Colorful march in Havana celebrates sexual diversity, opposes anti-gay discrimination

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Colorful march in Havana celebrates sexual diversity, opposes anti-gay discrimination
By Associated Press, Updated: Saturday, May 14, 2:16 PM

HAVANA — Cubans have held a short but colorful parade celebrating sexual diversity to mark the International Day Against Homophobia.

Dozens of people waving rainbow flags and banging drums marched through the capital Saturday. One participant held a portrait of ex-leader Fidel Castro.

Castro’s niece Mariela Castro campaigns for gay rights and heads the government-backed National Sexual Education Center. She says the march is meant to raise awareness about discrimination.

Cuba is far more tolerant of homosexuality than in the early years after the 1959 revolution, when many gays lost jobs, were imprisoned or sent to work camps or fled to exile. The government has even began paying for Cubans’ sex-change operations in recent years.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/colorful-march-in-havana-celebrates-sexual-diversity-opposes-anti-gay-discrimination/2011/05/14/AFPrSd3G_story.html

---

(Mariela Castro is standing in the front row, center, in the first photo.)

[roody]

1. Isn't Mariela Raul's daughter?

[geckosfeet]

3. The article says 'Castro's neice'. Doesn't say which Castro though.

It could be someone like the guy who lives down the block whose last name is Castro.
:shrug:

[Judi Lynn]

4. Yes, she is. She has used her high visibility to make real inroads in Cuba's 'macho' culture

to allow all people to participate.

Here's an article from a couple of years ago:

A Castro Strives to Open Cuban’s Opinions on Sex
By MARC LACEY
Published: June 9, 2007

http://graphics8.nytimes.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2007/06/08/world/09castro.1901.jpg

Jose Goitia for The New York Times
“Sexuality does not just have a
reproductive function. Human beings
are much more diverse than we think,”
said Mariela Castro Espín.

HAVANA
Jose Goitia for The New York Times

TWENTY or so transsexuals sat in a circle recently discussing their woes: harassment, boyfriend troubles, the challenge of removing hair from their legs. Empathizing with them was Mariela Castro Espín, Cuba’s premier sexologist.
“I know, I know,” she said, putting her hand on one of her own legs to show she could relate.

Then the conversation took an interesting turn. The transsexuals, who are receiving training as AIDS counselors at the National Center for Sexual Education, which Ms. Castro directs, brought up sexual liaisons some of them had had with soldiers. Maybe counseling in the barracks was needed, the transsexuals said.

Ms. Castro smiled, raised her eyebrows but did not dismiss the suggestion out of hand. Homosexuality is illegal in Cuba’s military. In fact, some Cubans have avoided military service altogether by claiming to be gay.

~snip~
Despite Ms. Castro’s pedigree in Cuba’s most famous family, however, no one seems to hold his — or her — tongue around her. While her father is known for his strait-laced bearing, Ms. Castro has a more down-to-earth air. A mother of three who is married to an Italian photographer, she speaks of topics that might make others blush.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/world/americas/09castro.html

~~~~~
Castro champions gay rights in Cuba
By Michael Voss
BBC News, Havana

There is a Castro who is fighting to introduce radical changes in Cuba.
Not the new president, Raul, although he has promised to push through "structural and conceptual" changes to this communist island in the Caribbean.

It is Raul's daughter, Mariela Castro.

As head of the government-funded National Centre for Sex Education, she is trying to change people's attitudes towards minority groups in the community.

She is currently attempting to get the Cuban National Assembly to adopt what would be among the most liberal gay and transsexual rights law in Latin America.

More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7314845.stm

[defendandprotect]

2. Good to see -- k/r

[Billy Burnett]

5. Associated pukes reporting.

"Cuba is far more tolerant of homosexuality than in the early years after the 1959 revolution, when many gays lost jobs, were imprisoned or sent to work camps or fled to exile."

That shit still happens here in the good ol' USofA.

[makhno]

6. Lots of nastiness in such a short article, isn't there

That one sentence really did stand out.

Thanks for reminding us that society was far less tolerant of homosexuality in the 1950s than it is today. No shit. But has the AP editors ever allowed the thought that a refocusing of the struggle from cultural to class lines might be one of the achievements of the Cuban revolution? I doubt it.

Perhaps an AP editor could incorporate the following in a piece about a gay march in the UK: "In the years after World War II, many gays lost jobs, were committed to psychiatric wards and ultimately driven to suicide, including such prominent figures as Alan Turing, widely considered to be the father of modern computer science."

Good thing the march was "short", lest one begin to consider Cuba as anything more than the Caribbean equivalent of North Korea.

[Billy Burnett]

7. Gay marriages (marriages are a legal civil union in Cuba) were official in 1999.

Can't find the links I used to have, but Judi Lynn and I were posting links and discussing this topic back then (on another blog/message board - this was prior to DU's creation).

[BlueIris]

8. Nice!

Homophobia kills.

[Behind the Aegis]

9. Somehow I missed this, so imaginary "recommend!"