Fridae

I remember when I was in university studying political science and sociology, as a gay person I was totally puzzled by the fact that communist countries were so blatantly homophobic. I thought naively, having read Marx (who never said a word on the subject), that fighting a conservative bourgeois society would naturally include fighting its typical old demons of bigotry, intolerance, injustice and discrimination of minorities, including of course in the field of sexual preferences.
Not so.

Homophobia in all its manifestations including the worst was not only recuperated by all communist regimes but actually enhanced, legalised, institutionalized. It was seen as a decadent product of capitalism, strangely notwithstanding the fact that capitalist societies were, for the most part, brutally homophobic.

It doesn't mean that homophobia (or sexuality in general, for that matter) is a-political. It just means that the fields of politics is much wider than that of any system. Gay people who say "I'm not interested in politics" are like a bull saying he's not interested in corrida. Of course what they mean is that they don't like most politicians but that's a very unproductive cliché, not an actual original opinion, and it paves the way for brutal regimes to take over. It is happening right now, in the form of demagogy.

What happened with Castro proves that activism can actually produce unforeseen results. What the article here doesn't mention is that one of Castro's nieces (and I guess one he really likes) is very involved in defending gay rights in Cuba, and has been for a long time. She somehow found a way to get the message through to her uncle so... thumbs up to her ! I don't believe for one second that Castro was not homophobic and that he just let these things happen only because he was busy elsewhere. But even a mountain of self-righteous ego like him can be gradually led to see things from a different point of view. Yes he's about to die and eager to leave a better impression, yes let's not be naively optimistic, but let's not be cynical either : this IS good news.

The South African Communist Party was largely instrumental in enshrining gay rights into the new SA constitution after Mandela introduced democracy. Not every communist party was homophobic.

It is an interesting development that you have a leader come out and clearly state that he did not do enough for homosexuals. I honestly don't see such happening in any other nation.

Thus, let's hope Fidel can influence his brother Raul to do what is necessary.

@1: What you write is very true, and I think it is worthwhile to note that quite a few Communists were educated in seminaries. The best-known is Stalin, but Castro was also educated by the Jesuits. So, even though these leaders defined themselves against the Church, their societal attitudes were influenced by Church education.

What you write about Castro's niece is true; she is the daughter of Raul, the present president, who is rumored to be bisexual (but rumors are rumors).

@2: I think it depends on the historical period. When the French communist party was under Soviet influence, it was clearly homophobic. The poet Aragon, one of the most important communist voices in France, married Elsa Triolet in the thirties probably under the pressure of the PCF. After her death in the early eighties, he went into a gay spree at the PCF's dismay, which tried to hush-hush the embarrassment. Later, in the late eighties, the Party became openly gay-friendly. I don't know about the South African one.

Yes I was talking about communists COUNTRIES, not parties, mostly with the USSR, China, and... Cuba in mind. I was also thinking of earlier days. Communist party lines were (thanks for the input, Drelin) predominantly homophobic until the late 1970s, no one can deny that. When they sensed a turn of wind in society, some of them changed their stance. The least you could say is that their change of attitude was the result, definitely not the cause for the change in society.
What DID cause the change, now that's an interesting question.

Jan Valtin's 870 pages autobiography "Out of the Night" which ends in 1938 is a fascinating record of communist strategies throughout the world, all under the iron hand of the Komintern. There is almost nothing in there concerning gays and the silence in itself is the "curious incident". Obviously Valtin was not aggressively homophobic, he was just "normally" homophobic and not once does he question his attitude, because no heterosexual man like him would have done so in those days. He spent some terrifying months in Nazi camps were he came accross gays who were there because of their sexual orientation and there is no clear statement that he finds it particularly shocking.

When I was a student in France, most young people like us loved Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens, both of whom undeniably wrote beautiful songs with powerful lyrics. Both those guys (and they're just an example) were homophobic and there are numerous examples in their work. Were they stupid ? no. Were they evil ? no. Were they blind ? to the problem of homophobia, yes. To other problems, no - both of them very politically engaged and eager to fight injustice. BUT THEY DID NOT SEE HOMOPHOBIA AS AN INJUSTICE IN THOSE DAYS, and that's my point. It is always very hard to think of the past with the eyes of the past and not those of our present day.

People (you and me included) sometimes do evil things just because they don't even begin to realize they are evil. Look at the history of slavery for example. Personnally I find that a lot more scary than the problem of deliberate, malignant evil. We are all very litterally caught up in a paradigma that covers a given period of time, and thinking out of those boxes requires amazing luck, talent, intelligence, or possibly just a niece who loves you and finds the right words to help you change your mind.
Why and how these paradigma eventually morph into new paradigma is, again, a fascinating question. Is the new paradigma necessarily better than the old one... is another.

As a gay man of 100% Cuban heritage, I find this new Castro development to be very un-interesting. Of course he has softened on gay issues. Virtually every modern socialist party on earth is very liberal culturally nowadays, and Castro wants to be seen as progressive.

He reminds me of those people in the South of the USA who in the 1950s fought vehemently against racial integration, but, with the passing of several decades, have seen how society has progressed and now lament their prior intolerance and bigotry.

Anyone interested in the treatment of gay Cubans during the first 20 years of the Castro regime should see Nestor Almendros's brilliant documentary "Mauvaise Conduite," which was released in France in 1984. The English title is "Improper Conduct" and the Spanish title is "Conducta Impropria."

In it, he interviews many Cuban writers, artists, drag queens, dancers, and intellectuals who defected to France, Spain and the USA. They spoke of the UMAP camps (Unidades Militares en Ayuda de Produccion). Gays were routinely sent to these work camps to be "re-educated" into heterosexuality. Castro was definitely behind this program of homosexual denunciation and re-education.

My aunt returned to Cuba in 1979 with the Antonio Maceo Brigade, and they were told that homosexuality was being eradicated in Cuba because it didn't fit in with Che Guevara's concept of the "Hombre Nuevo," (New Man) who produced for society children who were products of a socialist nucelar family, blah, blah, blah...

Raul Castro even went to China during the Cultural Revolution to learn how the Chinese were dealing with the "Homosexual Question."

China, as we know, has really liberalized its stance on homosexuality. They have lifted the ban on HIV positive immigration and foreign employment, and, as sites like Fridae will attest, there is no banning of gay websites (or at least I haven't seen any censorship of gay content online here).

The old Left is liberalizing, and Castro is just jumping on the bandwagon. Big deal.

Lastly, for a great read on being gay under the Castro regime, read Reinaldo Arenas's marvelous autobiography, "Antes Que Anochezca." The English translation is "Before Night Falls." He was one of Cuba's greatest writers.

Sadly, Arenas died of AIDS 20 years ago, but we are lucky to have what wonderful writings he did produce, and even a few that the Castro regime tried to censor and destroy, which Arenas was able to smuggle into France.

Yvonne you are a genius!! ...that is one big book!! ..."paradigma" LOL !!!!. ...verbis meis addere nihil andebant et super illas stillabat eloquium meum !!!! LOL....but jeez...gawd what a mouthful !!!

um..isnt there a film based n the Arenas autobiography too? the name escapes me just now...

haoguy: i believe this is a big deal. whether fidel is doing it for selfish personal reasons or just "jumping on the bandwagon" matters little, as the world IS still overwhelmingly homophobic, albeit not as much. fidel is still the leader of cuba, despite not being the president anymore, so to have him publicly admit his wrongs and throw his weight behind the gay rights movement in cuba is monumental. it also shows great character to own up to his responsibilities and leave behind a more accepting and tolerant regime. it's like what i tell people when they complain that some celebrity donates a large amount to some charity just for the attention: WHO CARES? the money still helps no matter the intention!

The link between sexuality and equality is fairly recent. It has been explained to me that the Chinese communist party's traditional antipathy towards gays related to the long chinese tradition of aristocratic homosexuality. In feudal systems if you were at the top of the pile you could set the rules and do what every you wanted which included indulging in pleasures of the cut sleeve. in Australia, the labor movement has been traditionally focused on improving the wages and conditions of male bread winners. Fidel may have some health problems but his mind seems in good shape. There is still an embargo by the USA against this country and their citizens have better health care than the great US of A.

mcf69 (comment 9) I'm with you 100% and thanks for sharing this sensible, sound and realistic point of view.
When was the last time a human being did something good with "totally pure" intentions anyway ? When Bill Gates and his billionaire mates feed mountains of dollars into their foundations and various humanitarian causes, they don't do it anonymously so obviously they're buying something. So what ? Better they buy that than another private jet or 200m yacht.
Yes, Castro wants to be liked before he dies. Who doesn't ?
And so what if his own selfish agenda happens to have positive effects on society in general and gays in particular ?
In the Cuba issue, of course the villain was not always on the same side, he almost never is ! but within this David vs Goliath tragedy one of them sure had more money, power and clout to pay for all the "communication" (read propaganda) required to cover his ass with public opinion.
We're shocked -and rightly so, of course - by these horror camps where self righteous powers regularly throw their opponents and whoever doesn't fit their notion of "law, order and morals". We'd also love to think that we know who the good guys are. How fascinating, from this perspective, that Guantanamo should happen to be part of the Cuba archipelago.

So, Castro 'did not pay enough attention' to the fate of homosexuals during his regime ? I believe the Chief of Police/Security was giving Castro a weekly 'butcher's list' ! During the darkest years of El Morro prison (El Morro castle), Che Guevara had already gone: he may have been instrumental to certain 'redirections' to what his 'Hombre Nuevo' should be but Castro was the one pulling the trigger, writing decrees,signing executions.
Just read and re-read Reinaldo Arenas' (who committed suicide in NYC in Dec. 1990, suffering, then too much from AIDS) "Before night falls" and the mental scars left after his stay at El Morro Castle where he only survived by helping inmates write letters to wives and lovers.
Castro's absolution denied !

In a suicide letter written for publication, Arenas wrote:
"Due to my delicate state of health and to the terrible depression it causes me not to be able to continue writing and struggling for the freedom of Cuba, I am ending my life. . . . I want to encourage the Cuban people out of the country as well as on the Island to continue fighting for freedom. . . Cuba will be free. I already am."

This fight has not ended...

JPS

From such a very short article, there has been such a very diverse and rich commentary from posters. Interesting indeed. I have learnt much, and it has piqued my interest to learn more about that period of history in that region.

Being born and bred in the Asia-Pacific region, one doesnt often learn much about Cuba and its surrounds regarding gay abuses in that part of the world, and how our gay brothers and sisters have had to struggle so hard just to survive.
Of course they still do in some parts of the world.

We struggle for recognition, gay marriage, adoption rights, etc, although worthy and neccessary, but THEY struggled just to stay alive, to escape an executioner.

Makes what we experience today (that we view as hardship) pale dramatically.

The man has blood on his hands. So many were killed under his direction. Its sort of like Hitler coming to his senses about Jews. The man should receive a long prison sentence for his abuses.

To #6 and #14 - Well-said! :-)


Call me skeptical, bt I don't trust him an inch. ..
Him going suddenly politically-correct & 'confessing' and begging for forgiveness makes one more than a tad uncomfortable...looking at his track record , one can't help bt wonder if he's taking the easy way out. Though to be fair, Castro isn't the only person who's humble depending on which tide the wind blows...in his favour :p.

Let us not forget that after the October Revolution in Russia, the Bolsheviks struck down articles in the penal code criminalizing homosexuality and abortion. Lenin's ambassador to Norway, Alexandra Kollontai, wrote extensively about sexuality and showed the amount of though some early Communists put into sexual questions. The fact that both Castro and Lenin's revolutions took place within deeply conservative societies may have had more to do with the evolution of policy in their respective countries than their Marxist framework.

does any one seriously still 'practice' communism as a life style? Fidel will cark it soon and his sorry regime will continue to dissolve no doubt

mcf69,

While I understand your point of view about the importance of Castro's statement, I totally disagree with your saying that Castro is showing "great character." I don't know you at all, but I assume that if you were responsible for the torture, executions and oppression of so many people, you probably wouldn't deem yourself to have "great character." Average people would feel that they have a weak character if they harmed so many people just to remain in power, or for any reason at all for that matter. Fidel is not an average person, unfortunately.

bullst,


Why do you have to take a crack at the "great U S of A" when talking of Castro and his treatment of homosexuals? I am an American citizen who thinks that it is disgusting and deplorable that the USA does not have universal, government-sponsored health care. I would love for the USA to have the socialized medicine that many European countries have. I am against the economic embargo of Cuba. I always criticize the way the USA has treated Latin American countries as virtual colonies **however** that does not detract from the fact that Castro has been a brutal, oppressive dictator-- one of the worst of the 20th century.

I just get really annoyed by people who, when Castro's horrendous crimes are mentioned, say, "BUT, the USA doesn't have universal health care and Cuba does!"

WTF?!?

Castro was anti-gay along with the rest of the world at that time. He was more brutal toward gay people than some governments, less than others. He lived, like so many of us, in a cloud of fear and ignorance. For him to make a public statement apologizing for his actions is a good thing for gays and people who love freedom.

His violent actions toward gay people were part of a police state in Cuba. However, I understand that surviving the American Embargo, an action far more violent and evil than anything Castro could have come up with, was very difficult. It doesn't excuse his actions- just helps understand them.

I recommend Steven Soderbergh's movie 'Che'. I found it to be excellent.

boo_8632 the film is called before night falls, with an amazing perf by javier bardem, directed by julian schnabel

I will not blame fidel,for his action, when he was born, he saw his dad and mum,he saw men run after women,when while he studied he never came across it, that must have made him think it was a bad habit that was silentlý and slow developed amoung boys,because if homosexuality is natural like most of us gay try ro make it look,it would have being in esistence from the day straight stared making love, and will not need a government or parliament to make it legal or pass to law.what is natural is does not need any government approval, but what is created by we humans need government or parliamentary approval.this is what I tell most gay like me, homosexual is an habit that was developed over time and slowly intiated into the society bcos the society have the it is not my business attitude,if they have had the same kind of attitude that was demostrated against witchcraft in europe,do u think homosexual will see light of day at all or anyone coming out?

One reference point is Allen Young's "Gays under the Cuban Revolution," which is a bit dated and certainly does not take into account the comparative global position of gay people in various cultures at the time it was written but does bring up the subject from the point of view of a foreign leftist in Cuba.