Human Rights Watch wants St. Vcent to repeal gay sex ban | Miami Herald

gay rights cuba

Cuba is avowedly secular. But as the untry bat a new Constutn that would protect LGBT rights, church have e out strongly agast gay marriage — a sign of change on the Communist island.

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CUBA GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ARRTED AT PRI MARCH HAVANA

It marks a big moment for Cuba, which saw gay people persecuted the 1960s and 70s. * gay rights cuba *

While there have been large grassroots movements for gay marriage, there have also been those agast ; church, for example, have released statements clarg marriage as exclively “between a man and a woman” and put up posters wh this msage. The history for trans people Cuba is equally as dark and shameful as that for gay people; machismo also has a big impact as trans women are seen as ‘renouncg’ their masculy.

GAY SEX IS STILL ILLEGAL THIS CARIBBEAN ISLAND; HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WANTS BAN REPEALED

LGBT Rights Cuba: homosexualy, gay marriage, gay adoptn, servg the ary, sexual orientatn discrimatn protectn, changg legal genr, donatg blood, age of nsent, and more. * gay rights cuba *

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, A man sts his ballot on Sunday HavanaCuba has voted to legalise same-sex marriage a natnal two-thirds of the populatn voted to approve reforms a new Fay Co, which will also allow surrogate pregnanci and give gay upl the right to adopt marks a big moment for Cuba, which saw gay people persecuted and sent to work mps the 1960s and 70s.

Official attus towards homosexualy on the Communist-n island have changed over the past s, partly thanks to the efforts of former lear Raúl Castro's dghter the early part of munist lear Fil Castro's le after the 1959 revolutn, homosexual men and women were sent to work mps for supposed "re-tn". Relatns wh the measure passed largely bee of the belief among many rints that “the are matters that the law should not regulate strictly, ” and s time was past overdue, Profsor Coll law also allows for surrogate pregnanci, clus measur agast genr vlence and enurag upl to equally share the load wh Lat Amerin untri have taken siar steps recent years to addrs gay rights. Rights Pappier and Cristian González Cabrera, rearchers at Human Rights Watch, wrote a lumn that was wrong for the Cuban ernment to engage “the polil pageantry of puttg dividual rights, cludg the right of gay and lbian upl to be ee om discrimatn, to a populary vote.

In the 1960s, Fil Castro’s revolutnary ernment helped spread a wave of homophobia on the island when he packed gay men off to labor mps, a form of punishment and ercn to niece, Mariela Castro, has been leadg the charge for L.

CUBA MOVG TOWARDS GAY MARRIAGE AND ADOPTN RIGHTS

Police crackdown on gay rights monstrators amid clash at unthorised pri march Havana. * gay rights cuba *

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, gay men were routely imprisoned for solicg sex public lotns, ernment workers lost their jobs bee of their homosexualy, and homosexual artists were censored. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Havana’s polici toward s LGBT muny began to change as munist lears around the world began to lean toward a more tolerant policy regardg homosexualy.

GAY CUBA

There are six untri the Caribbean where same-sex timacy is still banned and punishable by prison time. Human Rights Watch, s latt report, is llg out of the untri for the anti-gay atmosphere that exists and the stigmatizatn of LGBT dividuals. * gay rights cuba *

9 For example, 1977 the Cuban Natnal Center for Sex Edutn (CENESEX) was found by the Cuban Women’s Feratn, which “enuraged a more enlightened outlook on homosexualy and started to unrme tradnal sexual prejudic and taboos. Some have argued that another explanatn for Havana’s homosexual polici is that Cuba’s ntued pennce on the Soviet Unn for tra and assistance led to a Stalist-style tolerance of homosexualy throughout the earlier part of the . 14 The annulment of many of the remag laws the Penal Co that had prohibed homosexual nduct allowed thori to release those who had been prevly imprisoned for homosexual activy.

15 Durg this perd, the Cuban thori began to show greater tolerance toward homosexualy orr to enforce safe sex and to ga polil support for the regime om the LGBT muny and om cril ternatnal observers. The Cuban ernment began to produce films and documentari nmng discrimatn agast homosexualy, and the medil muny Cuba began to scribe homosexualy as a natural mory ndn rather than a perverse choice. In addn, prev public sndal laws that penalized those who “publicly flnted their homosexual ndn” were later changed to those who engaged “sexual sult, ” ditg a more most tone agast homosexualy.

Although he once vulgarly referred to homosexuals as “agents of imperialism, ” and praised the Cuban untrysi for supposedly beg ee of homosexualy, his recent claratns exprs a much more tolerant sentiment. 24 Gay rights activists, both Cuba and abroad, have acced the Cuban thori of applyg the crime of “pre-crimal dangerons” unfairly to homosexuals, and ignorg plats of those who have been beaten or fired om their jobs bee of their sexual orientatn. 25 Other gay rights activists have cricized Mariela Castro for her nsistency and hypocrisy when to gay rights, argug that gay rights activists ntue to be imprisoned, beaten, or simply disappear while she provis ltle more than lip service to the issue.

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS CUBA

Here's a gui to tips for gay and lbian travelers Cuba - everythg you need to know. * gay rights cuba *

The most negative reviews nced the belief that the show was important, but as a way to warn people of homosexualy’s nsequenc rather than a way to promote tolerance and acceptance toward . Whether this more lenient policy translat to greater rights for gays the near future is unclear, but certaly suggts a willgns to nsir more progrsive ctoms, which is another promisg sign.

That has meant a greater openg not only the once-domant Roman Catholic Church, but also to Ao-Cuban religns, prottants and of those church took advantage of the openg 2018 and 2019 to mpaign agast another plebisce which would have rewrten the nstutn a way to allow gay marriage. Media ptn, People celebratg LGBT rights Havana are taedA number of gay rights activists have been arrted after clashg wh police at an unthorised pri march Cuba's pal, Havana.

AS CUBA BACKS GAY MARRIAGE, CHURCH OPPOSE THE ERNMENT’S PLAN

* gay rights cuba *

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, A number of people marchg whout perms were arrted the palAt least three activists participatg the gay para Havana were 's annual gay pri march is an important event for the island's gay and lbian muny, which spent s the shadows and unr persecutn, says the BBC's Cuba rrponnt Will such, our rrponnt adds, the cisn by the ernment to ncel this year's event was met wh disbelief by many of those who had tend to participate. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, The annual gay pri march is an important event for Cuba's LGBT munyLast week, the state-n Natnal Centre for Sex Edutn (CENESEX) said the official Cuban Conga agast Homophobia and Transphobia march was ncelled bee of "new tensns the ternatnal and regnal ntext" rponse, activists set up Facebook groups llg for a gatherg the pal on Saturday holds events around this time every year ahead of the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia on 17 official events celebratg LGBT rights the untry will reportedly be gog ahead as planned. Vcent and the Grenad is known for s volnic terra, spectacular ral reefs and yacht-filled the ty Eastern Caribbean untry loted the Lser Antill also has a dub reputatn when to the treatment of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people: Its lonial-era gay sex ban.

IS CUBA SAFE FOR GAY TRAVELERS? WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Acrdg to Odaymara Cuta om the lbian Cuban hip-hop band Kdas Cubensi, there's a gay person every fay Cuba. * gay rights cuba *

Vcent and the Grenad, the level of homophobia the untry and ntued effect of s archaic law on rights of LGBT dividuals warranted report’s release while there is currently a trial si St. Vcent and the Grenad should repeal the gay-sex provisns s crimal and pass prehensive civil anti-discrimatn legislatn that clus protectns based on sexual orientatn and genr inty. “Every LGBT person terviewed said they wished to leave the untry and envisned their future abroad due, part, to the homophobic or transphobic vlence and discrimatn the untry, ” the report said.

González said the crimalizatn of gay sex giv “tac state sanctn to the discrimatn and vlence that LGBT people experience their daily liv and pels many to look abroad to live eely and fulfill their dreams. While gay rights are the most bated part of the proposed law, s more than 400 articl ver all sorts of fay topics, cludg the rights of grandparents and grandchildren, protectn of the elrly, punishment of genr vlence and how the law als wh marriage and parental rponsibily.

Cuban gay rights activists held an unthorized pennt pri para Havana on Saturday spe the Communist ernment warng agast and llg subversive, an unprecented show of civil society the one-party state. * gay rights cuba *

That has meant a greater openg not only the once-domant Roman Catholic Church, but also to Ao-Cuban religns, prottants and of those church took advantage of the openg 2018 and 2019 to mpaign agast another plebisce which would have rewrten the nstutn a way to allow gay opposn was strong enough that the ernment at that time backed away.

On an ternatnal sle, efforts to achieve regnn of LGBTQ+ rights as human rights at the UN date back to 1994, yet homosexual acts are still crimalized 76 of the 192 UN member stat. For stance, Mexi had over 1, 000 homophobic murrs only two s, and the LAC regn has four out of five untri wh the hight murr rat of transgenr and genr-diverse people worldwi, wh Brazil matag stat as one of the world’s LGBTQ+ murr pals (Berezowsky 2018; Corral 2017).

The ntext of revolutnary Cuba is important bee highlights an tertg shift om (1) pre-revolutn social norms and policy, which crimalized homosexualy wh limed social acceptance, (2) revolutnary social norms and policy, which were some of the most opprsive the untry’s history, and fally, (3) post-revolutn social norms and policy, which began to pave the way for pro-LGBTQ+ policy and greater social acceptance. In the 1970s, after the revolutn which end 1959, perspectiv began shiftg and a missn was created to vtigate and unrstand homosexual inti, which led to the crimalizatn of same-sex relatnships 1979 (Majied 2015).

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY RIGHTS CUBA

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wpds-c-PJLV-jYXVnY-lor-black wpds-c-PJLV-mlvxn-size-lg"></div></div><div class="PJLV PJLV-iklXUFA-css"><h1 class="PJLV PJLV-iirWFJy-css overriStyl" data-ttid="headle" data-qa="headle" id="ma-ntent"><span data-qa="headle-text" class="PJLV">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="PJLV PJLV-iPJLV-css mb-xxs overriStyl" 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-ieEDlgV-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"><div id="gift-share-le" data-ttid="gift-share-le" class="PJLV PJLV-ilotWTr-css hi-for-prt"><button aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-expand="false" aria-ntrols="gift-share-drawer" role="button" tabx="0" aria-label="Share this article" id="gift-share-drawer-ntrol-le" data-ttid="gift-share-drawer-ntrol-le" class="wpds-c-PJLV wpds-c-gsmDXe wpds-c-gsmDXe-goNocI-placement-Inle foc-highlight"><div data-ttid="gift-share-terstial-trigger" class="wpds-c-kPqOkS wpds-c-kPqOkS-jtSXsT-hasSubsText-false"><span class="wpds-c-hBJqc"><span class="wpds-c-dzSncg">Share this article</span></span><span class="wpds-c-eCvK"><span class="wpds-c-enedHQ wpds-c-enedHQ-cCdK-isShown-false">Share</span><svg xmlns=" fill="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 16 16" aria-hidn="te" focable="false" role="img" class="wpds-c-fBqPWp wpds-c-fDHGth"><path fill="currentColor" d="M8 .6v3.8h.1c-4.4 0-7.3 4.5-6.9 8.8.1.8.2 1.2.2 1.2l.2 1 .4-1.3c.8-2 2-4 6.2-3.9H8v4l7-6.9L8 .6Zm1 11.3V9.3h-.9c-3 0-4.8.5-6.2 2.9.5-3.3 2.7-6.8 6.2-6.8H9V3l4.5 4.4L9 11.9Z"></path></svg></span></div></button></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">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="wpds-c-ipATMk wpds-c-ipATMk-hCiGAB-removeMobileStyl-te"><div class="wpds-c-dhzjXW wpds-c-dhzjXW-iPJLV-css overriStyl mt-md tt"><div id="gift-share-end" data-ttid="gift-share-end" class="PJLV PJLV-idiqKOk-css hi-for-prt"><button aria-haspopup="dialog" aria-expand="false" aria-ntrols="gift-share-drawer" role="button" tabx="0" aria-label="Share this article" id="gift-share-drawer-ntrol-end" data-ttid="gift-share-drawer-ntrol-end" class="wpds-c-PJLV wpds-c-gsmDXe wpds-c-gsmDXe-iIVoLq-placement-Shortcut foc-highlight"><div class="wpds-c-UazGY" id="gift-share-shortcut" data-ttid="gift-share-shortcut"><svg xmlns=" fill="var(--wpds-lors-primary)" viewBox="0 0 16 16" aria-hidn="te" focable="false" role="img" class="wpds-c-fVfumU "><path fill="currentColor" d="M8 .6v3.8h.1c-4.4 0-7.3 4.5-6.9 8.8.1.8.2 1.2.2 1.2l.2 1 .4-1.3c.8-2 2-4 6.2-3.9H8v4l7-6.9L8 .6Zm1 11.3V9.3h-.9c-3 0-4.8.5-6.2 2.9.5-3.3 2.7-6.8 6.2-6.8H9V3l4.5 4.4L9 11.9Z"></path></svg><div class="PJLV wpds-c-kwcHlj">Share</div></div></button></div><div class="wpds-c-hcekgi"><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 wpds-c-kSOqLF-igqYgPb-css 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></span> Comments</button></div></div></div><div class="PJLV PJLV-iipsdti-css"><div></div></div><div class="PJLV PJLV-iipsdti-css"><div></div></div><sectn class="PJLV PJLV-iipsdti-css 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="PJLV PJLV-ickXkbz-css"><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... .

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