576v7.91l-3.182 2.4z" fill-le="evenodd"></path></svg><span class="mr-xs ml-xs gray-darkt flex ems-center">Get the full experience.<span class="ml-xs subs-theme blue">Choose your plan</span></span><svg class="ntent-box" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 16 16" xmlns=" style="fill:#166dfc" aria-hidn="te" focable="false" role="img"><tle>ArrowRight</tle><path d="M7.664 1.25l6 6a1 1 0 010 1.414l-6 6L6.25 13.25 10.499 9H2V7h8.585L6.25 2.664 7.664 1.25z" fill-le="nonzero"></path></svg></a><div data-orientatn="horizontal" role="separator" class="wpds-c-dbVHzF wpds-c-dbVHzF-hDkAcj-variant-flt"></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">To some Amerins, the velopments might seem to fly the face of the untry’s munist history. After all, Fil Castro’s ernment terned gay people mps the 1960s and sent HIV-posive dividuals to ernment sanariums the 1980s. As one lumnist <a href=">wrote</a> of the Amerin left the San Diego Unn-Tribune, “ is remarkable that any [liberal] uld look at the Castros’ history on race and sexualy and nclu they had shared valu.”</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">It has been mon for U.S. mentators to e queer people to discred socialism — a kd of pkwashg reverse. But dog so flattens the historil relatnship between queer polics and munism. Centerg only the homophobic elements munism, this rhetoric ignor the tly imprsive advanc ma by some munist regim on queer rights (and papers over long histori of tolerance of LGBTQ people non-munist untri). A more reful examatn of this history shows that munism and queerns might actually belong together.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb dn db-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-sktop"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-none pt-lg pb-lg" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"><div>Advertisement</div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb db dn-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-mobile"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-sm pt-sm pb-sm" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">Sexualy was not a preoccupatn of munism’s earlit theorists. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who penned “The Communist Manifto” 1848, had ltle to say on the topic. What they did was ntemptuo.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">But other early leftists were not so dismissive. Augt Bebel, lear om 1892 to 1913 of the German Social Democratic Party, the largt socialist party Europe, was a forceful proponent of legalizg homosexualy. He even took to the floor of the German parliament 1898 to mand a repeal of the untry’s sodomy law. Siarly, after the Bolsheviks seized power Rsia, they troduced a morn penal 1922 that abolished Rsia’s sodomy law. In the 1920s, munist and socialist parti were often proponents of legalizg same-sex acts.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">The middle of the 20th century, however, wnsed a backlash. In the early 1930s, Joseph Stal’s regime recrimalized male homosexualy and imprisoned thoands of gay men unr the new law. Communist partisans also me to see accatns of homosexualy as a nvenient way to smear their right-wg enemi. The famo gay thor Kls Mann, an exiled opponent of Hler’s ernment, plaed 1934 that queer people were beg “the Jews of the antifascists” — the left’s favored spegoat. Gay men and lbians were not only nvenient targets, whose persecutn allowed munists to st themselv as morally superr to their fo. In transgrsg genr and sexual norms, they also f poorly wh the creasgly macho ethos wh munist parti and regim.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb dn db-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-sktop"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-none pt-lg pb-lg" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"><div>Advertisement</div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb db dn-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-mobile"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-sm pt-sm pb-sm" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">This reprsive tenncy endured after World War II. Rsia would not crimalize homosexualy until 1993. Other munist stat strengthened laws agast homosexualy after the war. Even more tolerant untri such as Poland also did not abi queer activism. When gay activists began to anize the 1980s munist Poland, the ernment cracked down a mass actn known as Operatn Hyacth, probably fearful of what perceived as anized ristance to the ernment.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">But other munist untri, queer people ma remarkable stris. Archiv and oral histori reveal that for many gay and lbian people East Germany durg the Cold War, the munist natn was a more open and tolerant place than many Wtern stat. The obscured histori fly the face of rhetoric that suggts munism and queerns are irrencilably opposed to each other.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">In the 1950s and 1960s, for stance, East Germany pursued a markedly more tolerant policy than did Wt Germany. Its mocratic tw retaed the Nazi-era law crimalizg gay men. East Germany reverted to a far ls strgent versn, drawg on the German Communist Party’s historic support for crimalizatn.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb dn db-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-sktop"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-none pt-lg pb-lg" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"><div>Advertisement</div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb db dn-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-mobile"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-sm pt-sm pb-sm" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">The difference was strikg; while Wt Germany <a href=" target=_blank>nvicted</a> over <a href=" target=_blank>50,000 men</a> between 1949 and 1969 of homosexualy, East Germany nvicted only a ty actn of that number. At the same time, began to liberalize s penal much earlier than Wt Germany, largely ceasg to prosecute nsensual adult homosexualy 1957. Other Soviet-bloc untri also crimalized homosexualy the postwar s: Czechoslovakia 1962, Hungary 1961 and Bulgaria 1968.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">This relative tolerance allowed queer subcultur to velop East Germany, particularly s larger ci. Gay men cised for sex public baths and parks, while certa bars tacly tered to queer clientele. Hoe parti beme a staple of the queer scene those years. In her memoir, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, perhaps the most famo trans woman German history, remembered gog to lively hoe parti Berl full of queer East Germans.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">In the 1970s, a group of gay men and lbians began to meet East Berl, termed to rve out a public space for themselv. Hosted by von Mahlsdorf the basement of the mm she directed, the group peppered the munist regime wh petns. They requted that lears agree to open a munitn center for gay and lbian cizens, a space where they uld meet eely, discs their sexualy and te the East German public. The group was largely unsuccsful, as the ernment remaed skeptil of the need for such public engagement.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb dn db-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-sktop"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-none pt-lg pb-lg" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"><div>Advertisement</div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb db dn-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-mobile"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-sm pt-sm pb-sm" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">But the 1980s, other gay and lbian activists began anizg unr the spic of the Prottant Church, the only nomally pennt anizatn the untry. In cy after cy, new groups arose — over a dozen across the ty untry (East Germany had a smaller populatn than Florida). They forced the regime to take them serly, and eventually cid that the bt way to fe the possible polil challenge that queer activism posed was to accept the groups’ mands. It did so, part, bee activists had been adamant about amg their requts terms of the needs of socialism, emphasizg that creatg greater opportuni for queer East Germans would only strengthen their mment to munism.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">In short orr, the dictatorship promulgated a slew of liberal polici, om allowg queer people to serve the ary to equalizg the age of nsent to missng new books and movi about homosexualy. Burecrats and policians argued that dog so would strengthen socialist society by better tegratg queer people to and dismantlg social homophobia.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">As a rult, the 1980s were a tly remarkable time for queer East Germans, what one of my terview partners lled “the most betiful gay time.” When the Berl Wall fell and Germany was rnified, many of the gay men and lbian women exprsed a sense of loss. They felt alienated by the nsumerist, Wtern gay subculture. Whereas the growg subculture the East had ma many of them feel more closely aligned wh the munal, socialist project, the Wt German subculture revolved around a highly dividualized inty and the right to exprs mercially.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb dn db-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-sktop"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-none pt-lg pb-lg" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"><div>Advertisement</div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><div class="cb db dn-ns" data-qa="article-body-ad" data-ttid="article-body-ad-mobile"><div aria-hidn="te" class="hi-for-prt relative flex jtify-center ntent-box ems-center b bh mb-md mt-sm pt-sm pb-sm" style="m-height:250px;borr-top-lor:;borr-bottom-lor:"><div class="center absolute w-100 borr-box" style="top:"><div class="dib gray-dark pl-xs pr-xs font-sans-serif light font-xxxxs lh-md" style="--primary-borr-lor:"></div></div><div data-ttid="placeholr-box" class="w-100 h-100 absolute flex flex-lumn jtify-center borr-box bg-offwhe" style="width:300px;height:250px"><div class="flex flex-lumn jtify-center font-sans-serif center font-xxs light gray-dark lh-md"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">Other Eastern bloc untri were also fiantly queer. Hungary had long been known as a iendly place for gay and lbian people, s pal Budapt seen as Eastern Europe’s Amsterdam. Prague, too, was a sirable statn for gay vatners behd the Iron Curta. In both Hungary and Czechoslovakia, gay and lbian activists also ma efforts to anize the 1980s and nvced the rpective munist regim to make chang to social regulatns.</p></div><div class="article-body" data-qa="article-body"><p data-ttid="drop-p-letter" data-el="text" class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overriStyl font-py" dir="null">The history of queerns and munism is not simply one of reprsn. It ntas moments of both ambiguy and genue advanc — advanc that often outstripped the supposedly eer Wt. At a time when the left still bat whether inty or class is the bt basis on which to build progrs and whether socialism n be renciled wh a polics om the margs, is important to remember that socialism and queerns have and n aga walk hand--hand.</p></div><div class="PJLV PJLV-ibHxfFu-css flex mt-md tt overriStyl"><div class="mb-lg-mod" data-qa="ments-btn-div"><button aria-label="Scroll to the ments sectn" data-qa="ments-btn" class="wpds-c-kSOqLF wpds-c-kSOqLF-SQjOY-variant-sendary wpds-c-kSOqLF-eHdizY-nsy-flt wpds-c-kSOqLF-ejCoEP-in-left ments hi-for-prt"><svg xmlns=" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="currentColor" aria-hidn="te" focable="false" role="img" class="wpds-c-fBqPWp "><path d="M14 14V2H2v9.47h8.18L12.43 13ZM3 10.52V3h10v9.23l-2.5-1.66Z"></path></svg><span class="ral-unt unfed" data-ral-notext="te"></span> Comments</button></div><div class="wpds-c-dXjReQ"><button id="gift-share-shortcut" class="wpds-c-kSOqLF wpds-c-kSOqLF-SQjOY-variant-sendary wpds-c-kSOqLF-biynoz-nsy-pact wpds-c-kSOqLF-ejCoEP-in-left hi-for-prt ml-sm"><svg xmlns=" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="currentColor" aria-hidn="te" focable="false" role="img" class="wpds-c-dJBvpf "><path d="M10.73 5h.14a1.75 1.75 0 0 0 1-2.25 1.83 1.83 0 0 0-.51-.75 1.72 1.72 0 0 0-1.48-.35 1.76 1.76 0 0 0-1.2.94L8 3.93l-.68-1.4A1.76 1.76 0 0 0 4 3.59 1.74 1.74 0 0 0 5.13 5H2v4h1v5h10V9h1V5ZM9.58 3a.77.77 0 0 1 .51-.4h.17a.73.73 0 0 1 .47.17.72.72 0 0 1 .27.71.72.72 0 0 1-.48.58l-1.77.66ZM5 3.43a.72.72 0 0 1 .27-.71.73.73 0 0 1 .47-.17h.17a.77.77 0 0 1 .51.4l.83 1.7L5.48 4A.74.74 0 0 1 5 3.43ZM3 6h4.5v2H3Zm1 3h3.5v4H4Zm4.5 4V9H12v4ZM13 8H8.5V6H13Z" data-name="Path 10"></path></svg><span class="wpds-c-iSKIAI">Gift this article</span>Gift Article</button></div></div><div></div><div></div><sectn class="dn-ns hi-for-prt" data-ttid="mostRead" subscriptns-sectn="ntent"><div data-ttid="lazy-most-read-parent" class=""><div style="m-height:800px"></div></div></sectn><div class="wpds-c-hsVKiV"><div data-qa="newsletter" class="hi-for-prt relative"><div class="dib w-100"><div><div class="flex jtify-center align self-center center transn-all duratn-400 ease--out" data-qa="sc-newsletter-signup" aria-label=""><svg aria-labelledby="react-aria-1-aria" role="img" viewBox="0 0 100 80"><tle id="react-aria-1-aria">Loadg...

gay communism

Inially, there were accatns that Ziegler, as a gay Democrat, was biased toward Bin, but now some Republins say his inty shows he's fair and reliable sayg the IRS was hampered the vtigatn.

Contents:

THE COMMUNIST MOVEMENT AND GAY RIGHTS: THE HIDN HISTORY

The morn movement for queer liberatn—or gay liberatn to e the as-yet ls clive termology of the 1960s and ’70s—wouldn’t exist whout the Communist Party USA. * gay communism *

In the last year, the Cuban health mistry unfurled an enormo rabow flag to mark Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, and former print Raúl Castro clared that nontg homophobia remaed one of the ernment’s chief some Amerins, the velopments might seem to fly the face of the untry’s munist history. In her memoir, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, perhaps the most famo trans woman German history, remembered gog to lively hoe parti Berl full of queer East the 1970s, a group of gay men and lbians began to meet East Berl, termed to rve out a public space for themselv.

It did so, part, bee activists had been adamant about amg their requts terms of the needs of socialism, emphasizg that creatg greater opportuni for queer East Germans would only strengthen their mment to short orr, the dictatorship promulgated a slew of liberal polici, om allowg queer people to serve the ary to equalizg the age of nsent to missng new books and movi about homosexualy. Burecrats and policians argued that dog so would strengthen socialist society by better tegratg queer people to and dismantlg social a rult, the 1980s were a tly remarkable time for queer East Germans, what one of my terview partners lled “the most betiful gay time.

TOWARDS A GAY COMMUNISM

The Communist Party is mted to full equaly – cludg equaly for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer people. The party oppos any effort to ny employment, hog, adoptn privileg, or marriage rights to any person or uple on the basis of sexual orientatn or genr i... * gay communism *

That might sound like a big claim to make, but was Communist iology and polil strategy that provid the theoretil and practil archecture of the earlit effort to w gay equaly the Uned Stat—the Mattache Society, a group whose ias unrpned all the stggl and victori the untry that have been won over the past half century. The notn of gays as an opprsed mory culture was a takeoff om the Marxist analysis of the opprsn of Ain Amerins and other groups as “natnal mori, ” a ncept wh a long pedigree Marxism-Lenism but which was particularly strsed after the Sixth Congrs of the Communist Internatnal 1928. “The Homophile mon psychologil make-up manifts self a muny of culture so phenomenologilly remarkable that transcends the mechanil barriers of formal language by creatg an ternatnal behavral language of s own, addn to sharg the pestrian language of each parental muny.

From that pot on, there would of urse be setbacks, reversals, and ternal battl, but, the words of Timmons, the Cultural Mory this beme “the implic mo of self-unrstandg and muny anizatn of Lbian/Gay muni wherever they exist, ” even if s Marxist roots typilly went unacknowledged. Even though circumstanc and prejudic did not allow them to be the Communist Party proper, Hay, Rowland, and other Mattache activists were dog munist work and attemptg to lk up the homosexual cultural mory wh others who were opprsed by palism and had an tert fightg .

“FULLY AUTOMATED LUXURY GAY SPACE COMMUNISM”: HAS THE TIME FOR UNIVERSAL BASIC INE FALLY COME?

  The followg article has been adapted om a talk prented at the Ltle Red Schoolhoe New York Cy, July 28, 2022. Part 1 was published here. Like other forms of opprsn unr palism, the opprsn of gay people gave rise to ristance and stggle. * gay communism *

Sce he striv to approach this qutn om a Marxist viewpot, the thor of this letter believ that the cree ntradicts both the facts of life self and the prcipl of is a summary of the facts that are discsed tail the attached letter: On the whole, the ndn of homosexuals unr palism is analogo to the ndn of women, the loured rac, ethnic mori, and other groups that are reprsed for one reason or another; The attu of bourgeois society to homosexualy is based on the ntradictn between: palism’s need for “nnon fodr” and a rerve army of labour (leadg to reprsive laws agast homosexualy, which is regard as a threat to birth rat); the ever-growg poverty of the mass unr palism (leadg to the llapse of the workg-class fay and an crease homosexualy). Dear Comra Stal:Although I am a foreign munist who has not yet been promoted to the AUCP(b), [later to be renamed the CPSU, Communist Party of the Soviet Unn] I neverthels thk that will not seem unnatural to you, the lear of the world proletariat, that I addrs you wh a requt to shed light on a qutn that, as seems to me, has huge signifince for a large number of munists the USSR as well as other qutn is as follows: n a homosexual be nsired someone worthy of membership the Communist Party?

Consequently, they should be nsired even ls worthy to be members of the AUCP(b) I have a personal stake this qutn sofar as I am a homosexual myself, I addrsed this qutn to a number of ras om the OGPU and the People’s Commissariat for Jtice, to psychiatrists, and to Comra Borod, the edor--chief of the newspaper where I work.

A photograph of homosexual and cross-drsg Rsians, prr to 1917 / Image: public domaAll that I managed to extract om them was a number of ntradictory opns which show that amongst the ras there is no clear theoretil unrstandg of what might have served as the basis for passage of the given law. Somewhat earlier, when the arrts of homosexuals had only jt begun, Comra Borod was que discled to view me as a potential crimal; he did not regard me as a bad munist, and this was nfirmed by the fact that he promoted me at work by appotg me head of edorial staff, which is the hight-rankg supervisory posn wh the exceptn of members of the edorial board. On the other hand, however, after the law was issued on March 7, I had a nversatn the OGPU which I was told that the law would be strictly applied to each se of homosexualy that was brought to nnectn wh the lack of clary that exists this matter, I turn to you the hope that you will fd the time to give me an me to expla to you this qutn as I unrstand and foremost, I would like to pot out that I view the ndn of homosexuals who are eher of workg-class orig or workers themselv to be analogo to the ndn of women unr the palist regime and the loured rac who are opprsed by imperialism.

FULLY AUTOMATED LUXURY GAY SPACE COMMUNISM

The favoure to w Poland's 28 June electn nounc gay rights activism as an alien iology. * gay communism *

This ndn is likewise siar many ways to the ndn of the Jews unr Hler’s dictatorship, and general is not hard to see an analogy wh the ndn of any social stratum subjected to exploatn and persecutn unr palist we analyse the nature of the persecutn of homosexuals, we should keep md that there are two typ of homosexuals: first, those who are the way they are om birth (moreover, if scientists disagree about the precise reasons for this, then there is no disagreement that certa ep-seated reasons do exist); send, there are homosexuals who had a normal sexual life but later beme homosexuals, sometim out of vicns, sometim out of enomic for the send type, the qutn is cid relatively simply.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN A GAY COMMUNIST WROTE TO STAL

* gay communism *

" / Image: public domaJt as the women of the bourgeois class suffer to a signifintly lser gree om the jtic of the palist regime (you of urse remember what Len said about this), so do natural-born homosexuals of the domant class suffer much ls om persecutn than homosexuals om the workg-class i. Capalism, which needs an enormo rerve army of labour and nnon fodr orr to flourish, regards homosexualy as a factor that threatens to lower birth rat (as we know, the palist untri there are laws that punish abortn and other methods of ntraceptn) urse, the attu of the bourgeoisie to the homosexual qutn is typil hypocrisy.

Th the fact of [Astor’s nvictn] beme known thanks to ntradictns wh the domant to s wealth, the bourgeoisie n avoid the legal punishment that scends all s severy on homosexual workers wh the exceptn of those s when the latter have prostuted themselv to members of the domant class. But at the same time, by worseng the livg ndns of workers, palism produc the objective ndns for an crease the number of homosexuals who take to this way of life by virtue of material ntradictn is reflected the fact that fascism, which employed the perast [Mar] van r Lubbe as a weapon s provotn, at the same time btally supprsed the liberal-telligentsia “liberatn” movement of homosexuals led by Dr.

However, bee fascism stroys the workg-class fay and furthers the impoverishment of the mass, sentially stimulat the velopment of the send type of homosexualy I have scribed — that is, [homosexualy] out of only solutn to this ntradictn is the revolutnary transformatn of the existg orr and the creatn of a society which the absence of unemployment, the growg prospery of the mass, and the liquidatn of the fay as an enomic un secure the ndns which no one will be forced to perasty out of necsy.

WHO IS JOSEPH ZIEGLER, THE GAY IRS WHISTLEBLOWER HUNTER BIN PROBE?

Te, Comra Degot om the People’s Commissariat of Jtice said that the reason for the law was that homosexualy was a form of bourgeois specialist psychiatrist wh whom I spoke about this matter refed to believe the existence of such a law until I showed him a py of . Comra Borod poted out to me that I should not attach too much signifince to the article on homosexualy the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia bee (he said) s thor was a homosexual himself and the article was published durg a perd when a number of viatns had still not yet been exposed.

I took this step spe the fact that I did not know whether ntemporary rearchers had succeed tablishg the te nature of homosexualy and the possibily of nvertg homosexuals to heterosexuals — that is, to people who engage the sexual act only wh members of the oppose sex. This should be kept md, and seems to me that one should refully weigh the dangers of sexual levellg precisely for this branch of Soviet culture, for at prent we do not as yet posss a sufficiently scientific explanatn of image is a Che Communist Party propaganda poster, celebratg the relatnship between Mao's Cha and the USSR, regim which homosexuals were severely opprsed. )It seems to me that this excerpt om Comra Stal’s report has a direct bearg on the qutn that I am is important, however, is that even if one pursu this levellg the prent, is impossible to achieve eher wh medil or legislative both psychiatrists whom I vised were forced by my sistent qutns to nfs that s of curable homosexualy exist, I fally tablished my own attu to the should regnize that there is such a thg as eradible homosexualy— I have yet to enunter facts that would refute this— and hence as a nsequence, seems to me, one should regnize as evable the existence of this mory society, be a palist or even a socialist society.

GAY SOCCER PLAYER JOSH CAVALLO TO JUDGE RUPL’S DRAG RACE DOWN UNR

Today, the Obama admistratn has clearly mted self to gay civil rights, and the purveyors of homophobic polics are on the fensive and fightg rear-guard battl, even though homophobic vlence by street thugs, police btaly, and multifaceted forms of social stigmatizatn rema a part of life for gay men and lbians those areas of the untry where polil and social "nservativ" wield power. Gays have been volved the stggl for the emancipatn of the workg class as revolutnary agators, labor anizers, and partisans of socialist, munist and anarchist movements sce the days of the Paris Commune and the First Internatnal, when for many those three tegori were terchangeable. Sce homosexuals nnot be "found" om the rmatn on birth certifit or om circumcisns, etc., the way the Hler fascists hunted down people whom they fed as Jews, gay people had the "protectn" of wearg social masks or disguis, leadg double liv, and eher reprsg their sexual orientatn or livg an unrground or closeted existence.

Although Hay's mment to gay anizg had led him to leave the CPUSA by a kd of mutual nsent, he and his ras ntued to e CPUSA anizg and tnal techniqu to velop the Mattache Society to an anizatn reprentative of gay people and a vehicle for achievg the goal of gay liberatn. Gays who sought acceptance wh the existg system - the oppose of everythg Harry and his ras stood for - took over the Mattache Society and turned to an anizatn of proper men sus and ti, holdg foms wh homophob and centrists and engagg very tame actns to seek greater "toleratn" for gays.

When the mass gay liberatn movement took shape after the Stonewall Gay Ghetto Rt of 1969, the Mattache Society was nsired by many gay activists to be an artifact wh tablishment pretensns, somethg like a nservative AFL bs unn to labor ants, or the Natnal Urban League to Black ants. Called before the Hoe Un-Amerin Activi Commtee (HUAC) 1955 (one should remember that homophobia was cultivated by McCarthy as a pann to their generic red-bag), he stood up to the mtee, treatg them wh the ntempt they richly served, although he felt bter that was difficult to get Left attorneys to reprent him bee of his open homosexualy.

FALGSC: FULLY AUTOMATED LUXURY GAY SPACE COMMUNISM

Fearful perhaps of makg him to a martyr (McCarthy had been censured the prev year and McCarthyism s cst forms was cle), HUAC cled to ce him for ntempt and send him to prison, which had prevly done wh the Hollywood Ten and the 1960s, Harry joed Women Strike for Peace, an activist group cludg both former and ongog CPUSA members, and sought to velop alns wh the emergg gay rights, antiwar, and women's rights movements. To his last day, Harry Hay, who passed away 2002, fought agast the hatred that lg circl fomented agast gay men and lbians (as they do agast all other opprsed mory groups orr to divi and nquer), and rejected the self-hatred, which, for gays, is perhaps more tense than for any other opprsed group.

Unfortunately, the Communist Party of the Rsian Feratn, which scrib self as the succsor of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unn, has gone back time supportg the reactnary homophobic polici of the anti-Communist and anti-Soviet Put ernment, which claims to oppose. However, I would remend the followg works: In Blasi and Phelan, eds., We Are Everywhere: A Historil Sourcebook of Gay and Lbian Polics (New York, 1997), the chapter on "The Emergence of a Gay And Lbian Polil Culture Germany" is valuable, as is Jam Steakley's The Homosexual Emancipatn Movement Germany (New York, 1975). Dean, Imperial Brotherhood: Genr and the Makg of Cold War Foreign Policy (Amherst, 2001) Dean, after examg the "male bondg" ruals of the graduat of prep schools, ivy league lleg, and exclive aterni and clubs om whom foreign policy makers om both parti me, looks at the anti-Communist and anti-Gay purg the state partment and foreign service and their effects on all policy makers, both the purge victims and those who ntued their posns.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY COMMUNISM

Towards a Gay Communism .

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