Cuban Government Backs Calls to Combat Homophobia

Cuba's gay community celebrated unprecedented openness -- and high-ranking political alliances -- with a government-backed campaign against homophobia on Saturday.

The meeting at a convention center in Havana's Vedado district may have been the largest gathering of openly gay activists ever on the communist-run island. President Raul Castro's daughter Mariela, who has promoted the rights of sexual minorities, presided.

''This is a very important moment for us, the men and women of Cuba, because for the first time we can gather in this way and speak profoundly and with scientific basis about these topics,'' said Castro, director of Cuba's Center for Sexual Education.

Mariela Castro joined government leaders and hundreds of activists at the one-day conference for the International Day Against Homophobia that featured shows, lectures, panel discussions, and book presentations. A station also offered blood testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

Cuban state television gave prime-time play Friday to the U.S. film Brokeback Mountain, which tells the story of two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair.

Prejudice against homosexuals remains deeply rooted in Cuban society, but the government has steadily moved away from the puritanism of the 1960s and 1970s, when gays hid their sexuality for fear of being ridiculed, fired from work, or even imprisoned.

Now Cuba's parliament is studying proposals to legalize same-sex unions and give gay couples the benefits that people in traditional marriages enjoy.

Parliament head Ricardo Alarcon said the government needs to do more to promote gay rights but said many Cubans still need to be convinced.

Things ''are advancing but must continue advancing, and I think we should do that in a coherent, appropriate, and precise way because these are topics that have been taboo and continue to be for many,'' Alarcon told reporters.

Some at the conference spoke of streaming out into the streets for a spontaneous gay pride parade, but others urged caution.

The gay rights movement should be careful not to ''flood'' Cuban society with a message that many are not ready to hear, physician and gay activist Alberto Roque cautioned.

And Mariela Castro said gay activists should opt for more subtle ways to chip away at deep-seated homophobic attitudes.

Defending equal rights for Cubans, of all sexual orientations, is a key principle of the Cuban revolution led by her uncle Fidel Castro, who overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, she said.

''The freedom of sexual choice and gender identity [are] exercises in equality and social justice,'' she said. (Andrea Rodriguez, AP)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Rick
Date posted: 2008-05-20 2:33 AM
Hometown: Long Beach, CA

Comment:

I am a Cuban-American, second generation gay, and been here since 1980-Mariel Boatlift's. My real father was gay upon his passing away I realized how hard it was for him to be gay in Cuba and how easy it has been for me to be gay in the U.S.A. Also with the showing of Brokeback Mountain since it was the period of 1964-1984 which is the same time frame for my real father since he was born in 1949. I am still in close contact with his first lover who lives in Los Angeles and has been with HIV/AIDS for 21 years. I am glad that even with 48 states we can't get married, we are able to express ourselves without being thrown in jail - although we have George Bush (he is no Fidel Castro). My real father had to get married to peace the family and live a double life.

Name: Gustavo
Date posted: 2008-05-20 12:10 AM
Hometown: Austin, TX

Comment:

I was in Cuba 5 years ago and had to run from a private party because the political police was coming to raid the house, a private house; only because it was mostly attended by gays. It is hard to believe that a government that represses its own people - ALL its people - all the sudden becomes concerned with gay rights. What about basic HUMAN rights, like freedom to travel, to read without censorhip, to belong to whichever political/social group we may want to associate with (gay and/or straight), to have gay clubs? All of this coming from the same so called "revolution" that in the 60's rounded up gays in the streets and imprisoned them in labor camps. Only when all Cubans are free, will gay Cubans be free.

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