Sexual Minorities in a Global Context

Question 1

Human Rights

Answer 1

· 18th Century – English Magna Carta, limit powers of the king and recognizes that all people are subject to the law
· Charter of the United Nations, 1945
○ “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large or small.”
· Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948
○ “No longer could ruling regimes use the excuse of state sovereignty to perpetuate genocide and other gross human rights violations within or beyond their national borders.”
○ Human rights continue to be challenged on many different fronts, and often hinges more on moral claims than the actual enforcement of declarations

Question 2

Russia

Answer 2

· Homosexuality a crime until 1993; considered medical problem until 1999
· Biopolitical technologies – control the bodies and minds of the population in order to consolidate power through sexual control – enforce collective cultural values
· Homophobic discourse
○ 75% of Russians identify as Orthodox Christians
○ 38% of Russians have no intent to discuss sexuality with their children
62% do not think any sexual issues should be raised with children until age 18-24

Question 3

Anti-Gay Propaganda Laws

Answer 3

· June 2013, Putin signed into law a bill banning the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors”
· Includes: Any material that may raise interest in such relationships, cause minors to form non-traditional sexual predispositions, or present distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and nontraditional sexual relationships
· Multiple surveys showed that vast majority of Russian population in favour of law
· Example of bias of courts – Dec 2013, Famous Russian actor and orthodox activist Ivan Okhlobystin proposed to “burn gays in furnaces” – Courts refused to qualify as homophobic or hate speech
Public discourse component more prominent than actual implementation of law

Question 4

Self-Blame

Answer 4

• Accept own homosexuality but it is a deviation from the norm, and thus self-blame
• express solidarity with majority and recognize collective over individual values

Question 5

Indifference

Answer 5

• minimize their dependence on the state, limit communication to only include tolerant people, carefully select job markets and neighbourhoods
• Be invisible
• withdrawing energies then makes the law irrelevant to their everyday life

Question 6

Revenge through provocation

Answer 6

• resistance movements, campaign as not limited to LGBT lives, final target is Western opposition
• Provoke society with sexually explicit behaviour
• Focus is on individual acts of defiance ex. Holding hands

Question 7

Sochi 2014: opportunity for “revenge through provocation”?

Answer 7

• Calls for boycott —would target the wrong people and not deliver desired results – a lesson learned when US boycotted 1980 games due to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
• A number of Western athletes come out, including Canadian speed skater Anastasia
• Other athletes remained fearful about repercussions
• Olympic charter’s Principle 6 – “any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic movement”
• Must consider that just as straight allies have a limit in what they can do for LGBT folks, the West cannot change Russian culture – change has to come from within

Question 8

Sex Minority Rights in Africa

Answer 8

• aim to highlight that homosexual acts are indigenous to Africa
  • Hard to document because the narratives of sexual identities in Africa are mostly unwritten
  • Adofuro –Yoruba word for homosexual, literally means someone who has anal sex
  • Yan Daudu – Hausa term to describe effeminate men who are considered to be the wives of men
  • African leaders continue to believe homosexual behaviour was introduced by slave traders, settlers, Christian missionaries, etc.
  • 2006 – International Conference on LGBT Human Rights

Question 9

2008 UN General Assembly Declaration on Sexual Orientations and Gender Identity

Answer 9

Only 6 African nations signed

By 2011, four more African countries

Question 10

Anti-Gay Laws in Uganda

Answer 10

• 2009 – Bill put forth
• sought death penalty for homosexuality, and 7 years in prison for anyone who “aids, abets, counsels, or procures another to engage in an act of homosexuality”
• 2013 – life imprisonment only, death penalty taken off
• give room for offenders to be rehabilitated
• 7 year “aid and abetting” reduced to 3, must report offender within 24hrs
• Offender could commit homosexual acts outside of Uganda and be extradited for punishment
• 2014 – President signs bill into law after conferring with a study that said people are not born homosexual

Question 11

Homophobia a result of western influence?

Answer 11

• $40,000 for abstinence-only education
• Influence of American Pastor Scott Lively
• Homosexuality often claimed (by homophobic countries) to be a Western construction, yet homophobic attitudes are often pushed on to these countries from Western, Christian influences

Question 12

Tackling homophobia in the West has been dependent on three things (that may not be achievable in Russia):

Answer 12

• 1) most effective way to change attitudes is to have LGBT people come out;
  
  • 2) build (informal and formal) straight allies which will, in turn;
  • 3) affect legal protections