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A GLBTQ EDUCATION INTERNET RESOURCES Latin America, The Caribbean & Africa: Latin America & The Caribbean

Index: Latin America & Africa -  - Middle East / Asia -  - Race/Ethic Minority Issues: U.S., Canada, Europe,  New Zealand & Australia -  - Homosexuality:  Biological  or  Learned ? -  -  Public School Issues -  - Transgender / Tranvestite / Transsexual -  - Lesbian  &  Bisexual Women -  - Homo-Negativity / Phobia -  - Identity Formation  &  Coming Out -  - Counseling  &  Therapy -  - Professional Education  -  - Bisexuality -  - Religion   &  Spirituality -  - Male  Youth Prostitution -  - HIV-AIDS -  - Gay & Bisexual Male Suicide Problems -  - Drug / Alcohol Use / Abuse / Addiction  -  - GLBT  History -  - Community Attributes  &  Problems -  -  Couples / Families / Children / Adoption / Spousal Violence -  - The Elderly

Latin America & Africa: Latin America (Part 1)

Section Index

Part 1 - "Latin America" (This Page): Mexico - Cuba --- Caribbean: Jamaica - Trinidad / Tobago - Puerto Rico - Haiti - Martinique / Guadeloupe - Netherland Antilles - Cayman Islands - Bahamas - Bermuda - Saint Lucia. --- Latin American / Caribbean Resources --- International Issues & Resources.

Part 2 - "Latin America": Central America: Panama - Honduras - Belize - Costa Rica - Nicaragua - Guatemala - El Salvador --- South America: Brazil - Peru - Chile - Columbia - Argentina - Equador - Venezuela - Uruguay - Bolivia - Guyana - Paraguay --- Latin American / Caribbean Resources --- International Issues & Resources.

Part 3 - "Africa": South Africa - Kenya - Zambia - Namibia - Nigeria - Uganda - Burkina Faso - Botswana - Ivory Coast - Senegal - Egypt - Algeria - Morocco - Tunesia --- Angola - Benin - Burundi - Cameroon - Cape Verde --- Central African Republic - Chad - Comoros - Republic of Congo - Democratic Republic of Congo --- Equatorial Guinea - Erithrea - Ethiopia - Gabon - Gambia -- Ghana - Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Lesotho - Liberia --- Ghana - Guinea - Guinea Bissau - Lesotho - Liberia --- Mauritius - Mozambique - Niger - Reunion - Rwanda --- Sao Tome and Principe - Seychelles - Sierra Leone - Sudan - Swaziland - Tanzania - Togo --- General African Resources --- International Issues & Resources.
 

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LATIN AMERICA

Gay Unions Draft Statute Sparks Struggle in Mexico. - In Mexico, a Mass Gay Wedding. - Same Sex Marriage for Mexico? - Gays en México quieren matrimonio (Translation). - En México, la diversidad sexual sufre de discriminación e intolerancia (Translation). - Mexico's gays, lesbians trying to win rights. - Lesbians and gays in Mexico at the end of the millennium (Rights). - Homophobia in Mexico: It never fails. After I've given a lecture or a course on homosexuality, explaining at length why it can no longer be considered an illness, the questions are always the same: "What are the symptoms?" "Can it be cured?" "How can one prevent it in one's children?" Even, occasionally, "Is it contagious?" I encounter these questions everywhere: in Mexico City and the provinces; on radio programs and university campuses; among ordinary people, psychology students, and health professionals. In Mexico there is still the assumption that homosexuality is a disease, as well as a social problem to be eradicated. Always there is the presumption that gay people are fundamentally different from "us normal people." 

Coming Out: the Gay Experience in Mexico. - At age 81, the legendary Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, an icon of several generations of Latin American lesbians, has finally come out of her transparent closet. - M'shell, from Mexico to New Mexico.

Election of Gay Legislator Marks Major Shift in Land of Machismo. - Macho Mexico elects a lesbian. - Mexican Institute Offers Special GLB Summer Programs. - Bush, Fox, Gays and Triumphant Love. - Mexico City legislators propose gay rights law.

Between June 1991 and February 1993, at least 11 gay men were killed in the locality of Tuxtla Gutierrez, state of Chiapas. - Rights-Mexico: 495 Murders of Gays Go Unpunished. - Two Wealthy Gays Dead in Mexico City N/A. - A Life of Fear for Gays: For homosexual men in Mexico, every day brings threat of danger. - Mexicans Unite in Effort to Stop Anti-Gay Terror N/A. - Gay purge in Mexico: Murders go unsolved and campaign against scum" gathers steam. - Gay Hate Crimes on the Rise in Mexico N/A. - Police Officers Attack Gay Men, Lesbians and Transvestites in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico (Translation). - Mexico: Treatment of Homosexuals. - Update 2000: Treatment of Homosexuals in Mexico (PDF Download). - Mexico: Fear for safety/torture.  - Mexico: A group called "movimiento lesbico-gay" in Mexico City; its leader and whether this group has been harassed or attacked; if yes, the nature of these attacks; whether past or present members were specifically targeted by police or city council members; whether there are any overtly homophobic city councillors in Mexico City; a list of gay and lesbian non-governmental organizations in Mexico City (2002-April 2005)...

Mexican Gay Man Wins Right to Flee Homeland. - More Seek Asylum to Flee Anti-Gay Persecution. - Gay Rights, Prejudice and Politics in Mexico - Law/Attitude Summary & Resources. - Asylum, Refugee, and Other  Protected Statuses: "The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that gay men in Mexico with female sexual identities constitute a "particular social group" for purposes of establishing eligibility for asylum and withholding of deportation. The ruling comes on a petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals.  In reaching this decision, the court modified its interpretation of the term "particular social group" as a basis for meeting the definition of "refugee" under the Immigration and Nationality Act." - Canadian Government Gives Lesbians Asylum N/A.

ACLU Lauds Appeals Court Ruling Granting Asylum for Gay Man Persecuted for Sexual Orientation. - Victory for Transvestite: Appeals Court Grants Gay Mexican Asylum. - Mexico: Treatment of Sexual Minorities. - Update: Treatment of Homosexuals in Mexico (PDF Document).- Mexican gays march against intolerance. - La opresión de minorías sexuales desde la inequidad de género (PDF Download) (Translation). - Violence Against Bisexuals, Gays and Lesbians in Mexico City. 

Gays from Australia, Mexico share concerns in N.Y.: ""Things are changing," he says. "What I see in New York may come to Paris in five years." For Mexico City, make that 10 years. "The Jewish community has no idea of our group," says Luis, who didn't want to use his last name. "Practically nobody [in Mexico] thinks being Jewish and gay can co-exist."" - Una Cara del Homosexualism en Merida, Mexico, Yucatan (Translation). - The Construction of Male Homosexualities in Oaxaca, Mexico. - Even the whales are gay down Mexico way.

Cultural Insights: Gay identity in Mexico forged by popular singer Juan Gabriel N/A: "Juan Gabriel is a hero of popular music, and he has played a fundamental role in the creation of individual and group identities, in particular the formation of a gay identity in Mexico," says Mexican historian Rodrigo Laguarda... According to Laguarda, Juan Gabriel's success has obligated a traditional and rigid society to admit to a condemned and persecuted sexuality... Laguarda asserted that if anyone doubts Juan Gabriel's homosexuality, they can look it up in a book that was published in 1985 entitled, Juan Gabriel and I, written by Joaquín Muñoz Muñoz, which offers many details, including photographs of the [singer].

Nahum Zenil: ...has long been an ardent supporter of gay rights in Mexico. He has projected himself both in his art as well as in his private life as one of the country's most adamant activists in both the cultural and political spheres. He has maintained a key role in the organization known as the Circulo Cultural Gay which, since the early 1980s, has..." - The colonial self: homosexuality and mestizaje in the art of Nahum B. Zenil. - Chronology of Mexican Gay History. 

Way down Mexico way: "As for the gay bars -- not really gay bars at all so much as good imitations -- they're pretty grim. As in Spain, homosexuality is still admirably latent in Mexico, lending the entire culture a certain homoerotic charge, but rendering gay expression somewhat superfluous. The difference between a straight Mexican and a gay Mexican, I was informed on more than one occasion, is two drinks..." - A Weekend's Respite in Mexico City N/A: "The other big night spot we hit was Zona Rosa, the center of gay bar life in Mexico City. The district, three subway stops away from Alameda Central in the opposite direction from the Zócalo, is actually a restaurant and nightclub district generally. Gay bars are an important part of the mix, however, and we were impressed by the visibility of the establishments - Pride flags out front and windows on the street - and of the patrons, many who strolled hand in hand down the main drags, Avenida Londres and Avenida Florencia. As with much of our stay in Mexico City, the crowds were predominantly locals..." - La Ley Azteca.

Mexico's queerest corner: the author of Sliced Iguana: Travels in Mexico finds a rare point on the globe where queer life is not only respected but revered: In the hazy glow of a Pacific afternoon two teams of transvestites are engaged in their weekly basketball match. They're wearing microskirts and crop tops and shrieking like schoolgirls. They run as badly as I do, kicking up their heels and flapping their arms around, and throw the ball to each other like it's a bomb about to go off. Their hairdos are miracles of invention and peroxide, with enough hair spray on them to stop a palm tree rustling in a hurricane. Two or three substitutes are lolling about on the sidelines, idly plucking their legs. When they notice me watching, they lift their chins and pose like swans. This scene takes place in Juchitan, a thriving commercial town on the Pacific coast of Mexico, on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It's not something you would see anywhere else in the country (or, possibly; any other). In the rest of Mexico, coquettish gay extroverts like these would be hounded out of town by the local machos: There would be shouts of putos or jotos (pools, faggots), wolf whistles, the odd missile... They refer to them as muxes, a Zapotec word, and though the phenomenon is widespread across much of the Tehuantepec peninsula, Juchitan, they tell me, is so famous for homosexuality it's known as "Muchitan." Traditionally, muxes dress, like the basil seller, as Juchitecas. They are honorary women and therefore the only men allowed to sell in the market. Or they wear pantalones like other men, the only giveaway a back-pocket handkerchief or a hibiscus in their hair.

CETLALIC is accredited by the Ministry of Public Education, State of Morelos, Mexico N/A: (Archive Link) (Home Page) "Winter Gay & Lesbian Program (January 4 - 17, 2003) For gays and lesbians interested in learning about G/L life in Mexico today. - Coming Out: The Gay Men's Experience in Mexico (June 15 - July 5, 2002) For all gay men intersted in learning about the real situation of the gay community in Mexico through the study of the language and cultural exchange. - In/Visibility: Lesbian Lives in Mexico (June 15 - July 5, 2002) Supported by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission--IGLHRC, San Francisco. For all women interested in learning about lesbian life in Mexico today." - CETLALIC is accredited by the Ministry of Public Education, State of Morelos, Mexico.: Queer Program, Winter 2005. (Archive Link) - CETLALIC Social Justice Programs: 2008. - Learning Spanish... with a gay twist: CETLALIC has been operating for 20 years and is accredited by the State of Morelos Ministry of Public Education. Mexico school offers special courses for gay and lesbian students. - Derechos De Los homosexuales: PDF Download.

Homosexualities, HIV, and Prostitution in Mexico. -  Homosexual Role Preference and the AIDS Epidemic in Mexico and California. - AIDS in Mexico. - [Epidemic of AIDS in Mexico. Global analysis 1981-1996]. - El SIDA y las relaciones sexuales entre varones (PDF Download). - Las púberes canéforas, la sensibilidad social y sexual en la nocturna ciudad de México.

Pub Med Abstracts of HIV/AIDS Related Papers: - Sexual behavior patterns and HIV risks in bisexual men compared to exclusively heterosexual and homosexual men. - [The homosexual transmission of HIV/AIDS in Mexico]. - AIDS knowledge and sexual behavior among Mexican gay and bisexual men. - AIDS-related illness trajectories in Mexico: findings from a qualitative study in two marginalized communities. (Abstract). - An HIV/AIDS prevention project for Mexican homosexual men: an empowerment approach. (Abstract). - Sexual behavior and spread of AIDS in Mexico. - [Internalized oppression and high-risk sexual practices among homosexual and bisexual males, Mexico].

Revealing Hidden Lives: Under Water in Mexico: "It's complicated, living as a lesbian in Mexico..." - "A Very Queer Thing:" Mexico and the Quest for Economic Improvement. - AIDS International Training and Research Program: Background Information on HIV/AIDS in Mexico. - AIDS Now a Migrant to Mexico: Workers carry virus back to their villages, where it spreads to wives and girlfriends. Health officials believe 30% of the 4,300 to 16,000 cases originated in the U.S. The number is rising rapidly. - California and Mexico: HIV Infection Cases Surging Among Latinos; Gays in Border Towns Most at Risk. - HIV infection cases surging among Latinos: Gays in border towns most at risk. - Overview of HIV/AIDS in the Mexican Border States: Homosexual and bisexual contact account for 28.4% and 20.2% respectively.

Christian gay(friendly) churches and organizations in Mexico.

Pub Med Abstracts: - Cultural change, hybridity and male homosexuality in Mexico. - Reflections on ethical problems encountered in field research on Mexican male homosexuality: 1968 to present. - Assessment of non-response bias in a probability household survey of male same-gender sexual behavior. - Juan Gabriel and audience interpretation. cultural impressions of effeminacy and sexuality in Mexico. - [Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of severe poisoning in an adult population admitted to an intensive care unit]. - Aztec homosexuality: the textual evidence. - [Sexual behavior and drug abuse in homosexuals, prostitutes and prisoners in Tijuana, Mexico]. - "Homosexual occupations" in Mesoamerica? - Gay liberation and coming out in Mexico. - Mexican male homosexual interaction in public contexts. - Mexican male bisexuality.

Abstracts: - Bodily and Symbolic Constructions among Homosexual Men in Mexico. - Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Mexico City: Rectal Bleeding and Anal Warts as Risk Factors among Men Reporting Sex with Men (Full Text). - Ethnographic study of homosexual practices in men from Mexico. - Activo/Pasivo and Gay Mexican Male Homosexualities: A Social Class Analysis. - Cultural change, hybridity and male homosexuality in Mexico.

Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology: Index Page: Mexico: - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors. - Gender Conflicted Persons. - HIV/AIDS.

International Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Mexico. See: Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Bisexual Behaviors & Gender Diversity and Transgender Issues.

The Ultimate "Planet Out" Guide to Queer Movies (Country: Mexico). - Festival of Lesbian Movies in Mexico City: "So we hope to see work begin soon on the pre-production of Mexico lesbian films, as a result of an event organized to increase the visibility of lesbians in Mexico - both in the capital and the states." - They Shine... On Being Gay in Morelos, Mexico.

Behind the Rainbow: Queer Studies Easter Symposium 2007: Abstracts.

LA MANZANA: Revista Internacional deEstudios sobre Masculinidades:  Vol 1(2) (2006): Introducción: Una diversidad que explorar… (Translation). - El cuerpo del héroe. Homofobia y homosociedad en El águila y la serpiente de Martín Luis Guzmán (Translation). - Trabajo sexual masculino y factores de riesgo en la adquisición de VIH/SIDA en Xalapa, Veracruz (Translation). - Gay identity after Foucault.. - Hacia una nueva sensibilidad social en el reconocimiento del “otro”: las minorías sexuales (Translation). - Los costos ocultos de la masculinidad (Translation). - -- Vol  2(3) (2007): Presentación del Número (Translation). - Identidades de género, sexualidad y violencia sexual (Translation). - Este tema no es científico: La violencia simbólica en el conocimiento y discurso académico (Translation). -

Gay Purto Vallarta (Global Gayz): - News/Reports. - ILGA Report. - The Eastgarden. - LGBT rights in Mexico. - Sodomy Laws.  - Search GayToday.com Archives.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

Pridelinks. - Gayscape. - Google Directory. - QRD.

Gay Mexico: The Men of Mexico - 1998 - by Eduardo David. - Ferrari Guide's Gay Mexico - 1997 - by Richard Black. - Un amor que se atrevió a decir su nombre. La lucha de las lesbianas y su relacion con los movimientos homosexualk y feminista en America Latina - 2000 - by Dra. Norma Mongrovejo (Review). - De Los Otros : Intimacy and Homosexuality Among Mexican Men - 1995 by Joseph Carrier (Review). - Mema's House, Mexico City: On Transvestites, Queens, and Machos - 1998 - by Annick Prieur (Abstract) (Abstract/Contents) (Review) (Abstract / Review) (Book Related) (This book is part of the "Worlds of Desire: The Chicago Series on Sexuality, Gender, and Culture" from the University of Chicago Press.) - Different Rainbows: Same-Sex Sexualities and Popular Movements in the Third World - 2000 - edited by Peter Drucker (7 Sample Pages)  (Table of Contents). Contains: "Mexican pink" (P. 43-56) "Max Mejia takes a look at the history and the current issues of the movement in Mexico, a movement which he has been involved with since its early days in the late 1960s." - Mexican Masculinities (Cultural Studies of the Americas, V. 11)  - 2003 - by Robert McKee Irwin (Review). - Homosexuality, society and the state in Mexico - 1991 - by Ian Lumsden. - The Night is Young: Sexuality in Mexico in the Time of AIDS - 2002 - by By Hector Carrillo (Review). - Jóvenes corazones gay en la Ciudad de México - 2005 - by Mauricio List Reyes.

CUBA: - Cuba surpasses world on same-sex, trans rights: The Communist Party of Cuba has welcomed an update of the revolutionary Family Code to include same-sex and trans rights... If the initiative is approved, gay and lesbian couples would enjoy the same civil, patrimonial, inheritance, housing and adoption rights as heterosexual couples. - No Turning Back on Gay Rights in Cuba. - Se propone legalizar derechos de minorías sexuales. - Monsignor Carlos M. De Céspedes accepts “legal protection” of gay unions but not marriage. - Gay marriage coming to Cuba? - Communist Cuba Goverment Seeks to Secure Homosexual "Right" to Adoption. - Cuba vive una revolución... sexual (Translation). - Cuba's CENESEX proposes ground-breaking transsexual rights. - Cuba entierra el 'machismo-leninismo' (Translation).

Mariela Castro: Cuba is prepared for transformation with and without Fidel. - Cuba's sexual minorities find a champion in a Castro. - Interview: Mariela Castro, MS, Director, National Center for Sex Education. - Mariela Castro speaks out for Cuba's gay minority. - Gay revolution hits Cuba. - FSM: Evolución de la situación de las lesbianas, gays y transexuales en Cuba (Translation). - Cuba, homosexualidad y travestismo (Translation): El nuevo documental de la realizadora cubana Lizette Vila, “Sexualidad, un derecho a la vida”, estrenado esta semana en La Habana, calienta un polémico asunto en la isla: la homosexualidad y el travestimo, sobre el cual pesan prejuicios y tabúes que frenan hasta las políticas oficiales. La película de 30 minutos se refiere a un grupo de travestis locales que, luego de pasar un curso, trabajan como promotores de salud sexual.

When it comes to gay rights, is Cuba  inching ahead of USA? (Alternate Link) - Helping Cubans realize `what it means to be gay'. - El tema de la bisexualidad polariza a Cuba (Translation). - Cuba divided on the issue of bisexuality. - U.S. votes with Iran, Cuba, Sudan and Zimbabwe against two gay groups at United Nations. - Mapplethorpe gay art comes to Cuba. - Exposicion de Mapplethorpe en Cuba. - ¿En Cuba se persigue la homosexualidad? (Translation): Es un tópico recurrente en las campañas contra la Revolución cubana la afirmación de que en Cuba se persigue la homosexualidad. Una construcción mediática repetida tantas veces y durante tantos años que es asumida como verdad indiscutible incluso por sectores progresistas vinculados a la lucha por el derecho a la diversidad sexual en el mundo.

The Status of Gays in Cuba: Myth and Reality. - Panel Sobre la Situación de los Homosexuales en Cuba en el Festival Gay de Estocolmo (Translation) (Stockholm Pride): En la tarde de hoy, 2 de agosto, del 2006, se realizó en la capital de Suecia, Estocolmo, un seminario sobre las condiciones de los homosexuales en Cuba, como parte de las actividades del Festival Gay. Con la presencia de más de medio centenar de personas, el panel compuesto por varios integrantes cubanos y suecos, conocedores de la realidad cubana, expusieron a los presentes un panorama de la situación de los gays, lesbianas y bisexuales en la isla.

Cuba: Homosexualidad, burla y silencio (Translation): Una reciente versión de la novela El Conde de Montecristo para la televisión cubana fue extremadamente fiel al original de Alejandro Dumas, menos en un pequeño detalle: la hija de uno de los enemigos del Conde se escapa con su novio, en lugar de hacerlo con su mejor amiga. La televisión cubana tampoco ha exhibido el film Fresa y chocolate, que fue nominado al Oscar como mejor película extranjera... - Sobre Cuba y los Gays: Extraido del foro de Joves Comunistes (Translation).

Escapate a la Habana (Translation): Sin duda uno de los países del mundo que tiene una activísima vida gay, pero que no la ventila a través del Internet por sus condiciones específicas en los económico, lo político y lo social, es Cuba. Uno podría pasar horas enteras en la Internet buscando una guía o recomendaciones generales para orientarse sobre las actividades sugeridas para la gente gay que viajará a la hermosa Antilla Mayor, y realmente lo único que se encuentra son alarmantes noticias de supuestos ataques contra homosexuales o información tan tendenciosa, caduca o engañosa como la que –desafortunadamente–  aparece en la edición 2001 de la guía gay mundial Spartacus; ahí se dice que la homosexualidad está prohibida en Cuba (lo que fue cierto en alguna medida y durante un tiempo), que muchos sitios meramente turísticos son gays (lo que es falso) o que a las personas a las que se les detecta VIH son separadas de la sociedad y confinadas a sitios alejados de las concentraciones urbanas (lo que es totalmente falso e ignora la existencia de importantes programas de prevención, investigación médica y servicios de atención a personas con VIH). En fin, lo que quiero manifestar es mi sorpresa ante la enorme vaguedad, falsedad e imprecisión de la información que existe en la red con relación a la vida gay en la bellísima Cuba...

The situation for Cuban gays is also awash in misinformation. - Havana workshop discusses homosexuality. - Here, queer and going to Cuba. - A gay May Day in Havana. - Gay disco raided in Havana. - Government Attacks Against Homosexuals - Cuba - Black, Gay Male Perspective. - Commentary on Cuba by a gay Singaporean. - The Queens of Cuba. - Transvestites face police scrutiny.- Cuba's Transsexuals Get Powerful New Friend (Aternate Link). - Con pasión y sin prejuicio: Gays en Cuba (Translation). - La Sociedad Cubana Ante La Homosexualidad (Translation). - Homosexualidad en Cuba (Translation). - Gays in Cuba: Invisible no more. - Carlos Sanchez, ILGA LAC rep tells us about his cuban experience. - Reunión entre gays y heterosexuales, en Cuba (Translation). - Proposed Reform Would Give Gay Couples Equal Rights. - Gay rights in Cuba: how much has changed?

Carlos Alfonzo's Canvas of Suffering: "Although he hid his homosexuality in Cuba..." - Gay Cuba (Living the Gay "La Vida Loca" (Crazy Life) under a repressive regime, Must Scroll): "Cuba's history of brutal treatment of its Gay citizens, particularly Gay men, is a permanent scar on the face of the Castro regime." - Joel Angelino (Translation): "Tu es né à Cuba un beau jour de 1971. Parle-moi un peu de ton enfance." - Rights-Cuba: TV Opens Debate on Taboo Subject - Homosexuality. - Gay Cuba Libre! - Cuba Libre? Guess Again. - Gay Cubans Struggle Under Castro N/A. - Rights - Cuba: Homosexuality Takes a Step Out of the Closet. - CUBA: Gay rights: how much has changed? - Havana Boys. - Gay Cuba. - Por enmienda constitucional en defensa de los homosexuales (Translation). - Cuba: Homosexualidad, burla y silencio (Translation) (Must Scroll).

Welcome to Cuba: The Cuban Gay Underground. - Beyond Machismo: a Cuban Case Study. - Gays Wed In Cuba: The Second Revolution. - Gay Cuban Nation. - Homosexuality in Cuba: revolution within the revolution. (Alternate Link) - Homosexuality in Cuba. - Gay in Cuba: A Talk with Gisela Arandia Covarrubia. - Gay Cubans Enjoy New Freedoms N/A. - Homosexuality Is Not Illegal In Cuba, But Like Elsewhere, Homophobia Persists. - Viva gay Cuba! Out and married in the increasingly tolerant Communist island. - Gays Wed In Cuba: The Second Revolution. - Travestismo en Cuba: La estrategia del disfraz (Translation). - El homosexualismo en la cultura cubana. Algunas aproximaciones a una cultura tabú (Translation).

The Cuba Gospel According to Chuck 45:  "And while I've never been too fond of American moralizing, that was before I started doing it myself right here, right now, in my own queer way. It feels good. Get used to it." Cuba Now: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Castro's Cuba is a maddeningly complex knot. The opposition is oppressed but not shot, the citizens live long healthy lives, the queens have returned, and the bumbling economy is getting a boost from Europe. Gay Cuba links at the end. - Gay Rights in Cuba (Must Scroll). - Gay Rights and Life in Cuba.

AIDS and Human Rights in Cuba: A Personal Memoir: Attending an AIDS conference in Havana as 70 Cuban dissidents are tried and three men executed (Alternate Link). Gay Cubans fight own Aids battle. - Homosexual and AIDS in Cuba. 

QueerTheory: Reinaldo Arenas. - Queer Classic: Reinaldo Arenas's "Before Night Falls". - Alert on Before Night Falls: Old Trash in New Buckets. - Activists protest film about gay Cuban writer. - "Before the Night Fall" Film Review. - Gays in Cuba, from the Hollywood School of Falsification: A Movie Review of "Before Night Falls". - Apropos Before Night Falls: Gay pa Kuba. - Reinaldo Arenas or gay hedonism in Cuba. (Alternate Link) - The Sexual Politics of Reinaldo Arenas: Fact, Fiction, and the Real Record of the Cuban Revolution. - The defiant one: Gay writer Reinaldo Arenas was persecuted by Castro's homophobic regime. Now a film about his life has outraged Fidel's followers. - Sexual Revolution. - Reinaldo furioso.

Fidel Castro on homosexuality: Lacking the details on when this book will be published in English, CubaNews is presenting this excerpt from the new book of interviews with Fidel Castro on this topic which is always of such interest to so many people. Fidel has given two previous on-the-record interviews on this subject, in 1992 and 1965. You can find them at the page linked below, which contains a very comprehensive listing of items, links and recommended readings on Cuba and homosexuality... - Homosexuals as the New Niggers (1973). - Critical dialogue: Homosexuality in Cuba (1978). - El lesbianismo en Cuba (Translation). - Race and sex in Cuba.

Gay Cuba? Not yet! The homophobia of the Castro regime has eased, but queers still suffer discrimination: "Julian Schnabel’s new film, Before Night Falls, dramatises the persecution of gay Cuban writer, Reinaldo Arenas, and reignites controversy over the homophobia of the Castro regime. Peter Tatchell looks at this dark period of Cuba’s history and reveals that while the anti-gay witch-hunts have ceased, gays still suffer discrimination." - Havana Boys: " I found ten Cubans-nine gay men and the mother of one of the men-who agreed to be interviewed about what it’s like to be gay in Cuba today. All agreed to allow me to use their photographs as well as their real names: Julio, Mario, Darvin, Alexander, Javier, Osmany, Alex, Faubel, and Adonis. Despite the potential danger, the agreed to the interview so that their voices could be heard outside of Cuba... Alex: Because of the social system it is hard for us [to be gay], the police are always abusing us because they think that we are not human and they think that they are helping the society. Julio: Everyone looks at us as if we have a sex sign of our faces, and all we want to do is live our lives, to enjoy our life and to be together... We are nobody here, a gay person is nobody. We are not seen as normal."

Gays in Cuba still struggling to find place of their own (2002): "It was the night's clandestine ''floating party,'' reserved for gays. ''Tomorrow the party will be somewhere else,'' said Jose Miguel, a 27-year-old publishing company employee who asked that his last name be withheld for fear of reprisals. ``We have to keep it moving.'' early a decade after the debut of ''Strawberry and Chocolate,'' a landmark film that opened new horizons for gays in Cuba, homosexuals are still struggling to find a place of their own. Literally. Gay discos and clubs are banned under the socialist regime. Gay marches are taboo, and so are gay magazines and gay organizations... ''I think we're accepted by society, but not by government and definitely not by the police,'' he said..." - In Cuba: Young, Gay, Out  and Married Southeast of Havana - Cuban Association of Gays & Lesbians was Founded in 1994 - Anti-Gay Scene Mellowed after Film Strawberry & Chocolate. - Gay Rights and Wrongs in Cuba. - Sexual politics: What do Fidel Castro and Margaret Thatcher have incommon? Jeffrey Weeks explains why many politicians of
both Left and Right oppress lesbians and gays. - America's Left and the Double Standard Over Gays in Cuba.

My Love Affair With A Secret Place - by Cleo Manago: "I was anxious to learn for myself what life was like for same-gender-loving people in Cuba. I had heard that Cuba had a particularly "macho" culture and that "gays and lesbians" were not treated very well... According to the same gender loving people I met, there are people who don't agree with or understand homosexuality but what's called "gay" bashing in the U.S. is rare in Cuba. Pablo Milanes, one of the most celebrated musical artist in the country, wrote a popular song in honor and acknowledgment of Cuba's same gender loving people. Cuban homosexuals are not interested in building a separate sexuality based community. This idea is foreign to Cuban consciousness. Often what's called homophobia by "gays" who visit Cuba is cultural imperialism on the part of these "gays" who tend to think the white "Gay Pride" social model should be adopted by all same gender loving people throughout the world. This divisive practice also causes a rift between communities of color and "gays" in the US..."

Prostitution and Sex Tourism in Cuba. Cuba in Transition, 11: 356-71. (PDF Download): "Male prostitution is also present in Havana. In Cuba, unlike in other Caribbean islands such as Jamaica,14 gay men dominate male prostitution. Hustlers and other gay men congregate nightly at the corner of the Cine Yara, in Vedado... Gay prostitution is similar to heterosexual prostitution. Hustlers cater mainly to European men, especially Italians. They charge between $30-$50. They see prostitution as a good way to make money, and generally do not prostitute themselves out of desperation or to support a drug or alcohol addiction... Transvestites are common within the gay community. Some transvestites simply dress in women’s clothes at night. Others are transsexuals, who have had operations to change their gender..." - Notes (in French) on male prostitution in Cuba for tourists - by voyager.com. "La prostitution masculine connaît aussi une augmentation notable au pays. Ce n'est pas une prostitution masculine habituelle, mais plutôt une façon subtile qu'ont certains hommes de soutirer tout ce qu'ils peuvent de leurs conquêtes féminines venues de l'étranger."

The Ultimate "Planet Out" Guide to Queer Movies (Country: Cuba). - Controversial gay soap opera grips Cuba. - Cuban gay soap cracks a legacy of hate. - Gay in Cuba; The Dark Side of the Moon. - Gay film cycle inaugurated in Cuba. - El tema gay en el arte cubano (Translation). - Gay Cuba. - Plot summary for Gay Cuba. - Gay Cuba: related article. - GLBTQ: Cuba. - Two Homelands: Cuba and the Night (Dos Patrias: Cuba y la noche): What is life like for gays in contemporary Cuba? In this myth-dispelling film, German director Christian Liffers presents six unforgettable personal stories that underscore the many differences in experience, social status and opinions of gay men in Havana.

Homosexuality in Cuban literature. - Cuba's Hammett: Interview with Leonardo Padura Fuentes: Havana Red or Mascaras (Masks) is a complex novel. On one level, it is a well-executed whodunnit about the murder of a transvestite in a Havana park, but, on another, it is an examination of Cuban attitudes towards homosexuality and a revisiting of themes first aired publicly by the 1993 Oscar-nominated film Strawberry and Chocolate - namely the persecution of Cuban artists and writers in the early years of the revolution because they were homosexuals... What is the position of homosexuality in Cuba today? "Fortunately, at the official level, things have changed and today there is more tolerance, although, from time to time, one hears about some crackdown of transvestites or such like. "But, today, to be a homosexual in Cuba is not a political or a social problem. Nevertheless, deep down there is still a problem that is not entirely resolved and that is Cuban machismo, which has profound historic roots. "On the other hand, more and more gays and lesbians are doing as they please. "They live together as couples and they make their sexuality obvious and completely reject the old sexual prejudices."

Resource Links: - The Gully: Gay Cuba Articles Listing. - Lesbian-Gay-Bi-Sexual-Transgender issues in Cuba: An ongoing webliography. - Gayscape.  - Search GayToday.com Archives. - GayCuba.com.

Gay Cuba 2002. Gay Cuba 2003. (Global Gayz): - News/Reports 1997 to Present. - ILGA Report. - The Eastgarden. - LGBT rights in Cuba. - Sodomy Laws: Articles.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

Books: - Machos, Maricones, and Gays: Cuba and Homosexuality - 1996 - by Ian Lumsden (Review) (Review) (Review) (Review) (19 Sample Pages). - Gay Cuban Nation - 2001 - by Emilio Bejel. (About the Author) (Abstract) (Review) - Sexual Politics in Cuba: Machismo, Homosexuality, and AIDS - 1994, 1999 - by Marvin Leiner (Review) (Review) (Review) (Review). - Unmasking lesbian Cuba: (Alternate Link) "Exiled Cuban novelist Zoé Valdés talks about Dear First Love, her tough [2002] novel of passionate women in Castro’s Cuba (Excerpt) (Review) (Review).

CARIBBEAN:

Lesbian & Gay Studies Project Hosts First Conference on “Queer Caribbean”: "The University of Chicago Lesbian & Gay Studies Project is holding a two-day symposium on April 15 and 16 to explore the art and activism of queer Caribbean writers and artists. The symposium, entitled “Queer Islands?,” is the first academic gathering devoted entirely to gay and lesbian literature from the region and will include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender poets and authors from Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico and Suriname..." - Gay cruises draw protests in Caribbean.

Caribbean AIDS Outreach Hampered by Homophobia. - Caribbean AIDS Outreach Efforts Hampered by Homophobic Violence (Alternate Link). -L'Honneur des Makoumès (Translation): "Alors que l’homosexualité reste largement interdite dans les Caraïbes, en Martinique et en Guadeloupe, les mentalités commencent à changer." - Caribbean Nations Fight to Retain Anti-Gay Laws N/A. - Britain to Legalise Gay Sex in Colonies. - UK scraps anti-gay laws in Caribbean (Must Scroll): "Britain has scrapped anti-gay laws in its five Caribbean territories, acting after legislatures of the socially conservative and deeply religious islands refused to do so themselves. London’s move angered religious leaders, who say homosexuality is immoral and goes against the grain of their culture and religions.... It applies to Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos." - Homosexual aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean, a public health challenge for prevention and control (Word Document) (PowerPoint Presentation). -  Caribbean Leaders Blast British Demands To Legalize Homosexuality. 

Act of Atonement: Spain apologizes to queers: An act of atonement to Freddy Mercury, to Federico García Lorca, to all the lesbians and gay men tortured, martyred, degraded and silenced in the history of Spain. And to those in Latin America, where for centuries Spain exported the Inquisition, clericalism, intolerance and misogyny that continue to plague those societies. Each Latin American country, from Chile to Cuba to Brazil, should offer its own, equally explicit, public act of atonement. It does not matter that the worst abuses may have occurred in the past, or under a different government or ideology, or because of an "error" or old values. They happened. And to a large extent, continue to happen. They silenced us (Chile), they sent us to work camps and psychiatric hospitals (Cuba), and they still kill us like dogs in the streets (Brazil). An official and public act of atonement of each nation and each state, and each generation still living in each of our Latin American countries is owed to all of the gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people living, dead, and to come. It is necessary. We have to demand it. 

Homosexual aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean, a public health challenge for prevention and control (Word Download): M. De Groulard, G. Sealy, P. Russell-Brown, H-U. Wagner, C. O'Neil3, B. Camara (1CAREC / PAHO / WHO, 16-18 Jamaica Boulevard, PO Box 164, Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago, 2CARE, Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago, 3CAREC/PAHO/WHO, Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago); "Background: Men play a key role in HIV transmission in the  Caribbean, being the group most affected (AIDS sex ratio 2:1).  Sexual contacts between men appear to be a major contributor.  Homosexuality is a criminal offence, highly stigmatised and perceived  as a delinquent behaviour. Individuals are driven underground,  social acceptance is gained in adopting a visible heterosexual  lifestyle. Accessing social and behavioural data is a public  heath challenge in small island communities. Methods: The qualitative research combines focus groups and in-depth  interviews. Target groups are openly gay men, closeted and young  gay and bisexual men. A gay interviewer collected information  over 2 periods, Oct-Nov 95 and Mar-Apr 97, in 9 Caribbean islands.  Interviews and group discussions were audio taped. Transcripts  were analysed by independent researcher and reviewed by investigator. Results: There are several communities of MSM. Social status  mediates ability to live a normal life. Communication is limited.  Younger and more educated MSM have a stronger sense of identity.  There is a lack of trust within the group, and towards the wider  community. The coexistence of a public and a private face presents  a major challenge for AIDS prevention. There are inter-country  differences in the acceptance of MSM. Conclusions: The rising HIV prevalence in the Caribbean is the  second in the World. A heterosexual epidemic coexists with a  homosexual epidemic. High stigma of homosexuality has driven  gay men to adopt bisexual lifestyle where underground homosexuality  coexists with socially accepted visible heterosexual life. The  social context of the homosexual community is dominated by lack  of trust and communication, resulting in poor dissemination of  information and unsafe sex practices. This impacts on the wider  community through bisexual practices." - Poverty, drug abuse fuel Caribbean AIDS outbreak. (Alternate Link)

Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC/PAHO/WHO): Eighteen Years of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Caribbean:  A Summary (Power Point Presentation): "HIV Seroprevalence: Female Sex workers: 3-45%, Patients with STIs: 2-21%, Pregnant women: 1-12%, MSM: 18-40%... Factors Driving the Epidemic: Social, Cultural, Behavioural: Dysfunctional gender relations, Lack of life-skills for sex education, Cultural and religious taboos, Discrimination & stigmatisation of people with HIV, Sexual  norms, e.g. insufficient condom use, Commercial sex work due to  poverty, Criminalisation of sex work and homosexuality. Substance abuse: alcohol, cocaine -> risky behaviour..." - Caribbean Programme: Sex Work HIV Prevention Programme Start-Up Assessment Trip Report (2003, Word Download).

Tropical Medicine Central Resource: "Cuba and the Caribbean: A large screening study within Cuba has revealed that the overall prevalence of infection in that country is extremely low, with higher rates in visiting foreigners and in homosexuals. Those infected are isolated to contain the epidemic. Other Caribbean countries differ greatly from Cuba. In these countries transmission appears to be primarily homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual, with a minor contribution of intravenous drug abuse. Bisexuality is generally believed to be common in the Caribbean because homosexuality is not well tolerated; therefore many homosexuals are married with families. Subsequent spread to the general heterosexual population has occurred, and pediatric AIDS has resulted. Further spread of HIV in the community has been promoted by cultural patterns of multiple sexual partners and a propensity for unprotected sex. Quinn's study of 4000 women attending a prenatal clinic in Port au Prince, Haiti, demonstrated a 9.2% HIV infection rate. High rates of infection have also been seen in the English-speaking Caribbean countries such as the Bahamas and Bermuda..."

MSMNPA WebSite: Welcome to FRee FORUM Online: "We look at Health & Social issues For the Men who have Sex with Men Communities in the Caribbean. Our Website mirrors our printed Newsletter and includes information on FRee FORUM country distribution points, links, and regional contact information.  FRee FORUM attempts to emphasize information and articles from writers within this region. In your style with your words, your articles serve as our MSM Caribbean Voice..." - Solidarity & Freedom: OUT!! A day in the life of... Written, Edited and Published April - June 2004. - For Gay & Lesbian Travelers in the Caribbean.

Caribbean Anti-Violence Project: Use this site to report gender, sexual and HIV-related harassment, discrimination, bullying, assault, violence and hate crimes.  The Caribbean Anti Violence Project is a regional initiative based in the HIV Education Unit at the University of the West Indies. The project is supported by a coalition of citizens and groups who share a vision of a kinder, fairer and more caring society. We oppose all forms of victimization, prejudice and discrimination. - Charting the Caribbean: Which islands are gay-friendly, which aren't? (Alternate Link).

How homophobic is the Caribbean? Find out where you can be gay and "feel irie" on your next island hop: (Alternate Link) The closest Caribbean approximations of gay life will probably be found-ironically enough--in American territories such as Puerto Rico or St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, or on French or Dutch-speaking islands, including the "ABCs" (Aruba, Bonaire Bonaire (bônĕr`), island (1990 est. pop. 11,000), 112 sq mi (290 sq km), in the Netherlands Antilles, West Indies. Kralendijk is the chief town. Tourism is the economic mainstay, though salt mining is also a significant industry. The island is known for its fine beaches, skin diving, and pink flamingos., and Curacao), St. Maarten, and Guadeloupe. But even in these chore hospitable destinations, resorts and nightlife that are gay-specific or-exclusive tend to be few and far between, perhaps with the exception of Puerto Rico's capital, San Juan. However, it is possible to be "gay" and to "vacation" (if not "gay-vacation" per se) happily and safely in much of the Caribbean--provided you're realistic about your expectations and reconcile yourself to the cultural, social, and political realities of your island destination.

Development and Same-Sex Desire in Caribbean Allegorical Autobiography: Shani Mootoo’s Cereus Blooms at Night, and Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John and Lucy.

Free Forum Online: We look at Health & Social issues For the Men who have Sex with Men Communities in the Caribbean.  FRee FORUM attempts to emphasize information and articles from writers within this region. In your style with your words, your articles serve as our MSM Caribbean Voice.

Gay Caribbean. (Global Gayz): - News/Reports. - Google Links. - ukblackout.com's:  Caribbesn GLBT Links. - ukblackout.com's Caribbesn GLBT Articles. - GLBTQ: Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. 

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.
 

JAMAICA - The Status of Homosexuals in Jamaica (2008).  -  To be gay in Jamaica "to be dead": Amnesty International has publicly condemned recent episodes of violence in Jamaica, the latest at a church on Easter Sunday, against people who are perceived to be gay.- Jamaica To Appoint Civilian Monitor In Gay Murder Probe. - Four Arrested In Gay Jamaican AIDS Worker Murder. - The Most Homophobic Place on Earth? Brian wears sunglasses to hide his gray and lifeless left eye—damaged, he says, by kicks and blows with a board from Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton. Brian, 44, is gay, and Banton, 32, is an avowed homophobe whose song Boom Bye-Bye decrees that gays "haffi dead" ("have to die"). - ‘I Have Not Been Accepted By My Family’: What it's like to grow up gay in Jamaica, where bigotry is widespread. - Jamaica gay attacks spur attack on rationality. - A Bashing in Jamaica: This is hatred. Set someone apart. Make them “other.” Make them less than human. This is where it leads. This is what it looks like. Warning: The images and video below the fold are disturbing and violent. - Gay rights and wrongs. - Exploding homosexual myths. - Another trial, more gay violence allegations: RJR94FM radio is reporting tonight that Donald "Zeeks" Phillips, who is on trial for the alleged killings of two men in Kingston, is denying that he is a gay man, or that he killed the two men, much less that he forced the two men to "commit homosexual acts before he murdered them." - 'Gay Eradication Day' imposed by Jamaican town (2009). - University thesis seeks to explain homophobia in dancehall reggae (2009).

Jamaica, Island of Hate. - Jamaica's Queer Obsession: Is it all that's holding the country together? Google the words "gay" or "homosexual" at the daily national Jamaica Observer and you'll find articles like "Help! my man is bi-sexual" or "Emergency! My girlfriend/wife is a lesbian." Letters to the editor regularly claim in graphic, overwrought terms that homosexuals are destroying Jamaica. Even when the concerns of LGBT people are reported, activists are often lampooned. The relentlessly hostile media reinforces the homophobia on the street, where queers face everything from taunts to machetes. - Jamaica, global transformation and the gay lobby: Opposition Leader Bruce Golding would have surprised no one with his assertion in yesterday's Sunday Observer that his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) will not attempt to remove Jamaica's anti-gay laws should they win political power in the upcoming elections. Any such attempt at this juncture in Jamaica's history would be tantamount to political suicide. The anti-homosexual sentiment among Jamaicans and much of the Caribbean runs across all social classes and all sectors. It is deeply ingrained - embedded in our culture and traditions. - “Battybwoys affi dead”: Action against homophobia in Jamaica.

"Murder Inna Dancehall" Website (Homophobia in Dancehall Music): "... Rastafarians, followers of the Old Testament, cannot deal with homosexuality, as is true in many other religions. Over the years, the biblical concept has been prominent in their music, but dancehall singers have taken this to a completely new level. They now promote discrimination and violence towards gays and lesbians. When they sing about male homosexuality, they use street terms such as "Mauma Man" (Maama Man), "Fassy Hole" (or simply "Fassy"), "Faggot," "Fishman," "Funny Man," "Freaky Man," "Poop Man," "Bugger Man," and the most commonly used, "Batty Man" (butt man) and "Chi Chi Man" (chi chi, in Jamaica, is the slang for vermin). For women they use: "Sodomite", "Chi Chi Gal" or simply 'Lesbian." I believe the majority of dancehall singers are not Rastafarians,but some seem to be strict followers of the Rasta faith. The Rastafarian movement has evolved into four, main distinct groups over the years: the Orthodox Rasta, the Nyahbinghi Order, the Twelve Tribes Of Israel and the Bobo Shanti. Some say that homosexuality is a Babylonian disease brought to the Caribbean by the white conquerors, and that it must be eradicated. They condemn it, as expressed by Judgement Day, to be thrown in fire. The Bobo Shanti seem to be the group that have the strictest views on homosexuality, and the way to deal with it. The Bobo Shanti, which include popular dancehall singers such as Sizza, Capleton and Anthony B, condemn everything that doesn’t go along with their beliefs: “Fire pon politicians, Fire pon Vatican, Fire pon chi chi man...” Singers defend themselves in interview by saying that it’s a "spiritual fire." Jamaican strong homophobia can be partly explained by the following factors: a society in which the majority of the population live in extreme poverty, and in which religion and machismo are very prevalent..." - Jamaica: Reggae Stars Renounce Homophobia (2007).

The bodies of two Jamaican women, who were allegedly having a lesbian relationship, were found in a ditch last week. - They were lesbians: Was it Forbidden Love between lesbians that cost two young women their lives? Statements to the police and evidence at the murder scene of two women in their 20s strongly suggests this. - Jamaica waits on lesbian murder investigation. - Lesbian Murder in Jamaica. - Anti-gay action gets reaction: Sandra Rodrigues and her girlfriend, Stephanie Perez, were denied service at the Tedeschi’s at 684 Centre St. last month, for displaying affection too openly for the store clerk’s taste... A representative from Tedeschi’s told the Gazette last week the organization has investigated the incident and taken “appropriate action.” - Gay Congregation Sparks Threats in Jamaica: A Florida clergyman from a church that has founded a gay and lesbian congregation in Jamaica appeared recently as a radio guest on Caribbean radio station WAVS AM 1170, only to be met with threats from Jamaican callers-including one warning that he risked a bullet through the head should he return to Jamaica. - Jamaican Lesbian Denied Asylum. - Report on Persecution of Sexual Minorities in Jamaica (PDF Download).

Jamaica, beware of homosexual backlash: Whether Jamaica likes it or not, the homosexual issue is very much on the nation's agenda, and we had better pay close attention. The past week, the media carried the story of a Canadian group that decided to cancel its conference in Jamaica because of our buggery laws, citing its concern for the safety and well-being of it members in light of public attacks against homosexuals. - Anti-Gay Jamaica Gets Bad Press. - MCC Responds to Escalation of Anti-Gay Violence in Jamaica. - Trade Unions Urge End To Gay Persecution in Jamaica at Cardiff Mardi Gras. - BBC Documentary: Gay in Jamaica. - Troubled island: In Jamaica, where politicians are openly homophobic and song lyrics incite violence against gay people, coming out can be fatal. Gary Younge investigates.

Large number of gay cops: Like their counterparts in many other parts of the world, Jamaican cops are learning to live with a large and growing number of gay and lesbian colleagues, in a profession known to be typically hard on homosexuals. - Jamaican Police Fire Teargas Into Mob Attacking 'Gay Men': Three men who had bleached out their faces and wore in tight jeans and cut-off shirts were cornered in a drug store for more than an hour by several dozen men yelling homophobic remarks. The crowd swelled to more than 2,000 people the Kingston Observer reports. As the mob became more threatening, there were yells of "kill them" along with gay slurs and demands the three be sent out "to face justice"... "Jamaica has lost its way if men think they can openly flaunt being gay without any consequences. We don't want that kind of open gay life in this country," the she said. - Gay leader escapes St. Valentine's Gay Lynch Mob: A St. Valentine’s Day homophobic lynch mob of more than 200 in the Kingston, Jamaica suburb of St. Andrew’s Parish chased and assaulted three men presumed to be gay and threatened to kill them -- and the leader of the gay rights organization J-FLAG (Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays) was repeatedly and viciously assaulted by police when he went to the aid of the three alleged homosexuals targeted by the angry mob.

Jamaican Students Riot, Try To Kill Gay Student. - Jamaican extricated from anti-gay mob: A young Jamaican man is in police custody after being targeted in an anti-gay attack at the University of West Indies campus. The man, whose name has not been released, allegedly approached a student Tuesday evening on campus and made sexual advances. A group of students gathered and began attacking the man, and reportedly chased and hurled rocks at him. - The state of Jamaican homosexuality: fear or disgust? - Jamaican Bishop: "I will fight homosexuality and lesbianism with every fiber of my being!" - In Jamaica, fatal attacks push homophobia into the open. - Being called gay [a battyman] in Jamaica is one of the worst things that someone can be accused of. - Land of Reggae and Homophobia: Jamaica's intolerant attitude toward gays runs counter to its unofficial motto, 'No problem, mon.' - Homophobia in Jamaica.

Anti-Gay Reggae Performer Charged In Hate Attack. - Murder Music Campaign Suspended as Truce Offered to Gay Activists: The campaign against music that incites violence towards lesbian and gay people could be on the verge of halting today, after organisers agreed to a new partnership with representatives of the reggae industry. - ‘Murder Music’ Star Jailed. - Stay Out of Our Bedrooms! Homosexuals Weigh in on Gay Debate: Members of Jamaica’s homosexual community have added their voice to recent calls for the island’s buggery laws to be repealed, saying Jamaicans are being hypocritical on the issue. “We really are a very sexual nation, just like anybody else, and we have everything here,” said a Jamaican lesbian who writes poetry and stories under the name Adreana Ingram. “Jamaicans are privately tolerant and publicly intolerant because they have to save face. I am just sick and tired of the hypocrisy.” - Lesbian Activists in Jamaica Tell Horror Stories (Alternate Link). - Jamaican juggernaut: the new cochair of Jamaica's only gay rights group says he isn't deterred by his country's abusive police and angry mobs.

Growing up gay in Jamaica: The homophobic lyrics of Jamaican reggae stars have hit the headlines, but what is the reality of being gay in a society where it is illegal to practise your sexuality? - Recreational lesbianism in Jamaica: but humour aside most of the jamaicans that i spoke with adopted a 'live and let live' philosophy on the whole gay/lesbian issue. although nearly always paraphrased with "as long as they don't try it on with me". - Reclaiming Jamaica's gay past: cross-dressing pirate heroes and gay-friendly reggae gods—true Caribbean culture contradicts the homophobia of dancehall music.

Dangerous Spots for Gay Travel: Interview with David Kirby. - Grave violencia contra homosexuales. - Gays Living in Fear. - If You’re Gay in Jamaica, You’re Dead (Alternate Link). - Jamaica's Gays: Protection from Homophobes Urgently Needed, Mob Violence/Police Torture Reported by Amnesty International, Gay Men and Lesbians are Being Beaten, Cut, Burned and Shot. - Amnesty International wants Jamaica to protect gays.  - MTV bars Beenie Man as gays plan protest. - One love? Uproar over anti-gay lyrics stirs controversy in the birthplace of reggae. - Black Gays Should Stop Beenie Man. - Anti-gay reggae lyrics stir controversy in Jamaica N/A. - Casting the first stone! Policing of Homo/Sexuality in Jamaican Popular Culture (Abstract: PDF Download). - Jamaica: Queer in a Culture of Violence: Cops are deadly, politicians corrupt, the people poor, but musicians sing, "Kill the fags, burn the sissies."

Leading gay rights activist found murdered in Jamaica. - The Death & Light Of Brian Williamson. - Do We Forget Before We Remember? - Father encourages students to maul 'gay' son at Dunoon Technical High School: "In notoriously homophobic Jamaica gay men can hardly expect protection even from their parents - as was made very clear recently. A father, concerned that his son might be gay, turned up at the Dunoon Park Technical High School in east Kingston and apparently encouraged other students to beat the boy, an eleventh grader. "Them bruck up desk and bench and beat him up badly," one Dunoon student told the Observer. "Him get nuff lick, box, kick and thump from boy and girl." The boy's name was withheld by school officials and the extent of his injuries was not immediately known. But whatever they were, it would have been worse were it not for the intervention of ancillary staff. According to students and teachers at the school, the boy's father apparently found pictures of nude men in the boy's school bag..." -  Chilling Call to Murder as Music Attacks Gays: Jamaican rights activist's death is officially said to be motivated by robbery, but campaigners point to pop-fueled homophobia.

Jamaica: Homophobic Atmosphere Grows Fierce. - Jamaica: Big Tourist Dollar Loss in Store for Bigots. - Jamaican Church Leaders Protest Gay Pop Group N/A. - Caribbean Bishops Oppose Jamaica Proposal on Gays. - Jamaica is the most hostile island toward homosexuals in the Caribbean. - Jamaica: Gays Fighting to Get out of the Closet N/A  - "Paradise" Can Be an Ordeal for Gays. - Jamaica says will not abolish ban on homosexuality. - Doctor makes case for legalising homosexuality, prostitution N/A. - Jamaica: Accounts of Anti-gay Violence: Lesbians and gay men describe harassment, assaults, and murder (Alternate Link). - Gays gain ground. - Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas. - Paradise Lost: Struggling to be gay in the land of 'one love'. 

Jamaican Bishops Protest Civil Rights Reform: "Roman Catholic bishops in the Caribbean have protested against recommendations that Jamaica decriminalize sex between consenting  adult males, calling such behavior immoral..." - 'I was born this way' - Gays in Jamaica - Sexual orientation: Is there a conclusion? - Bisexual woman struggles with identity. - Homophobia remains high: Gays remain in seclusion, health officials worry Homophobia. - Homos at risk: " Homosexuals are increasingly becoming the targets of hate crimes in Jamaica but are afraid to press charges against their assailants for fear of bringing attention to their lifestyle." - Homosexuality to remain illegal in Jamaica N/A. - Taking a Stand Against Homophobic Violence. - PM Patterson accused of collusion with anti-gay violence.

Fear Among Gay Men Said to Fuel HIV/AIDS Cases: "High levels of discrimination and the threat of violence force male homosexuals to ''fit in" by having sex with women, increasing the risk of females becoming infected with HIV, says Yitades Gebre, head of the national HIV programme." - Anti-gay hate fuels Jamaica HIV crisis. - A Cultural approach to HIV/AIDS prevention and care: Jamaica's Experience (PDF Download). - Jamaica at the Crossroads. - HIV and HTLV-I infection among homosexual and bisexual men in Kingston, Jamaica. - Speaking out: sexual minorities in Jamaica use panel presentations to educate the public: Violent homophobia permeates Jamaican culture. Discrimination exists with impunity. Under these conditions, the MSM population remains hidden and aloof. Most LGBT people assume a heterosexual lifestyle for public consumption, but pursue same-sex relationships in private. They routinely fail to disclose their orientation to health care providers. As a result, appropriate healthcare cannot be administered, placing the entire public at greater risk of contracting HIV.

Adolescent MSM in Jamaica: HIV Risk, Homophobia, and Gender Stereotypes in Relationships (PPT Download): UNAIDS report that the prevalence rate for Jamaica in the 15-49 age group is 1.5 [0.8 – 2.4] %. From 1994-1996 the HIV prevalence in major urban areas for men who have sex with men (MSM) ranged from 30% to 67%. - Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence and Jamaica’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic (PDF Download). - Homosexuality and HIV/AIDS stigma in Jamaica (Full Text).

Teenage boys and the sex trade - A tragedy in waiting? "Within Kingston and St. Andrew's fancy houses and hotels, and outside along those daytime busy streets, twilight hides a sombre reality: scores of boys below the age of 19 years, frolicking with men two or three times their age in exchange for money...  He, however, explained that this activity mainly takes place in the Kingston and Montego Bay area, but should not be seen as sex workers in the strict sense. According to him, sex workers are persons whose main occupation is transactional sex.But regardless of whether they are sex workers or not, health workers believe the activities of the boys can cause serious long-term health problems, apart from STIs... "Many are afraid to stop it - some say they are born this way and some are being programmed. We try to counsel them, but it all boils down to money," Nurse Holly Alvaranga of the Glen Vincent Clinic said."

"’Boom Bye-Bye in a Batty Boy Head’: Reggae Icons, Jamaican Culture, and Homophobia." - A Culture of Intolerance: Insights on the Chi Chi Man Craze and Jamaican Gender Relations with Julius Powell of JFLAG. - Jamaican pastors say 'no' to gay bishop. - Smile Jamaica: Won’t you help to sing another song of freedom? - Thomas Glave Speaks at Cooper House: "Author, professor, and social justice activist Thomas Glave spoke about founding the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG) to a standing-room-only crowd at the Cooper House on Friday, February 9th. During his Friday evening discussion, titled "Gay Murder, Race and Class," Glave talked in general terms about life in Jamaica and about the violence gays and lesbians face in the country...." - A Trip Into Gay Jamaica.

Jamaican artistes heckled by gay rights group at Mobo Awards: "Members of the British gay rights group OutRage! who heckled Jamaican artistes in London, Tuesday, also found themselves on the receiving end of some arsh punishment." - Dancehall burning itself: "Homosexuality, rather, anti-homosexuality stances, are raved about on-stage here in Jamaica because it is one surefire way to ensure a 'forward' and earn the screams of the crowd. This sort of thinking is extremely short-sighted and does not serve to provide any sort of longevity for the careers of those involved. In addition, Jamaica's international reputation, which is already beset by exaggerations of violence, is ill-served by such songs." - Homophobia Rife In Jamaica. - Jamaican Gays Fight Back.

Jamaica at the Crossroads: "It's well-known that Jamaican men find using a condom extremely 'un-manly'. Jamaica is also, and this goes for several of the Caribbean countries, a society rich in hypermasculine attitudes and values. A real man has several girlfriends - baby mothers, they are called - and preferably children with all of them. All in all, there is a toughness in Jamaican society, and this is especially true for metropolitan Kingston - for decades a magnet for the unemployed and landless poor. This roughness is also very evident in attitudes towards gays and lesbians. Homosexuality is extremely despised in Jamaica, and there is still a law in force against 'buggery' or anal intercourse, which is used as a weapon to target and harass gays. The buggery law also functions as a formidable obstacle to those who want to limit the transmission of HIV." - Gay boys get a beating. - Welcoming Congregation Resolution Passed: "First Church in Jamaica Plain Unitarian-Universalist took a dramatic step forward in affirming gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals by unanimously passing a resolution to become a "Welcoming Congregation"."

Prison Riot Inquiry in Jamaica Focuses on Gays N/A (1997): "Reuters reports a commission of inquiry looking into riots at Jamaica's two main prisons last August heard yesterday that regular sexual relations between guards and gay prisoners contributed to the three-day melee. The riots at Kingston's General Penitentiary and the St. Catherine district prison in Spanish Town claimed 16 lives between Aug. 20 and 23. All of the 16 prisoners killed in the riots were presumed to be gay." - Over 300 prisoners in St Catherine's District Prison, Spanish Town. - Horror in Jamaica: 16 Men Burned and Stabbed to Death in Anti-Gay Prison Riots. - Background, Homophobia in Jamaica and its role in driving the HIV/AIDS epidemic: In 1997, the mere suggestion that a task force was considering whether condoms should be issued to inmates and staff as part of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in prison prompted a violent rampage and derailed HIV education efforts for years.  After then Commissioner of Corrections John Prescod proposed that condoms be distributed to prisoners and correctional officers, correctional officers—apparently offended by the implication that by distributing condoms they, themselves, were also having sex with men—walked off their jobs.  The officers did not return for several days, until they received an apology from the Commissioner and an agreement that condoms would not be distributed in prisons.  Following the walkout by the correctional officers, inmates at two of Jamaica’s largest prisons rioted.  Sixteen prisoners were killed and more than fifty injured, apparently targeted because other prisoners believed that they were homosexuals. 

Jamaican gays flee to save their lives (2002): "Homophobia runs so deep in society that asylum can be the only chance of survival... Last week, it was revealed that David, 26, had been granted asylum in the UK on the basis that homophobia in Jamaica is so severe it represents a serious threat to his personal safety. The fate of gays reveals a deep strain of homophobia in Jamaican society... 'I can't find work - I had to leave my last job when my boss found out - and I can't find a home. It doesn't matter how much you try to hide it. If you are seen in certain places or with certain people, you get branded as gay. Once the torment starts, it never stops... David's experiences are equally terrifying. 'I was walking one night down a road where a lot of gay men go cruising. I was attacked by two men and stabbed. The knife went right through my back and came out my stomach. Two taxi drivers refused to take me to hospital. They told me: "You are a faggot, you cannot come with us or people will think we are gay too." I had to walk a mile to hospital, bleeding all the way. When I got there I had to lie and say I had been robbed otherwise I would not have got any treatment.'" - Jamaicans Win Gay Asylum Right. - Asylum is granted to gay Jamaicans.

On “Judgements”: Poverty, Sexuality-Based Violence and Human Rights in 21st Century Jamaica (By Robert Carr, Published in the Caribbean Journal of Social Work, 2, july 2003, Word Download).: "This article will examine poverty, social justice, human rights, homophobia and violence in contemporary Jamaican society and the relationships among these phenomena.   In the second half of 2002 three gay men were granted asylum in the United Kingdom (UK) on the premise that were they to be deported to Jamaica it would be tantamount to a death sentence (Thompson, 2002).  “Homophobia runs so deep in society” ran the subtitle of a report in The Observer, a UK-based newspaper, “that asylum can be the only chance of survival.”  “More than 30 gay men have been murdered in Jamaica in the past five years” the article continues. The article further reported, “a group of university students were almost beaten to death.” ... Both Royes (1992) and CAREC (2000) documented that many Caribbean MSM in their studies had married, had girlfriends, and had fathered children.  There was a sub-group that identified themselves as “women” and referred to each other as “she” and had sex with men only, but this was a minority (CAREC 2000). A major push factor for bisexual behaviour in men who would otherwise be gay was that homosexuality is so anathematised in the Caribbean, that men who might have otherwise identified as “gay” felt compelled to present themselves as heterosexual to the wider society... Nevertheless, in 2002, a series of articles in the same newspaper found that levels of intolerance remained high, and tied this intolerance to popular songs extolling the masculine virtues of shooting, killing and burning to death homosexual men, all within a context in which laws permit the harassment of effeminate men as common practice (Watson, 2002a; Watson 2002b).  Further, a Gleaner poll undertaken by Don Anderson found that nearly 96% of “all Jamaicans are strongly opposed to any move that would seek to legalise homosexual relations” (Gleaner Poll, 2001)... Methodology: The researcher gathered the data analysed in this study under conditions of privacy and anonymity to compile a series of testimonies.  The first method was through direct interviews.  The objective was to systematically obtain first-hand data about violence experienced within the MSM community... Three focus groups were held with the MSM community at which in participants shared their stories.  One participant was identified through these focus groups and his testimonial was documented.  The material from the focus groups themselves was not analysed for this study, although the information that emerged there supported the findings presented below...." - Testimonies: Prepared By The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) - In Collaboration With Robert Carr, PhD., The Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work, University of the West Indies: PDF Download.

Jamaica Forum For Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays Faces Closure: "Fortunately, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) will continue its efforts, begun in 1998, to promote legal reforms for the protection of sexual minorities, to educate the public about the brutal anti-gay violence and lack of recourse to the law that is an everyday occurrence, and to serve the needs of the gay community through social and educational programming. J-FLAG is at a crossroads, however, and we are faced with closure. In October, we will lose our ability to retain even a single staff member to do the basic work of the organization. Much of our programming is done by volunteers, but we cannot continue to enhance this work without staff. We are therefore appealing to our supporters for assistance to help us raise US$24,000.00 which will cover the salaries of a full-time Programme Director and an Administrative Assistant for the next year. This modest amount will provide critical short-term support as the organization strengthens its successful programming, and focuses more energy on fund-raising activities. Without this support, the following programming is in jeopardy: ...."

‘Queer Islands?’ symposium will offer opportunity to discuss gay, lesbian life in Caribbean literature. - Reading Queer Caribbean Identities: Faizal Deen’s land without chocolate and the Gay Caribbean Canon. - “A Ghetto Education Is Basic”: (Jamaican) Dancehall Masculinities As Counter-Culture (PDF Download). - Casting the First Stone: Policing of Homo/Sexuality in Jamaican Popular Culture (PDF Download.).

Resources: - The Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays (J-FLAG). - HIV-AIDS related articles.

Gayscape. - IGLA Report  - The Eastgarden. - Sodomy Laws: Jamaica. - LGBT rights in Jamaica. - Search GayToday.com Archives.

Gay Jamaica (Global Gayz): - News/Reports: 1999 to Present.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO -  Elton John faces 'gay church ban': First it was the liberal Bishop of Chelmsford, John Gladwin. Now Sir Elton John is the latest to be hit by trouble over plans to visit the Caribbean island of Tobago. - Elton 'too gay' for Tobago. - Deacon: Ban Elton John, He'll Make You Gay! - Gay man taunted by cops gets $28,400: A 29-year-old self-confessed homosexual has been awarded $28,400 as compensation for being kept naked at a police station for over three hours while police officers ridiculed him about the size of his penis. - 'To-bahg-o' gets blows on VH1: Comedians mock island over Elton John. - Churches fail to ban Elton John from Tobago.

Victim of ‘public ridicule’ speaks out: ‘Give gays equal rights’:  At 29 YEARS, Kennty Mitchell seems to have everything going for him. He is a striving entrepreneur, a community activist and is involved in a nine-year “common-law” relationship. Yet, he is put down by society and verbally and physically abused by many, including the police. Why? He is homosexual. Mitchell, however, is determined to keep his head up and refuses to be forced into living his life in secrecy and shame...  - A Proud Day: The Archdeacon of Tobago doesn't want Elton John to perform at the Plymouth* Jazz festival. Because he's not a jazz singer? No, because he's gay. And because Trinidad and Tobago is not so great at keeping its laws up to date and has altogether too many religions, there are still laws on the books against sodomy: passed as recently as 1986, the law provides for up to 10 years in prison for homosexual acts between consenting adults (but if you are a minor, and you commit the act, it's only five years... how lenient!).

School play deals with family issues:  Diego Martin Government Secondary will be presenting a controversial play entitled Conflicted at the Little Carib Theatre, Woodbrook, from April 21- 23. The play deals with several issues, including adultery, abortion and homosexuality, the latter being the major issue. “But we are not dwelling on the abortion issue because others have done it. The big issue is homosexuality because many plays have not dealt with that,” said script writer Voughn Standford.

Gays in TT get legal protection (Alternate Link). - Gays in Trinidad, Tobago granted some legal rights. - Lesbian and Gay Trinidad And Tobago. - Islamic scholar in Trinidad wants antigay "Muslim villages". - Plan to establish Muslim only villages in Trinidad and Tobago causes outrage. -  Islamic scholar in Trinidad wants antigay "Muslim villages". - Priest Causes Stir With Safe Sex Remarks. - Trinidad transsexual praised for suing state: In conservative Caribbean, transsexuals fight for rights.

Accused Killer Freed in Trinidad by Homophobic Judges.  - Mahabir-Wyatt defends homosexual 'family' (Must scroll to locate article): "" I don't know why people, immediately, jump on the homosexual relationships." - UNC fatwa (Must scroll to locate article): "The Bill could also spell the end of Brigadier Alfonso's ban on gays in the defence force, and make him think twice before calling them, as he once did, cowards and weaklings..."

In conservative Caribbean, transsexuals fight for rights: "De Souza, who had a sex change operation when she was 19, was recently awarded $5,000 by a High Court judge in an out-of-court settlement to pay for charges of unlawful arrest and police harassment. She is the first transsexual in Trinidad to sue the state for a violation of constitutional rights. Such suits are rare throughout the Caribbean where sexual minorities often stay silent about mistreatment for fear of reprisals..." - Lower the limbo bar: Celebrating diversity takes more than bending over backwards: "As a taste test, Horyzon, a soca band from Trinidad, will perform at Caribbean Pride. Its participation reminds St Clair of the political issues he's addressing. "It's the first time they've been convinced to play in the gay community. They look at it as breaking down a barrier. There's a lot of homophobia in Trinidad, a lot of gay-bashing. It's time to tear down this wall between the gay community and the straight community. We could learn a lot from each other."

HIV and AIDS: The Global Inter-Connection: We are our own worst enemies: "During the early part of the last decade, when the world was just beginning to wake up to the threat of HIV, we in Trinidad were in the later stages of the oil boom years. As one politician proudly announced, money was not a problem for our nation, and neither was anything else, it seemed. When the first cases of AIDS were diagnosed here in 1983, all were among gay men, and everyone, including other gays, assumed that this was just an obscure disease that would not affect them... As long as a person does not flaunt their sexual orientation, society will usually ignore what they do not consider the norm, but the pressure to convert or conform, though often subtle, is unremitting. In Trinidad, even in the best of times, homosexuality is looked upon as an abomination. Anyone considered to be so inclined is condemned as a sinner of the highest order. Gay persons, when confronted, are often asked whether or not they believe in God. The hope is that the answer will be no, because that would supply sufficient reason for their homosexuality... Our society is so homophobic that openness and honesty about one's sexuality can lead to victimization on the job or being expelled from the home, in a society where most unmarried young people live with their parents. In some instances gays have even had their lives threatened by their own parents. People are so insecure about their sexual orientation that they will go to absurd lengths to prove that they are not what others think they are, regardless of whether it is true or not. They are constantly hiding behind a mask, trying to fit into a society that abhors homosexuality. They lie to themselves and believe that by working doubly hard, by overcompensating, they will be loved and respected just like any other members of our society. To avoid being ridiculed, some try whenever possible to associate with heterosexuals..." - Update on the transition from homosexual to heterosexual AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago. - Transmission of HTLV-I and HIV among homosexual men in Trinidad. - Update on the epidemiology of AIDS in Trinidad.

Country Profile: Trinidad and Tobago: “Multiple sexual partners” is cited as the most frequent risk factor for HIV infection. Young women are particularly affected by the epidemic, as female HIV positive cases from 15–29 years of age made up 65% of the total cases for the same age group. According to government reports, there are high HIV prevalence rates recorded from among the high-risk groups such as men who have sex with men, sex workers, injecting drug users and sexually transmitted infection clinic attendees... Current HIV services and programmes are not sensitive towards the most vulnerable populations. There are currently an insufficient number of programmes that target Trinidad and Tobago’s most vulnerable populations (men who have sex with men, commercial sex workers, drug users and sexually transmitted infection clinic attendees). - United Nations Theme Group on HIV/AIDS in Trinidad & Tobago (UNAIDS) (Word Download): “The Joint United Nations Response to HIV/AIDS”: While the epidemic was initially identified as a disease of homosexual men, HIV/AIDS in the country quickly became rooted in the heterosexual population... As a result or as a combined factor, some segments of the population are even more vulnerable to the infection. Condemning same sex partnering and denying bi-sexuality drive underground men who have sex with men. ‘Formal’, ‘informal’ or transactional sex work is not appropriately addressed because of the taboos that surround this activity. 

The Real Trinidad: I told him I couldn’t remember the last time I had an open discussion about homosexuality, the real reasons as to why so many men feel emasculated enough to bash their wives’ heads in, the self censorship we practice everyday because we are a small society and someone may use something against us, the fact that we are a “matriarchal” society because so many fathers don’t give a damn, and about my belief that marriage is one of the most unnatural institutions even though I practice it... Here then is the real Trinidad. And it took an outsider and an accidental fall of a curtain rod to show it to me."

Trinidad and Tobago's Equal Opportunity Act. - Le Equal Opportunities Act de Trinidad et Tobago. - Song of Trinidad: "This relationship with lies applies to many men growing up gay in Trinidad and Tobago. I've little doubt that living the double life that most must do is what placed me at risk of HIV. My sexual outlets were found in the most unlikely of places, theatre circles, dodgy street vendors, transvestite prostitutes, cruising parks and public toilets. There is no infrastructure set up in my home country to promote discussion among gays, support youths who are coming out, support people with HIV or guide those infected to the limited services. The stigma constitutes unbelievable pressure, a double stigma combining that of being gay with that of Aids." - Coming out in Trinidad & Tobago. - Global Circuits: Transnational Sexualities and Trinidad. 

Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee, Trinidad and Tobago: 15/01/2001: "33. Thus, while the Equal Opportunity Act, 2000 represents a very bold and pioneering move in the region, it was not possible at this time to include discrimination in every shape and form. The State must tread carefully in what is as yet an undeveloped area of law in the Caribbean. Sexual Orientation: 34. The Act does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of a person's sexual preference or orientation. Again, the Government was guided by the Report of the Joint Select Committee. The Committee, despite its diverse membership and its consultation with experts and interest groups in the area, declared that it was unable to arrive at a definitive position on this issue. The Working Paper also recommended that as a starting point such a ground for discrimination should not be included. The Government has decided that in light of the groundbreaking nature of the Act, a conservative approach should be adopted. In any event, in as much as homosexuality and lesbianism have not been decriminalized in Trinidad and Tobago, it is not recommended that the legislation be extended to include discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation at this time...."

The Worlds of Lawrence Scott: " Trinidadian Lawrence Scott's journey of self-discovery has taken him back and forth across the Atlantic and inspired him to write searching novels of love and belonging, including his prize-winning Aelred's Sin with its story of gay love... Aelred's Sin, which had appeared several weeks earlier in London, is a powerful and at times unsettling look at homosexual love as experienced by a Benedictine novice, Aelred, whose passion for an older monk in an English monastery encompasses religious, as well as physical, rapture. A complex story of the "dangerous chastity" lived by religious orders, the novel explores one young man's multifaceted encounter with love, sacred and profane. At times it is explicit in its sexual scenes, but that isn't the whole story. It is also lyrical, moving and life-affirming. The novel has, to say the least, potential for controversy. And in Trinidad, where any mention of gay love is liable to cause a stir, controversy seemed inevitable..."- Aelred's Sin: A novel of compassion (Must scroll to locate article): "IT takes a brave -some would say, courageous- Trinidadian to write a novel whose central theme is homosexuality or 'homoeroticism' as the jacket blurb on Aelred's Sin describes it." (Related Information). - Lunchtime Seminar: Aelred's Sin.

Homophobia and gay youth suicide: two interrelated destructive forces in our society. An open letter to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. - The Plight of A Trinidadian Homosexual. - Mavis John in concert... Long overdue: ""They would make remarks about being a lesbian and give interpretations about why my marriage broke up. "I remember one member of my family asking me why I don't leave Trinidad. But after a while you realise you have to go through these experiences because they make you much stronger." John is now revelling in the joy of being a grandmother. She spends a lot of her time cuddling andpampering her three- month-old granddaughter, Rachel."

Gay Scene: "Well..what's to say...with a population of 1.3 million it's obvious that there are quite a few gay people around. Unfortunately, successive T & T governments ...refusing to accept Queen Victoria's death have left homosexuality as a criminal offense on the law books. That being said there have not been any charges laid ( that I am aware of) for gay acts in decades..." 

Trinidad & Tobago Gay Scene (Must Scroll): "Well..what's to say...with a population of 1.3 million it's obvious that there are quite a few gay people around. Unfortunately, successive T & T governments ...refusing to accept Queen Victoria's death have left homosexuality as a criminal offense on the law books. That being said there have not been any charges laid ( that I am aware of) for gay acts in decades. Naturally, the nasty legal business and the prevailing macho attitude mean that a lot of gay people never actually come out. I gather that many seem to find it normal to be married and have "something on the side". This may account for Trinidad's high ranking in the # of AIDS cases per capita. That being said, though, many Gay people are remarkably open ( more so than any other regional country) and there are at least three Gay bars/nightclubs in the Capital...not to mention a number of very bi places. None of the above applies to Carnival time in T & T when basically anything goes and sexual hangups get thrown out the window after much alcohol intake..."

The Contemporary Context of Carib “Revival” in Trinidad and Tobago (By Maximilian C. Forte, Journal of Caribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology 1(1): 18-33, 2000, PDF DOwnload): "Creolization, Developmentalism and the State (PDF Download): "The gender correlates of Creole nationalism have also been eroded if not debunked. Creole nationalism’s inherent masculinism has been undermined by both the ascendance of women in the economy and professions and who refuse to be relegated to the role of “mothers of the nation,” valued only for making sons, in addition to the simultaneous economic displacement of many men from maledominated sectors affected by current retrenchment (i.e., port worke rs). Added to this is the increasing awareness, and furious controversy, of patterns of widespread bisexuality and homosexuality, with the recent publication of national estimates that up to 45% of adult male Trinidadians have had some homosexual experience. Moreover, the presentation in the media of gay issues and concerns is also a recent and highly debated development. The view that, “nationalism typically has sprung from masculinized memory, masculinized humiliation and masculinized hope,” is further developed by Cynthia Enloe (1989: 44, 54). A detailed treatment of the manner in which the ideology of male dominance, seen here as key to Creole nationalism, has been “subverted by the reality of male marginality” and “increasing female self-reliance,” appears in Olive Senior (1991: 181) See also Mohammed (1991: 35)..."

Living OUT Large: Warrem M: "Warren believes he was very fortunate. He knew he was gay since he was sixteen years old. He came out at a time in Trinidad that he described as Coming-out Time. This period during the late 1970s to early 1980s was a time when it was easy to accept ones same sex orientation. It was everywhere he states, Things were in the papers, almost every job-site (food & beverage related) had a least one person who you suspected or knew was gay. The popular phrase If you like it do it was seen on tee shirts, sported by young healthy men at numerous private parties and certain public bars. It was possible to ignore the stigma towards same sex preference and same sex orientation as this silent movement confronted any personal fears replacing them with a ferocious character with a full understanding of self-pride and personal acceptance. It was a wonderful time to be young and gay. Warren said. Yet his life's journey was not always filled with the bliss that he experienced at that time... Warrens first sexual encounter was at ten.... When asked, Warren says that this experience did not affect his choice of same sex orientation. I dont think that this had any significance as to why I am gay. Even as a boy there were the signs. I sometimes think that perhaps Nache saw this and it prompted his interest to sexually assault me. He added I officially came-out when I was sixteen and moved to Trinidad where I discovered a whole gay world. He described this time in his life as wonderful and free. There were many parties and many good times shared with his gay friends. In this period I tried to be safe and use condoms, but feelings of trust overweighed any feelings of safety. After using condoms with the same person three or four times one felt that it was safe to not use them - Warren sincerely said. Fourteen years would pass before he would confront his greatest challenge..."

From Gay Trinidad - Voices: - Gay In A Straight World - "...It's being taught to hate yourself knowing that you cannot change, knowing you can never share that wonderful feeling of being in love with your family and most of your friends... I am 17 and I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT to LIVE MY "SO-CALLED LIFE" LIKE THIS. One day I WILL try to change this, I PROMISE." - My Lowest Point - "...Sometimes I have to ask myself how can life be so happy at one point in time and then plummet to the deepest depths of despair....  I needed to be able to distance myself from reality. I did to a point. I had that happy place in my mind that I would retreat to whenever everything was bad. However everytime I retreated into it, it grew smaller until there was nothing left... Its horrible being gay and your parents not knowing and not accepting. I hurt inside everytime my father makes a derogatory comment. And he does it alot." 

Resources: Gay Trinidad. - The Gay Enhancement Advocates of Trinidad & Tobago N/A. (Archive Link) - Artists Against AIDS N/A. (Archive Link) - Artists Against AIDS. - "MSM: No Political Agenda" is an NGO based in Trinidad & Tobago: MSMNPA WebSite. - Grey Gay Guide.

Gay Trinidad and Tobago. (Global Gayz) - IGLA Report. - Sodomy Laws: Trinidad & Tobago. - LGBT rights in Trinidad and Tobago.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

Gay-rights movement struggles in Puerto Rico: Increasing activism is opposed by religious conservatives. -  Puerto Rico Asked to Enforce Antigay Law. - Puerto Rico's Sodomy Law Just "Tip of the Iceberg" And Reverend Margarita Sánchez de León vows to smash it. - Gays Take To The Streets To Defend Diversity. - Metrosexual Machismo All The Rage. 

Court Overturns Puerto Rico Gay Rights Law: (Alternate link) "The Puerto Rico Supreme Court has overturned gay and lesbian provisions in domestic violence laws. - Latin Gays: Violence against gays and lesbians is not unique to Puerto Rico - Gay Marriage Ban Proposed in Puerto Rico N/A. - Latino gays and lesbians N/A: "When I was growing up there was no insult that could start a fight faster than being called a pato. That is Puerto Rican slang for homosexual." - Puerto Rican activists urge letters of support in their fight against criminalization of same-sex consensual relationships. - Gay-rights movement struggles in Puerto Rico. - Puerto Rico: Defienden campaña de turismo gay (Translation). 

Gay Community Flexes Muscle in Puerto Rico N/A. - Vieques and Queers:  Common Ground: "Puerto Rican queers embody, in the flesh, the illegal status of their homeland in the world—like the people of Vieques". - Quenepon, San Juan: a gay friendly ezine N/A.(Archive Link) - 2000 Census information on Gay and Lesbian Couples, Puerto Rico. - Gay-Rights Movement Growing In Puerto Rico (2002). - Nothing in the Caribbean compares to Puerto Rico. - LLEGÓ Celebrates Puerto Rico Pride. - LLEGÓ Applauds Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action and Puerto Rican Senate Vote on Sodomy. - Puerto Rico Episcopalians opt for reconciliation on controversial issues.

Strengthening the Spirit: Rafael Otero-Rivera leads the fight against HIV in Puerto Rico: "In the 20 years since he has come out, Rafael says he has witnessed many positive changes for Puerto Rico's gay community. "When I first came out, there were very few gay places that existed. Most people in Puerto Rico were very 'macho.' That has softened over the years with America's influence, though we continue to be somewhat 'macho.' In years past, there were no streets where we could walk and hold a partner's hand, but now there are some areas where you can, and it doesn't matter to other people. Before, when they called us names on  the street, we had to hide. Now we respond. We've realized that we have a space and a right to be who we are."

The community we don't dare to mention: An exploratory study regarding social vulnerability, high risk sex conduct, and HIV/AIDS in Puerto Rico's transgender community. - Social support networks in HIV+ homosexual men in Puerto Rico. - Domestic Violence Among Same Sex Partners in Puerto Rico: Implications for HIV Intervention. - Domestic Violence in Puerto Rican Gay Male Couples. - Evaluation of an HIV/AIDS prevention intervention targeting latino gay men and men who have sex with men in Puerto Rico. - Masculinity Construction: Risk for health and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, in a sample of men who have sex with men in Puerto Rico.

Sexual identity formation and AIDS prevention: an exploratory study of non-gay-identified Puerto Rican MSM from working class neighborhoods. - Description of a domestic violence measure for Puerto Rican gay males. - Puerto Rican drug users experiences of physical and sexual abuse: comparisons based on sexual identities.

Suicide, adolescents and Puerto Rico: Risk factors that correlate highly with the Puerto Rican experience include homosexuality, due to the hostility that the person may experience, depression, gender, prevalence of psychiatric disorders, lack of social integration and social skills, military experience, cultural and religious factors, alcoholism, substance abuse and unemployment/poverty. The literature reviewed indicates that the Puerto Rican adolescent male is in a high risk group for suicide and that the risk increases with age, sexual preference, dysfunction in the family and substance abuse. - Strengths and Vulnerabilities of a Sample of Gay and Bisexual Male Adolescents in Puerto Rico (PDF Download): Participants were 61 highly educated GB youths living in Puerto Rico. Levels of depression, perceived social support, alcohol and drug use, and sexual behavior were assessed. Results show that 45% of participants reported high levels of depression. However participants reported low levels of alcohol and drug consumption, no unprotected sexual behavior, and high satisfaction with social support...

Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology: Index Page: Puerto Rico: - Homoerotic, Homosexual, and Ambisexual Behaviors. - Gender Conflicted Persons. - HIV/AIDS.

Pride in Puerto Rico: In 1991 Puerto Ricans held the first-ever Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Transexual Pride march. Eight years later, director Jorge Oliver documented the 1999 Pride March, now an annual event on the island. Together with footage from the festivities are interviews with prominent Puerto Rican activists - including the first openly gay Puerto Rican candidate for the House of Representatives - working for social change. As much a document of the struggle against discrimination and ignorance, Pride in Puerto Rico is a story of community and dignity. - Puerto Rico Travel: Puerto Rico has the most developed infrastructure for gay and lesbian tourism in the entire Caribbean.

Gay Puerto Rico: Gay Puerto Rico es un blog privado para la diseminación de información y opinión relacionada con la homosexualidad en si y en todo lo referente a su manifestación en Puerto Rico.

Resources: - OrgulloBoricua.net: Portal de la comunidad gay en Puerto Rico (Translation). - Gay organizations in Puerto Rico. - Puerto Rico GLBT Organizations. - Gay Puerto Rico. - Gay Puerto Rico Websites. - GLBTQ: Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden. - Sodomy Laws: Puerto Rico. - LGBT rights in Puerto Rico. - Gayscape. 

Gay Puerto Rico. (Global Gayz): - News/Reports. - Portal de la comunidad gay en Puerto Rico. - blabbeando.blogspot.com: Pueto Rico News Items.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

HAITI: - Gay Haiti 2003: Posted here are four stories about life in Haiti from different perspectives: (1) my story based on a visit to Haiti in February 2003, (2) a gay Haitian-American man's testimony, (3) a commentary about gays and voudou, and (4) an article about Haiti's economic conditions. - Telecentre des Jeunes: Homosexualite (Translation): L’homosexualite menace t-il Haïti? Malgre son infiltration dans notre societe, l’homosexualite ne la menace pas beaucoup. Le fait que la sexualite reste un sujet tabou, aide a combattre cette pratique. Beaucoup de jeunes haitiens s’adonnent a l’homosexualite, mais peu d’entre eux osent l’assumer. Un mariage entre homosexuels en Haïti, ce n’est pas pour bientot.

Les églises évangéliques haïtiennes et l'homosexualité (Translation):  A l'émission « Mega Connection » ... la surprise a été grande pour les auditeurs d'écouter une jeune fille qui s'est présentée comme lesbienne et qui participait comme invitée. Aujourd'hui âgée de 17 ans, « Mlle. X » comme on tend à l'appeler a déclaré sans ambages avoir eu ses premières expériences sexuelles avec une femme il y a cinq ans et qu'elle aurait été introduite par une jeune dame... Quand le journaliste lui a demandé comment est-ce possible et si le pasteur n'a jamais prêché contre l'homosexualité féminine, « Mlle. X » répondit avec calme et naturel : « Je n'ai jamais entendu le pasteur prêcher contre de telles choses.» ... Conformément à la Bible, la parole divine, les missions évangéliques internationales (et nationales) condamnent unanimement l'homosexualité...

Homosexuality in Vodou: "In Vodou, homosexuals are not barred from any religious activity. They may participate in religious services, and even become initiates and clergy people. It is true that there is some stigma associated with homosexuality in Haiti, but it does not take the form of the virulent hatred evident in Jamaica, for example, where homosexual individuals may be the victims of mob killings... Because open homosexuals are rigorously excluded from Protestant congregations, and frowned upon in Catholic services, almost the only avenue for spiritual expression for homsexuals in Haiti is Vodou. There is, therefore, a higher percentage of homosexuals at Vodou ceremonies, and in the priesthood, than in the general population." - Homosexuality and Voodoo. 

Haiti gives voodoo religion status N/A: "A recent international development conference on combating the spread of AIDS included delegates from the emerging voodoo community, which has a more open and tolerant view of homosexuality than does the Haitian public at large. "Voodoo is the only environment in which Haitian gays feel accepted and free to talk about issues," said Laurence Magloire, who last year produced a documentary film on voodoo and its embrace of sexual outcasts. "We live in a country where homosexuality is taboo." Not everyone is so enthusiastic..." - Haitians Hail the 'President of Voodoo': By legitimizing the religion, Aristide has energized believers and his popular support.

Reaching Out To Bring Young Haitians In: FHI Helps Two Organizations Work With Youth In High – Risk Settings (PDF Download): "With support from USAID and FHI, Dr. Boulos is overseeing a second behavioral surveillance survey of Haiti (the first was conducted in 2000) to assess the behaviors that put Haitians at risk for HIV. He explains, “Poverty is so extensive in Haiti that girls go into prostitution just to bring money home.” He noted that male prostitution - where, typically, poor, illiterate men sell sex to educated, middle class men - is also common..."

Special Science Issue Examines HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean (2006):  Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, have 85 percent of the Caribbean's cases. At the end of last year, the Caribbean's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 1.6 percent was the second-highest in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa. Haiti has an adult prevalence rate of 3.8 percent, and the Dominican Republic 1.1 percent. Although the Dominican Republic's prevalence rate is less than one-third of Haiti's, surprisingly the Dominican Republic's HIV/AIDS programs are far inferior. "It's 1,000 times better in Haiti," says Keith Joseph, a physician at Columbia University who has provided HIV/AIDS care in both countries. Researchers estimate that 78 percent of infections in the Dominican Republic now occur through heterosexual sex, some of which is linked to a booming sex trade. Prevalence rates as high as 12 percent have been documented among sex workers. - HIV/AIDS in Haiti: A Literature Review (PDF Download): ... Men who have sex with men: Homosexuality is not, for the most part, socially accepted in Haiti. Men who have sex with me (MSM) are obliged to conceal their sexual orientation, a fact that promotes clandestine sexual encounters and limited condom use. Organizations currently working with MSMs in Haiti include FHI and the Groupe de Recherche et d’Action AntiSIDA et Antidiscrimination Sexuelle.  AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame - 1993 - by Paul Farmer . - AIDS in Haiti: a bibliometric analysis.

Perspectives sur le SIDA Entre la peur, l'ignorance et l'incrédulité en Haïti Quelles réponses dans la Caraïbe? (Translation) (1999): En Haïti, les facteurs de propagation du SIDA ciblés par les spécialistes sont la régression de l'économie, la pauvreté, une promiscuité sexuelle très grave, " la monogamie en série ", le libertinage sexuel, l'homosexualité, le phénomène de la drogue. L'organisation Promoteurs Objectif Zéro SIDA note que la question de l'homosexualité n'est considérée à aucun moment dans le plan national stratégique de lutte contre le SIDA, " parce que c'est un sujet tabou ". Une étude en cours au sein de cette organisation signale l'existence de problèmes assez sérieux au niveau de l'homosexualité, dont la communauté traverse toutes les couches sociales : pauvre, moyenne et aisée (bourgeoisie)...

Of Men and Gods (des hommes et dieux): A frank look at a largely unexplored area, Of Men And Gods examines the daily existence of several Haitian men who are openly gay... Prevalent, yet still taboo, homosexuality and gay culture are allowed to flourish within the context of Haiti's Vodou religion. As "children of the gods," the men find an explanation for homosexuality as well as divine protection. They also find an outlet for theatrical expression through exhilarating performances in which they embody the gods. Meanwhile, the AIDS epidemic looms as a continual threat and adds a disquieting degree of nihilism to their relatively optimistic attitudes toward life and happiness in Port-au-Prince. - The spiritual rationalization of self: Haiti is the setting for Of Men and Gods, where homosexuality is taboo and organized religion competes/exists side by side with the spirits and practices of voodoo. Most of the gay men interviewed believe their homosexuality came to them through the god of love and fertility:  Erzuli Dantor.  They dress as they wish and endure the insults "from people dirtier than me," but, to a person, they have no shame because the spirits have made them "want to be women."

Cinema: Of men and gods (Des hommes et des dieux), by Anne Lescot and Laurence Magloire: This film, shot in Haiti is about homosexuals and transvestites in Voodoo. The encounter of these two worlds leads us into a very powerful, mystical and symbolic environment, inside which freedom of being, of incarnating the gods is expressed sometimes in the theatrics, sometimes with deep emotion. It explores the world of 6 young transvestites, living outside of Port-au-Prince. This journey takes us into their daily life, their daily needs and problems, as well as into their spiritual world: Voodoo. This one becomes center in their lives, since voodoo provides those young man as well as their families with an explanation justifying their sexuality... - L’homosexualité et l’esprit des Loas (Translation): Le documentaire Des dieux et des hommes offre une vision juste de l’homosexualité en Haïti remise dans le contexte original du vaudou, un des fondements de la culture haïtienne, loin des clichés de la magie noire... - Des hommes et dieux (Translation): Film Preview.

Gay Artists Flourish in Haiti: On the Caribbean island of Haiti, proud declarations of homosexuality go against the cultural norm of keeping intimate matters private. In spite of this fact, homosexual artists like the painter Prince Jean Jo, and Jean Baptiste Jean Joseph, a genius of the voodoo flag medium who lives in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, are creating names for themselves and legacies of art that will outlive them in museums and private homes...

Reaching out to our LGBT and LGBT-friendly community:   The Haitian Gays and Lesbians Alliance (HGLA) is a community base organization that provides counseling and other support to the Haitian LGBTQ community (Lesbians’ Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and those Questionings). We are an integral part of the community supporting Haitian music, dance, art, businesses, and professional services. - The Haitian Gays and Lesbians Alliance: We are happy to announce the beginning of a new branch under HGLA's Umbrella in Haiti which started by popular demand.

Gay Haiti. The Taxis in Haiti's Port au Prince.. (Global Gayz): - News/Reports. - IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden. - LGBT rights in Haiti.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.
 

MARTINIQUE: - Martinique: Homophobia and Segolene Royal's Socialist Party. - Homophobie au PS antillais : des organisations LGBT interpellent Ségolène Royal (Translation). - Lettre ouverte aux socialistes sur la campagne homophobe menée par le Parti socialiste en Martinique (Translation). - La Martinique, île homophobe? (Translation) - Martinique : un couple homosexuel agressé sur une plage (Translation). - Un prêtre victime d'une agression homophobe. - L'honneur des makoumès (Translation): "Alors que l’homosexualité reste largement interdite dans les Caraïbes, en Martinique et en Guadeloupe, les mentalités commencent à changer. Les traditions familiales et le machisme créole cultivent l’image des «makoumès», mais les jeunes gays antillais n’acceptent plus l’insulte. à Fort-de-France, à Pointe-à-Pitre ou à Paris, ils relèvent la tête…"

Martinique Anti-Gay Blogger Charged with Incitement to Murder. - Martinique man charged with incitement of murder for allegedly writing anti-gay blog.

In the Caribbean, anti-gay bigotry thrives: Meanwhile, on the tiny islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, French territories in the eastern Caribbean, rampant homophobia goes unchecked, offering unfortunate proof again that, although many people around the world have come to appreciate that racism, bigotry and intolerance are pernicious social diseases, it's still okay - in fact, in many places, it's still encouraged - to vilify, disparage, discriminate against and physically harm gay men and lesbians, or individuals whom homophobic bigots only suspect may be gay or lesbian. So it is that the Guadeloupean pop singer Admiral T and his musical confrère from Martinique, Lieutenant, have made big names for themselves regionally by peddling vicious, anti-gay "entertainment." ... Admiral T is best known for his song from a few years ago titled "Makoumé" (which means "homosexual" in the local creole). In it, "he clearly announces his hatred against homosexuals, inviting his listeners to 'burn them like cigarette butts.'" In the song, Admiral T declares that he has "come to burn the fags who hang out near city hall," and that the targets of his bigotry are "going to suffer, suffer; they're going to be gassed, gassed." He advises his listeners: "Instead of aiming your gun at your brother, aim it at them..."

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Power and Powerlessness of Transnational Narratives among Gay Martinican Men: (Must Scroll) In Martinique, self-identified gay men often tell each other stories about gay communities in other societies. France and Martinique are central characters in these stories but their presence is largely negative: life in the former is criticized for its economic or racial hardships and life in the latter is criticized for homophobia, hypocrisy, and smallness, creating a frustrating catch-22 for these men. However, in these narratives Quebec often emerges as an ideal destination of racial and sexual freedom...

Murray, David (1996). Homosexuality, Society and the State: An Ethnography of Sublime Resistance in Martinique. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 2(3): 249-272. - Defiance or Defilement? Undressing Cross-dressing in Martinique's Carnival.

Laws of Desire? Race, Sexuality, and Power in Male Martinican Sexual Narratives: (JSTOR Reference) In Martinique, both homosexual and heterosexual narratives of sexual desire reveal the centrality of an orthodox masculinity as a hegemonic force in public articulations about social relations and identity.... Paper Excerpts: "In Martinique, masculinity is rigidly defined and occupies a central and authoritative place that must be continually buttressed. Telling stories about women as sexual objects of desire is both a demonstration of appropriate masculine behavior and a legitimation of respectability and power Excoriations of homosexuality serve similar purposes: to accuse a man publicly of being macoume (a Creole word evoking an effeminate, passive homosexual identity) is one of the most severe insults to heterosexual masculinity, often claimed as a warrant for a violent verbal or physical retort. Homosexual narratives of desire, articulated mostly among fellow homosexuals in private spheres, subvert such heterosexual narratives by turning men into objects of desire; nevertheless, homosexual narratives remain a male domain in that the articulation of sexual desire and objectification continue to be means through which homosexual men can socially validate an acceptable masculine homosexuality...  Most self-identified homosexuals reject the macoume [being like a woman] label entirely and follow the conventional linguistic and kinesic codes that affirm male heterosexuality in public domains. The hegemonic power of heterosexual masculinity in Martinican public life means that homosexual desire can be expressed only in private spaces, such as a man's apartment (assuming the man does not live with his family), or in private codes, such as linguistically coded speech with fellow homosexuals in public domains...

Carnet de voyage : Le sida en Martinique (Translation): Par ailleurs, la situation de la communauté homosexuelle locale est une gigantesque nébuleuse. Retrouver son porte-clé dans la pénombre d’une backroom est moins difficile que de vouloir trouver des informations sur les pédés créoles martiniquais.

VIH/sida en Martinique: La maladie de l'autre (Translation): En Martinique (comme souvent ailleurs), le sida se trouve associé à des catégories à risque, des « autres » auxquels on attribue la responsabilité de l'épidémie: le métropolitain ou le Haïtien, l'homosexuel, la prostituée et la personne de mauvaise vie... Les puissants tabous qui entourent le sexe, dans une société fortement marquée par les interdits religieux, constituent également un frein à la prévention. « On parle facilement du sexe mais de façon grivoise et il est perçu comme quelque chose de sale, explique Fred Cronard. Il n'y a aucun dialogue entre parents et enfants sur le sujet. Avant de parler du sida, il paraît essentiel de parler de sexualité... « Nous voyons régulièrement arriver aux urgences des personnes dépistées très tardivement et malades depuis longtemps », déplore le Dr André Cabié, qui se dit par ailleurs particulièrement frappé par la situation des homosexuels et des bisexuels, qui représentent 25 % des patients suivis (6): « L'homophobie, très forte en Martinique et vécue au quotidien par les homosexuels, entraîne un repli sur soi et donc une exclusion de la prévention... - HIV-1 subtype distribution in Martinique, Caribbean. 

IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden. - AN NOU ALLÉ ! CGL Antilles-Guyane & Outre-Mer | Association des NoirEs LGBT & de leurs amiEs en France: Communications de l'année 2007. - Le forum de An Nou Allé! - An Nou Allé ! CGL Antilles & Guyane Association des NoirEs LGBT en France: AN NOU ALLÉ ! a pour vocation générale d’être porte-parole des MartiniquaiSEs lesbiennes, gais, bi ou trans et de leurs amiEs en Martinique, en France et dans le monde.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

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GUADELOUPE: -  Présidentielle en Guadeloupe : le mariage homosexuel au coeur des préoccupations locales (Translation): la position des candidats à la présidentielle 2007 sur le mariage homosexuel constitue un élement de sélection important, si ce n'est fondamental, pour les électeurs guadeloupéens. L'homosexualité reste, en effet, très mal perçue localement, comme du reste dans l'ensemble de la région.  - Un dirigeant du Parti socialiste accusé d’homophobie (Translation): Les associations de défense des homosexuels partent de nouveau en guerre contre Raymond Occolier. Le conseiller régional de Martinique, délégué national du Parti socialiste et maire du Vauclin (Sud), se prononce très clairement contre le mariage homosexuel. Une conviction qu’il place sur le terrain religieux. “Je suis un élu chrétien et par définition, je suis contre le mariage homosexuel.” - Guadeloupe: des affiches homophobes anti-Ségolène Royal (Translation).

In the Caribbean, anti-gay bigotry thrives: Meanwhile, on the tiny islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, French territories in the eastern Caribbean, rampant homophobia goes unchecked, offering unfortunate proof again that, although many people around the world have come to appreciate that racism, bigotry and intolerance are pernicious social diseases, it's still okay - in fact, in many places, it's still encouraged - to vilify, disparage, discriminate against and physically harm gay men and lesbians, or individuals whom homophobic bigots only suspect may be gay or lesbian. So it is that the Guadeloupean pop singer Admiral T and his musical confrère from Martinique, Lieutenant, have made big names for themselves regionally by peddling vicious, anti-gay "entertainment." ... Admiral T is best known for his song from a few years ago titled "Makoumé" (which means "homosexual" in the local creole). In it, "he clearly announces his hatred against homosexuals, inviting his listeners to 'burn them like cigarette butts.'" In the song, Admiral T declares that he has "come to burn the fags who hang out near city hall," and that the targets of his bigotry are "going to suffer, suffer; they're going to be gassed, gassed." He advises his listeners: "Instead of aiming your gun at your brother, aim it at them..."

“Oyez, Oyez dames et demoiselles” de Gwada (Translation): Je suis journaliste en Guadeloupe et je veux réaliser une enquête sur l’homosexualité féminine en Guadeloupe. ON évoque beaucoup les gays, on en parle abondamment, mais que sait-on des lesbiennes dans ces îles où le sujet est terriblement tabou? Il y a t il une communauté lesbienne en Gwada? Comment vit-on son homosexualité? Il y t il encore plus d’idées reçues et de haine? Ou moins? J’aimerais rencontrer et discuter avec des lesbiennes qui vivent en Guadeloupe. Je suis joignable au 06 90 42 12 33 ou par mail kbilas@hotmail.fr N’hésitez pas à m’appeler, c’est un sujet qui mérite d’être appronfondi et démysthifié.”

La figure du makomè : masque de l'homosexualité masculine dans les mondes guadeloupéens (Translation): (Reference Page, Located in the Book "Dissemblances: jeux et enjeux du genre") "Les pratiques homosexuelles font l’objet d’une stigmatisation et d’un fort déni en Guadeloupe et dans la population guadeloupéenne résidant en métropole. Une recherche ethnographique menée en Ile-de-France, auprès d’hommes et de femmes d’origine guadeloupéenne , a cependant permis une libération de la parole sur ces pratiques, et le recueil de données originales. Dans ce texte, qui porte principalement sur l’homosexualité masculine, je m’attacherai à montrer comment des individus qui initient des relations homosexuelles parviennent à contourner la norme hétérosexuelle sans réellement la contrarier. Je soulignerai par ailleurs comment la place qu’occupe la figure du makòmè dans l’imaginaire collectif guadeloupéen occulte l’existence des pratiques homosexuelles masculines.... À la Guadeloupe, l’homosexuel est désigné par le terme créole péjoratif makòmè. Le makòmè est un homme, qui affiche généralement des comportements et des attributs féminins (dans son langage, sa tenue vestimentaire et ses attitudes corporelles), et qui met en acte des pratiques homosexuelles avec des hommes masculins, parfois contre une compensation financière. Les discours le présentent non pas comme un homme véritable, mais comme un homme-femme. Il n’existe pas d’équivalent féminin du makòmè. « Makòmè » est également une insulte destinée à mettre en doute la masculinité et à ébranler la réputation de celui auquel elle s’adresse..." - makomè (Translation).

Des Guadeloupéens en Ile-de-France. Identité, sexualité, santé (Translation). Editions Karthala (coll. Médecines du Monde) (Reference Page, par Dolorès Pourette): Cet ouvrage présente les résultats d'une recherche ethnographique menée auprès de Guadeloupéens et de Guadeloupéennes vivant en région parisienne. Alors que la Guadeloupe compte parmi les départements francais les plus touchés par l'épidémie de sida, il étudie les modes d'appréhension du risque de contamination dans le contexte migratoire à travers l'analyse de thèmes chers à l'anthropologie : les représentations et pratiques relatives au corps, les constructions sociales de la féminité et de la masculinité, les normes de la sexualité, les perceptions de l'identité et de l'altérité. Tout en offrant des données inédites sur l'expérience de l'homosexualité ou du sida, ce livre permet de déconstruire un certain nombre de stéréotypes sur la sexualité des Antillais-es. Il propose une analyse de la matrifocalité et plus généralement des sociétés antillaises...

Bombereau G (2005). Représentations sociales du VIH/SIDA en Guadeloupe et recommandations à l'usage de la santé publique. La peur ou la mort dans l'âme dans les Antilles françaises. These, Philosophiæ doctor (Ph.D.), Université Laval Québec. Full Text (Translation). Chapitre 5 (Translation):  L’homosexuel: ... Retenons bien qu’en Guadeloupe, l’homosexualité est largement méprisée et taboue. Dans ce contexte, l’homosexuel est source d’opprobre social... La figure de l’homosexuel, entendue dans la quasi majorité des cas, comme étant masculine, défie par de nombreux aspects l’ordre religieux, moral et social guadeloupéen. C’est alors une sexualité jugée avant tout comme déviante par la population... Bien plus encore, l’idée de contre nature est, autrement, référée dans le cadre même d’une relation sexuelle. À cet égard, la sodomie où l’homme passif est réceptif incarne la posture extrême la plus répudiée (Mulot, 2000). L’homme est fait pour extérioriser, évacuer et la femme pour recevoir. Aussi, dans ce contexte, l’homme homosexuel rompt avec son identité masculine et se rapproche de la figure féminine... Cependant, derrière ces lectures religieuses, il est néanmoins aisé de repérer une instrumentalisation du discours dans le but de répéter et ainsi asseoir un ordre traditionnel masculin et féminin. Ainsi, si la population guadeloupéenne évoque la condamnation de l’homosexualité en terme religieux, nous pouvons voir derrière ce truchement, une condamnation éminemment sociale et culturelle... L’homosexuel n’apparaît pas tant comme celui qui a une sexualité transgressive que comme celui qui défie les normes sociales ou encore questionne le rapport traditionnel homme-femme. « L’homosexuel choque parce qu’il est quelqu’un qui n’affirme pas une préférence sexuelle pour les femmes, critère prépondérant dans la détermination sociale de l’identité virile » ... Nous sommes donc en présence d’une déviance sociale, masquée derrière une déviance sexuelle, et appuyée par un discours religieux. L’homosexuel transgresse ainsi tout à la fois des limites sociales, morales et religieuses...

Docteur Marie-Thérèse Sow (MTS), praticien hospitalier à Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), coordinatrice médicale CISIH (Translation): Vous dites que l’homosexualité est stigmatisée en Guadeloupe. Comment cela se vit-il ? MTS : C’est terrible. Les homosexuels guadeloupéens quel que soit leur âge, arrivent rarement à dire qu’ils sont homosexuels. Même à nous les soignants, ils ont des difficultés à en parler, et je n’ai jamais reçu en consultation d’homosexuels antillais en couple. Le rejet et la stigmatisation sont très répandus dans la population. Quand des homosexuels sont séropositifs, nous avons de très grandes difficultés en ce qui concerne l’observance à leur traitement.

Plan Regional De Sante Publique De Guadeloupe: Programme 2005 - 2008 De Lutte Contre Le Virus De L’immuno-Deficience Humaine (PDF Download): Le mode de transmission : ... Le mode de transmission est connu chez 86% des patients : - hétérosexuelle (62 % des 86%) - homosexuelle dans 14% des 86%. - Persons living with HIV/AIDS followed in HIV specialized centers (CISIH) in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). Evolution from 1988 to 2002.

Discrimination au Cheyenne (Guadeloupe)? (Translation) Il existe une boite de nuit en Guadeloupe, située au Gosier dont l’emblème est une énorme tête d’Indien d’Amérique du Nord. Cette boite qui est en apparence très ouverte d’esprit cible sa clientèle dans la population blanche et bekee de la Guadeloupe et demeure un lieu favori des homosexuel(les) vivant ou de passage ici. Jusqu’ici rien à signaler… Cette boite de nuit a cependant une particularité qu’elle evite de crier sur les toits mais qu’elle applique presque systématiquement: elle interdit l’accès aux hommes noirs ayant des locks, des tresses, des nattes et des afros...

IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden. - AN NOU ALLÉ ! CGL Antilles-Guyane & Outre-Mer | Association des NoirEs LGBT & de leurs amiEs en France: Communications de l'année 2007. - Le forum de An Nou Allé! - Gays en Guadeloupe. - Gays en Guadeloupe.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.
 

NETHERLANDS ANTILLES: -  Netherlands Forces Homosexual ‘Marriage’ on Aruba: Aruba's government lawyer: "Gay marriage is against the civil code and Aruban morals." The Caribbean island state of Aruba must recognize same-sex marriages performed in the Netherlands, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled April 13, forcing legal recognition of homosexual marriages in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, as well as the Netherlands proper... The government of Aruba appealed the case a second time to the Supreme Court, with the support of much of the population--Aruba is 80% Roman Catholic. “If we accept gay marriage, would we next have to accept Holland's marijuana bars and euthanasia?” said government spokesman Ruben Trapenberg in 2005. “They have their culture, we have ours.” - Gay Marriage In The Caribbean: Gay marriage goes tropical! It has reached the Caribbean. The island Aruba, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was ordered last Friday by the Dutch Supreme Court to register the marriage of a lesbian couple. The Court ruled that a marriage certificate signed by an official of the Netherlands, carried the "same force of law" in Aruba. This is the final outcome of a four year legal battle. - Aruba must recognise Dutch gay weddings.

‘Smaller’ islands refuse to be dictated to on gay marriage: The three “smaller” islands Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius don’t want to be pressured by The Hague into accepting gay marriages when they become Dutch overseas municipalities. “(The Dutch) have to take into consideration the cultural values and differences. We are not ready yet,” said Statia’s Commissioner Roy Hooker on Tuesday. “Saba has always been tolerant where it comes to gay people. We have no problem with that. But marriage is different,” said Saba’s Commissioner Will Johnson. “We have no problem with registering gay married couples. But marriage itself, no, we would rather not,” said Bonaire’s UPB leader Ramoncito Booi. The three islands want to determine their own courses where it comes to gay marriages. “It should be left up to the islands,” said Johnson, who doesn’t think the issue of gay marriages is big, but rather controversial.

Saba: The Caribbean's unspoiled queen: Gay life... Saba is notably gay-friendly. Glenn Holm, the director of the tourist bureau, is openly gay, and several other prominent people on the island are out. That said, keep the scale of the place in mind. Fewer than 1,500 people live on Saba, and there are seldom more than 100 tourists on the island at any given time. Gay and lesbian visitors should feel comfortable on Saba, but the island is not a gay party destination by any stretch.

Study: Attitudes of  General Practitioners Toward Homosexuals in the Netherlands Antilles (PowerPoint Presentation) (Alternate Link): "Results (Index Attitudes to Homosexuality)  Lower scores on this scale reflect more tolerant attitudes to homosexuals. Caribbean-born doctors had average score of 54.2, non-Caribbean born doctors scored 29 (p<.004) 67% Caribbean born physicians had scores in homophobic range c/w only 14% non-Caribbean born (Dutch/EU) - Results (ISSP) Higher scores on this scale reflect more positive attitudes to homosexuals. Caribbean-born doctors had average score of 19.8, non-Caribbean born doctors 71.4 (p=0.016) A high correlation was noted between individual scores on the ISSP and IAH scales (r=0.79). - Attitudes of general practitioners towards homosexuals in the Caribbean.

Bon Bini From The Gay Friendly Netherlands Antilles: Curacao puts the friendly in gay friendly: "The five member isles of the Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Eustacia, Saba and St. Maarten), are collectively the most gay friendly destination in the West Indies. Unlike the former British colonies of Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Jamaica and Belize, which have all refused entry to gay cruise ships, the Netherlands Antilles have a long reputation for welcoming all people. The Dutch Caribbean has never had anti-sodomy laws to repeal..."

IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden.- Apex N/A: (Archive Link) The group was founded on 10 December 1994, on Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. 

To "The SEARCH Section" For The Best Search Engines & Information Directories, The Searchable Sites to Locate Papers & Abstracts... and The Sites - Some Searchable - Where "Free Papers" Are Available!  

BAHAMAS: - Brokeback ban stirs controversy in Bahamas. - Bahamas outlaws Brokeback movie: A decision to ban Brokeback Mountain from cinemas in the Bahamas has sparked outrage from gay rights groups. - Teen Queen Claims Discrimination: A confession from the reigning Miss Teen Bahamas that she is a lesbian has clouded the beauty pageant in a scandal. - Bahamas Should Cultivate Tolerance. - Filmmaker tackles homophobia in the Bahamas (2009).

The Rainbow Alliance of The Bahamas: News Items:  Christian Council against the LOGO channel: Not surprising, The Bahamas Christian council is once again demonstrating an unbelievable level of fascism in that members of that organisation clearly do not believe that adults should have freedom of choice when it comes to what they are allowed to watch on Cable TV. This same Council threw its full support behind the banning of “Brokeback Mountain” in 2006, and is now urging Cable Bahamas not to carry LOGO, a channel catering to the gay and lesbian community. - Senator opposes same-sex domestic violence protection. - Brokeback Mountain banned. - Gay man says cops beat him. - ....

Bahamas Apologizes to Gay Passengers. - Anti-homophobia speech by Prime Minister of the Bahamas. - Govt Has No Problem With Gay Cruise: The government of The Bahamas will not discriminate against a gay cruise scheduled to call on ports in Nassau and Freeport at month's end. - Rosie O' Donnell plans gay cruise to Bahamas. - Gay Cruise Met by Protesters in Bahamas. - Gay cruise met by protestors in the Bahamas.

'Homosexuality running strong in Parliament' rally told: No votes for gays in next election demands pastor: " Homosexuality is gaining in popularity in The Bahamas, because it has strong support in Parliament, hundreds attending a feverish anti-homosexual rally hosted by the Save the Bahamas Campaign at Rawson Square's northern side on Sunday, were told. "We've got to fight this thing in Parliament because we got too many sissies in Parliament," said Apostle Christopher Wallace of The Christian Tabernacle... Meanwhile, seven members of the gay and lesbian advocacy group Rainbow Alliance stood at the southern side of Rawson Square sucking big red lollipops. One of the group's more vocal members Erin Greene began to argue with a participant of the rally after being provoked. But physical contact was avoided as Greene was pulled away by a fellow Rainbow member. The alliance also had a camera woman who filmed the rally." - Bahamas Bucks Gay Agenda. 

IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden. - (Global Gayz): - News/Reports. - Sodomy Laws: Bahamas. - LGBT rights in the Bahamas. 

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.
 

BERMUDA: -  Island’s ‘in dire need of a gay and lesbian centre’: (Alternate Link, Must Scroll) Professional drag queen Mark Anderson this week gave homophobic Bermudians a dressing down for being intolerant and hypocritical about gays. He told the Bermuda Sun that Bermuda is in dire need of a gay and lesbian centre where homosexuals could go for counselling and sex education. He said the need is greatest for teenagers who are struggling with their identity — but often have nowhere to turn. - Should Gays Boycott Bermuda & Jamaica?

O'Donnell's gay cruise to cancel Bermuda stop: A summer cruise for gay and lesbian families organized by Rosie O'Donnell has cut Bermuda from its planned itinerary because of possible protests by church groups in the British island territory. - Rosie's gay cruise is backed by Bermuda's leader: The Premier of Bermuda has dismissed requests for Rose O'Donnell's gay and lesbian family cruise to be cancelled. - Bermuda stresses its gay-friendly credentials: The Premier of Bermuda has said gay people are welcome on the island after a cruise for gay families cancelled plans to visit later this year. The cruise, hosted by lesbian comedian Rosie O'Donnell, was the focus of faith-based protests when it visited the Bahamas in 2004. Bermudan church groups had promised action against the visiting gay families. - Gay cruise controversy puts Bermuda in international spotlight. - Some people in Bermuda love gays:  A delightful woman called Michele Lawrence has contacted PinkNews.co.uk with pictures of a mini-demonstration she and her daugher arranged in support of gay tourists visiting her home of Bermuda.

Bermuda Flooded With Anti-Gay Posters. -  Our man in Bermuda: During his service in Bermuda, Farmer used discretion in determining whether to take his partner to events. "Generally I was open, and Craig was with me at a lot of functions, but there were occasions [at which] I was on official business, so I would go with myself or with a female friend so as not to create an awkward situation for my host country," Farmer says. "You have to remember that you are representing your country, and that comes before all else."

Let Them Wed: "Following the recent furore about gay marriage in the US, homosexual couples in Bermuda must have been wondering about the chance of ever being able to obtain legal recognition of their relationships here. If so, they were dealt a blow by Family Services Minister Patrice Minors yesterday. Speaking at a press conference on the International Year of the Family, Mrs. Minors said  "It is not my intention during my term as Minister to have [gay unions] introduced legislatively... [If approached by members of the community to consider it] it wouldn't receive an endorsement from me. I do not believe [a family with two gay heads of house] to be representative of a family based on moral values." Such an attitude is sad, but not surprising. Bermuda is arguably more homophobic than the US, largely a result of the strong fundamentalist Christian beliefs held by many Bermudians. Homosexuality between males was only legalised here in 1994; previously the penalty for consensual homosexual sex between males over the age of 21 was up to ten years imprisonment..."

What have you accomplished to date? ( Lesbian & Gay Bermuda, August 2002, PDF Download): "In our first year of being we have taken steps toward protection for Gay persons under the Human Rights Act on the basis of ‘Sexual Orientation’, having met with the Minister as well as the Commission. We have been involved with persons looking to provide sensitivity training for educators, especially when dealing with youth coming to terms with their sexuality. We also made possible the creation and distribution of this newsletter..."

Youth! / Growing Up Gay in Bermuda. ( Lesbian & Gay Bermuda, September 2002, PDF Download): "The trials and tribulations of youth coming to terms with their homosexuality in Bermuda, is something rarely discussed, even in the gay/lesbian community. They are left to flounder and seek their way without any constructive guidance, and we are not only talking in a sexual manner. Simply accepting ones sexuality in light of the rampant homophobia on this island is a challenge, unless you have supportive family and friends life can be miserable... We hear that in our schools, students can find a sympathetic ear who will discuss the pros and cons of teenage sex, but find no direction when it comes to dealing with gay/lesbian orientation, other than steering them toward a therapist or religious leader for conversion. Also we hear that they cannot even find information in our school libraries as books dealing with homosexuality are not stocked and ‘gay/lesbian’ web sites, many of which provide valuable information on sexual orientation, are blocked or severely limited on school computers... Not being able
to discuss these feelings with my family or friends can turn you into a stranger as you learn quickly to evade questions as to why you don’t have a girlfriend, as well as evade their advances. This makes you a target for ridicule by other boys as they notice your lack of interest in girls and the name calling starts. I was called ‘sissy’ and ‘faggot’ more times than I care to remember and this was without their real knowledge of my orientation which becomes a real downer. My grades in school began to suffer as a result and I developed more of an ‘attitude’ and became ‘difficult’, as termed by my parents who I unfortunately still felt I could not confide in either. Many tears were shed over not being allowed to be myself, yet watching objects of my desire bouncing through our youth without stress..."

Diversity Institute Workshops: Supporting Gay Students (Word Download N/A): :"To promote a greater understanding among educators of the concerns of gay students (or students who might be gay) so that they can equally benefit, along with the other students, in the educational process in a safe and respectful environment. " - A Photo History of the Issues in Bermuda.

Dear Danny: "I would like to get to know more about homosexuality. I have always wondered about the true facts about being homosexual. I would just like to say that your website is very informative and I am trying my best to be able to understand that being gay is a way of life. They don't really support gay rights here in Bermuda..."

How gay panic gripped 1960s Royal Navy: "The Royal Navy was so gripped by a security panic over gay servicemen in the late 1960s, admirals believed at least half of the entire fleet had "sinned homosexually". Documents released by the Public Record office reveal commanders buried a series of scandals including homosexual affairs on an aircraft carrier, transsexual prostitutes in the Far East and hundreds of men using a "male brothel" in Bermuda..."

'Half Gay' Fleet Fuelled Admirals' Fear of Blackmail and Treachery: (Alternate Link) "The problem was highlighted in 1969 when scores of sexually explicit photographs of British sailors were found in a flat in Bermuda. More than 400 sailors had been involved in "gross indecency" there, and the names of the men and their ships were written on the pictures. At the same time, more and more drunken sailors were being lured into having sex with catamites, men masquerading as beautiful women, in Singapore..."

IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden. - (Global Gayz): - News/Reports.  - Sodomy Laws. - Gay Bermuda N/A. - Lesbian & Gay Bermuda.  PDF Download of Gay Recorder Issues N/A.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

To "The SEARCH Section" For The Best Search Engines & Information Directories, The Searchable Sites to Locate Papers & Abstracts... and The Sites - Some Searchable - Where "Free Papers" Are Available!
 

BARBADOS: -  Homosexuality And Barbadians - The Fear Of An Orderly Society: Some comments to BU recently have motivated me to blog on the issue of homosexuality in the context of Barbados. Many of us grew-up in a village and would have had to confront the issue of “bullas” and “wickers” in various ways. We all had this amorphous understanding that the issue existed but it seemed so far away. What is it about the issue of homosexuality which always seems to drive fear and some would say irrationality into the behaviour of Barbadians right across the social spectrum?

Tyrannical Homosexual Societies Hide Behind Barbados Prison Walls? - Inmate: Glendairy run by homosexual prisoners. - Barbados Prison Deaths: Now back in his homeland, Donaldson reveals all about what he witnessed during his term behind bars in Barbados including drug dealing, homosexuality, the burning of Glendairy and the conditions at the temporary prison at Harrison Point. - Burning was an 'opportunity': Acting Superintendent of Prisons, Lieutenant-Colonel John Nurse, has dismissed the idea of the torching of Glendairy Prisons two years ago being the result of a detailed plot. And he doesn't believe homosexuality played any part in it.

Shadow report on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in Barbados (Word Download):  coordinated by Global Rights and the International Human Rights Advocacy Seminar at the University of Virginia School of Law... Barbados ratified the ICCPR on March 23, 1976 and will present their regular report to the UN Committee that monitors the ICCPR on March 21, 2007. The University of Virginia Human Rights Advocacy Seminar is honored to have the opportunity to participate in the production of this shadow report on the status of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in Barbados.  Working in cooperation with Global Rights and their contacts in Barbados, we gathered information in this report and now present it as a starting point for advocacy of greater protection and promotion of the rights of LGBTI persons in Barbados...

Church to present Barbados government with alternative plan to combat HIV/AIDS: The battle between Barbadians who want to see homosexuality and prostitution legalized and those taking a firm stance against the move is continuing with the church now saying it's willing to prepare and present alternative proposals to government for use in the fight against HIV/AIDS... "As a church we must confess that we have caused hurt to lesbians and gays and demonstrated homophobic behaviour," he said. "We must demonstrate love. We need to recognise the church does not only speak against homosexuality and prostitution. We speak against adultery and common law unions." - Project PROBE Ministries and Exodus Global Alliance present "Sex, Sexuality and Homosexuality: Engaging the Truth" (2006 Barbados Conference): As the world promotes more sexual freedom, increasing numbers of children, teens and adults in every part of the world are struggling with and being hurt by homosexuality, prostitution, sexual abuse, gender changes, pornography, sex before marriage and sex outside of marriage. Do you or your church know how bad the problem of sexual brokenness is?

Homosexuality and the Barbadian Society. - Barbados debates decriminalizing homosexuality, prostitution. - Homosexuality serves no useful purpose. - Time to get rid of bigotry in our country. - Gay Debate Heads Up. - Barbados Cannot Step Off the World: Objective analysis of the current situation therefore suggests that change will come sooner or later, not directly from our Parliament but through the courts, national or international. To threaten to intimidate these would not be recommended and could lead to imprisonment for contempt of court or worse.

Barbados: Illegal Activity: With respect to homosexuality, it’s a big issue in Barbados . Although it is said that Barbados has one of the largest gay populations in the Caribbean , the practice is still not legal. Kissing and sexual intercourse by two males or two females is an offense punishable by law.

The Fondness And The Fears Of Homosexuality: "Two weeks ago, a picture of a gay wedding on the front page of The Sunday Sun elicited a volley of incensed calls from readers about the morality of carrying such a story. The reaction was neither unprecedented nor unanticipated. So far, every major incident relating to homosexuality in Barbados has received a strongly negative response, as was witnessed when a cruise ship carrying homosexual passengers passed through the region a couple years ago, and during last year?s debates on condoms in prisons... However, at a time when gay rights is becoming a hot topic in many other countries, it now seems a good time to go beyond the superficial in Barbados; to take a look at ourselves, and to come out of our own closet in terms of how we feel and behave towards homosexuals. Reporter Marsha Deyal explores this topic in detail and will share with readers the views of the public, homosexuals, the Church and the legal fraternity. This week, a lesbian tells her story and the people have their say on the issue."

Breaking Her Silence: "But Dorothy, a Barbadian woman in her middling years, is one of those fortunate people. She is comfortable with her choices, and her sexuality. Dorothy is a lesbian, but she does not see her sexual orientation as the be-all and end-all of her existence. “I don’t go around shouting, ‘I’m a lesbian, I’m a lesbian’; with me it’s neither here nor there. I’m just Dorothy,” she said. Dorothy has always lived her life fully and is well-travelled. She has seen and experienced how homosexuality is treated elsewhere, but no matter what, she has not attempted to cover up who and what she is – she has “always been herself”. She is currently in a fulfilling monogamous relationship... “I’m not in the closet – there are people who know about me – but I don’t go around telling everyone I’m a lesbian because I feel it is my personal business. There are a lot of Barbadians, however, who are still in the closet. “A lot of people won’t talk perhaps because they have something to lose and are afraid of being rejected on the whole, but that’s something you build up in your mind... From an early age, Dorothy could afford to be more fearless and open, because unlike many homosexuals, she had support from the people who mattered. Her mother had accepted her as she was. “During my teenage years, I wanted to tell my mother, but I was afraid. For two years I didn’t say a word because I knew this was it: she’s going to kill me. “But it was tearing me up inside, and I had to tell her that I was a lesbian. And she said, ‘Is that all? I thought you were going to tell me you were on drugs or something.’ She said she knew since I was a kid. So now there’s nothing that anybody can tell me that bothers me. “I know how lucky I was. There are people who are afraid to come out, not only here but everywhere, because of how their parents would treat them.” She said, that some are so afraid of what their family and society would say that they would not only try to appear straight, but denounce other homosexuals. This is dangerous to the individual who’s hiding his orientation: If you’re not true to yourself, if you try to suppress your feelings, you suffer. It festers inside you... “Many Barbadians are bi-sexual. There are a lot of gay men who get married, and stay hidden in that way. But that doesn’t stop them from having homosexual relationships. It’s hush-hush, but you hear stories of all kinds of sexual encounters...”

To Do Or Taboo? "The word “homosexual” is loaded: it evokes hatred, revulsion, sometimes even a tinge of fear in some; intolerance in others; apathy in a few; and at times, seeming rare, acceptance. The reactions run the gamut but topple overwhelmingly to the side of the negative when the “homosexual” is considered. But there are no studies to show this locally. Researcher Tara Atluri, author of Working Paper No. 5 – When The Closet Is A Region – published by the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, Cave Hill, in March this year, wrote that “attempting to address homosexuality, homophobia and heterosexism in the Caribbean has been one of my most confounding experiences to date... The talk rises and falls in heated tones to denounce those with a same-sex orientation, throwing loaded words cruelly like stones – “bullers”, “faggots”, “batty-men”, “chi-chi men”, “dykes” and “wickers”. And there is more: the laughter that often rings out as soon as a gay man’s or woman’s back is turned . . . and sometimes to their faces... Perhaps the term should be limited to include the more blatant and prejudicial approach to homosexuals, accompanied by behaviour meant to demean those individuals. As Working Paper #5 states, “Homophobia in its widely politicised context refers to physical violenceand strong verbal, economic, and juridicial abuse against gays.” Working with that definition, and judging by the behaviour discussed above, there is widespread homophobia in Barbados, an interesting phenomenon in a place that is well-known in the rest of the Caribbean for rampant homosexuality. And the homophobia is directed more pointedly at men than women...Dr Winston Crookendale added his views on male homophobics – those who take the prejudice to the extreme. “I’m of the opinion that what is happening with homophobics is that they don’t like what they see in the mirror and project it on others – they’re not comfortable with themselves and their maleness,” he said. “And a man who is not comfortable with his maleness may not only be uncomfortable with homosexuals, but may also be uncomfortable with the opposite sex – using, misusing or abusing women on some level. “A man who is comfortable with his maleness is not homophobic, for he knows who and what he is.” ...“As far as I know we have not done any surveys in Barbados on homosexuality. We need to have some indepth work, some hard data, on sexuality in general and especially on the areas that we have been talking about to understand them more clearly,” Selby said."

Abramschmitt C (2007). Is Barbados Ready for Same-Sex Marriage?: Analysis of Legal and Social Constructs. SALICES Conference Paper. PDF Download.

Massiah E, et al. (2004). Stigma, discrimination, and HIV/AIDS knowledge among physicians in Barbados. Rev Panam Salud Publica (Pan American Journal of Public Health), 16(6): 395–401. PDF Download.

IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden. - (Global Gayz): - News/Reports. - Sodomy Laws: Barbados. - Barbados Gays & Lesbians Against Discrimination: Links to News Articles. 

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.
 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: - Dominican Republic: Gay pride out in the open: A year ago this week, we were trying to ascertain whether an semi-anonymously announced LGBT rights rally had taken place in one of Santo Domingo's main outdoor parks. There was no mention of the rally in the local papers but a friend would later tell me that close to 250 people congregated at the Duarte Park in a show of LGBT public visibility. -  Dominican Republic: Gay bars shut down: Clave Digital reports that a gay dance club called Arena (pictured) and a neighboring gay bar called Punto, two establishments in Santo Domingo's historic colonial zone, were shut down late Saturday night for alleged 'noise violations.' Numbers vary but sixteen to thirty-five patrons and staff members were also detained overnight and then released yesterday morning without charges. - Cierran discoteca y colmadón en Zona Colonial; afirman es represión contra comunidad gay (Translation).

Gay Pride in the Dominican Republic: Considering the news coming from the Dominican Republic this week, it's worth noting that the 3rd Annual National Gay and Lesbian Pride Forum will take place this Friday, June 23rd, at the Clarion Hotel. The event is organized by the non-profit organization Amigos Siempre Amigos (Friends, Always Friends) and registrations for the event are still being welcome. - It is being sponsored by the Presidential Council on HIV/AIDS. - Dominican Republic: Gay Hotels, Gay B&B, Gay Resorts, Gay Lodging. - Dominican Republic: Gossip show host is gay one moment, ex-gay the next: Anyway, back to May, in a televised interview described here, Ramirez said that he knew he was gay from a young age and that part of his comfortability with being gay stemmed from his parents' acceptance. He also said that he had never been with a woman and would never be with one "because he did not consider himself to be a hypocritical person like many who are married with kids but have a man as a lover."

Proceso de expansión de la comunidad homosexual en la sociedad dominicana en los últimos 30 años (Translation): Tipos de homosexuales: La mujer visible. - El travestí artista. - El travestí: trabajador sexual. - El Homosexual Afeminado: (Partido o Loca). - El Gay "Promedio". - El bisexual. - El Sanky Panky, Un Bisexual Comercial. - El Bugarrón: Un Heterosexual que también tiene relaciones con otros hombres. - Consecuencias psicosociales de la homosexualidad en República Dominicana (Translation).

Dominican Republic: The Caribbean's offbeat gay-friendly getaway (Alternate Link). - What I Learned in the Dominican Republic. - Native Sex Tourists? Eroticized Returns and US-Caribbean Circuits of Desire. - Dominican Republic Local Custom Tips: No matter what you see or read, men kissing in public are a no-no and taboo, more so if there're children present, homosexuality is accepted but should be restrain of sexual affection in public. Santo Domingo, Nightlife: Gay life (often gay for pay) flourishes in old Santo Domingo at such clubs as Jay-Dee's, 10 José Reyes (tel. 809/333-6905). Your host is Jerry, the owner, who hails from Philadelphia. Gay Dominicans and visitors mingle to enjoy wet T-shirt contests, drink specials, drag shows, and male strippers. Another hot club is Aire, 313 Mercedes (tel. 809/689-4163), also in the Colonial Zone. This is a cavernous club in a restored colonial mansion with an open-air courtyard. It's one of the best gay or gay-friendly clubs (some straights go here, too) in the Caribbean, and is best visited on Friday or Saturday nights.

Gay stigma complicates AIDS education says Dominican health official: "''I know there are men who turn to bisexuality to avoid the stigma society puts on them for being homosexuals, they stay gay but live with women to show they are okay, that further compounds the situation of HIV/AIDS as many women get infected in that kind of relationship,'' she revealed to Caribbean Net News. The AIDS activist added that half the number of men infected on the island have had sex with other men. According to her, about 60 per cent of the 260 people living with HIV/AIDS in Dominica are men. "

Sexual behaviors and risk factors for HIV infection among men who have sex with men in the Dominican Republic. - Meeting the Challenge of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Dominican Republic: The AIDSCAP Response, 1992-1997. - Broadening the social base of AIDS prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Dominican Republic (DR). - AIDS and the Enigma of Bisexuality in the Dominican Republic. - Research: Sexual Attitudes and Behaviour of Adolescents (Alternate Link). - Knowledge, attitudes, practices and behavioral changes in men who have sex with men (MSM) belonging to support groups in the prevention of HIV/AIDS and community development. - Predominance of heterosexual transmission of HIV in Dominican Republic: AIDS surveillance data from 1983 - 1990.

Special Science Issue Examines HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean (2006):  Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, have 85 percent of the Caribbean's cases. At the end of last year, the Caribbean's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 1.6 percent was the second-highest in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa. Haiti has an adult prevalence rate of 3.8 percent, and the Dominican Republic 1.1 percent. Although the Dominican Republic's prevalence rate is less than one-third of Haiti's, surprisingly the Dominican Republic's HIV/AIDS programs are far inferior. "It's 1,000 times better in Haiti," says Keith Joseph, a physician at Columbia University who has provided HIV/AIDS care in both countries. Researchers estimate that 78 percent of infections in the Dominican Republic now occur through heterosexual sex, some of which is linked to a booming sex trade. Prevalence rates as high as 12 percent have been documented among sex workers.

Symposium on "Male Sex Work Identities and their Implications for Health": The conference placed a regional emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean, since most of the presenters drew on research experiences in this area. The morning session was devoted to a case study of male sex work among “bugarrones” and “sanky pankies” – local terms for different identities of men who have sex with men – in Boca Chica and Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. The presenters included the four members of an international team of collaborating professionals who conducted a three year ethnographic study of Dominican male sex work between 1999 and 2001 (Mark Padilla, Emory anthropology doctoral student; Leonardo Sánchez, Executive Director, Amigos Siempre Amigos [ASA], Santo Domingo; Dr. Martha Arredondo, clinical counseling and services, ASA, Santo Domingo; and Dr. Armando Matiz, Executive Director, Alcanza Tu Armonía, Bogotá, Colombia). Each of the collaborators presented on various aspects of this extensive qualitative–quantitative ethnographic study. Padilla discussed the political-economic context of the tourism industry and the ways the rapidly changing informal sector economy contributes to the emergence of new types of male sex work in the Dominican Republic. Sánchez described the cultural / linguistic definition of the identity terms “bugarrón” and “sanky panky” in the Dominican context, their usage in discourse, male sex workers’ self-identification practices, and the historical emergence of each identity category. Dr. Arredondo discussed more survey results from the study, including data on condom use, perception of HIV risk, and sociodemographic profile. And finally, Dr. Matiz discussed the psycho-emotional stance of sex workers and the ways that it influences their sexual behavior, self-representation practices, performance for wives and girlfriends, and risk for HIV.

A 'gay paradise' revisited: perceived HIV/AIDS impact on the male sex industry in Santo Domingo: Changes in male sex work related to AIDS suggest the continuation of a culture of paid male to male clandestine sexual relations. This industry's successive expansion with sex tourism and constriction with AIDS appears to evince how pervasive this 'underground' culture may be, and how speedily it may react to environmental threats. - Tourism Development in the Dominican Republic Growth, Costs, Benefits and Choices: There is still a sector of the tourism industry which thrives by servicing foreigners sexually, both hetero- and homosexual." ... Of urgent concern is sex tourism involving minors. A human rights group concluded in the early 1990s that sexual exploitation of both girls and boys was condoned "and most likely promoted" by the government, tourist services, travel agencies and hotels.

Stigma, Social Inequality, and HIV Risk Disclosure among Dominican Male Sex Workers:  Data derive from long-term ethnography and qualitative in-depth interviews with 72 male sex workers, which were used to analyze the relationships among experiences of stigma, social inequality, and patterns of sexual risk disclosure. Thematic analysis of interviews and ethnographic evidence revealed a wide range of stigma management techniques utilized by sex workers to minimize the effects of marginality due to their engagement in homosexuality and sex work. These techniques imposed severe constraints on men’s sexual risk disclosure, and potentially elevated their own and their female partners’ vulnerability to HIV infection.

Final Report for the AIDSCAP Program in the Dominican Republic October 1993 to April 1997: "Amigos Siempre Amigos (ASA) is the first NGO in the Dominican Republic dedicated exclusively to working with men who have sex with men (MWM). It has six years of experience implementing HIV/AIDS prevention under its "Triunfadores" and "Alto al SIDA" projects.... ASA found that many self-identified sub-groups existed within the larger MWM population. This included bisexuals, transsexuals, transvestites, and homosexuals. Some of the sub-groups also involved in commercial sex work deemed necessary the development of specific STI/HIV/AIDS  strategies for these sub-groups. - Final Report for the AIDSCAP Program in the Dominican Republic October 1993 to April 1997: Executive Summary. 

Rights for Everyone: Media, Religion, and Sexual Orientation in the Dominican Republic: "In the summer of 2002, groups that support the recognition of the GLBT rights were denied permission to celebrate a gay pride march. In the last months, newspapers and radio and television programs have dedicated time to the issue of homosexuals and the role of the media. In the midst of arguments in favor and against, the polemic seems to endure, but the root of the debate is not so much if “homosexual characters” on television are suitable for children, but if gays should be permitted to work and be present in the media at all. In the Dominican Republic, no laws exist against “homosexuality” and the ones that referred to “acts against the good customs or the morale” have been eliminated. Hence, the GLBT community is not persecuted legally; however, depending on their social status, gays or lesbians may feel more or less perturbed since the more conservative segments of Dominican society frown upon any public display of their sexual preferences. There still remains a lot of work to be done to overcome these social prejudices and ideological obstacles.  Although many mentalities change very slowly, they do tend to change in the end. Ten or twenty years ago, nobody could have imagined that Dominican newspapers would publish articles stating that persons belonging to the GLBT community have the same rights as the rest."

Boston Office Client Wins Significant Asylum Victory (Pro Bono Bulletin, January, 2004: PDF Download): "In the Dominican Republic, homosexuality is regarded as deviant, shameful, and contrary to social and religious norms. From the time he realized he was gay at age 14, Mr. V. suffered continuous persecution from those all around him. He was physically and verbally harassed in high school, at university, and in the workplace, often by peers. Teachers and supervisors did nothing to limit these attacks; indeed, sometimes the officials themselves assaulted him. Mr. V. also understood that his country's police would offer him no protection. In the Dominican Republic, the police have a long history of arbitrary and capricious treatment of gay Dominicans. Mr. V. saw police officers stand silently by while he was threatened in public places, and he knew they had a larger history of refusing to provide protection to gay people, of imprisoning gays without just cause, and of engaging in violence against them. The year before Mr.V. came to the U.S., the only other person from his town whom he knew to be gay was found brutally murdered and sexually mutilated after having suffered years of similar abuse. After 18 years of this life, Mr. V.'s job brought him to the U.S. While visiting with family before his seminar was to begin, Mr. V. quickly came to see how different life could be in America..." - Gay asylum seeker safe at last:A Dominican man wins safe harbor in America at last N/A. - Gay Dominican granted assylum in the US due to sexual orientation.

Dominican Republic: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2001: Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 4, 2002: "Homosexual and transvestite detainees report to gay rights advocates that during detention the police have held them in a darkened room and have given them the alternative of performing fellatio on guards or being placed in a locked cell with the most dangerous prisoners, where the detainees presumed that they would be raped, beaten, or both. Other informants confirmed that the police use the prospect of being locked in with the most dangerous prisoners as a threat." - The fight for civil rights: Homosexuality and the Dominican Republic: There are no varying degrees of homosexuality, though in certain circles within Latin America to be homosexual, and partaking in homosexual acts, are mutually exclusive. In the Dominican Republic a male who has sex with another male, supposedly maintains his masculinity if he is the one penetrating, and not being penetrated. This is because to be the “penetrator” implies a construction of power, and the man who is penetrating is in control, therefore still a man. Even in the jail cultures this is evident, as those who perform oral sex are ‘gay,’ while those who receive it are “straight.” The simple point of being considered a man, even after partaking in a perceived homosexual act, is an insight that cannot be overlooked. The importance of this fact can be tied into the machismo rhetoric that is played out daily in the lives of men and women across the island. According to machismo attitudes, a man is strong, courageous, and brave. He is always in control, never ‘bowing’ to anyone, while in turn the female is an inferior, non-controlling being. She is somewhat of a non-valued, submissive object whose sole purpose is to clean the house, or bear children. .. In the Dominican Republic these dichotomies in the end don’t mean much, as both men who partake in any form of homosexual activities, or even have the appearance of an effeminate male, are ostracized or considered gay by the society at large. Men who behave in an effeminate manner, or who are suspected of playing the passive role in same-sex intercourse, bear the brunt of social stigma because in doing so they ceded their claims to manly status... Homosexuality is not illegal in the Dominican Republic, and terms referring to the disintegration of the moral good have been removed from legal documents, but protection for those in the GLBT community is still basically non-existent.

Dominican Republic LGBT Movement: A Sociopolitical and Cultural Approach: The goal of this project is to analyze the formation and development of the LGBTQ movement in the Dominican Republic, from a historical and sociopolitical perspective. It also looks at providing visibility to the Dominican sexual minorities through observing their presence in the past and the present, and acknowledging their contributions to the development of society. In order to achieve these goals, I am examining the formation and development of the movement in the context of the Dominican Republic’s social, cultural, economic, and political dynamics. I also analyze documents, publications, and dissertations, and conduct interviews with members of LGBTIQ groups and individuals... Lesbian sexual activism has been led by radical feminist women. The majority of non-feminist and moderate feminist-lesbians accept the rules of the dominant heterosexual group. Most of them are closeted. They fear the family rejection and maintain clandestine sexual relations with other women. Many of them are fervid critics of the LGBTQ movement. They reject the fact that activism breaks the class-boundary that guarantees a privileged position to the small elite in an exclusive unequal society. There are few adult gay men involved in activism. Most of them are closeted and have clandestine homosexual relationships. They also reject the crossed-class relations prevailing in the movement. Gay men activists are mostly young, students, workers, employees or NGO’s members whose participation in the movement has destroyed in some cases their family relations and job positions. Bisexual people are not interested in the LGBTQ struggles. Many of them are either married or divorced, and have children. They like to enjoy the benefits of a semi-clandestine acceptable position in society that eases their integration in the dominant heterosexual group and allows them to maintain relations with gays, lesbians, transsexuals, and transgender. Transgender, transsexuals, and tranvestis represent the underground society. Most of them are very poor and are prostituted as an early age in order to survive. They are usually abused by the police and die in violent incidents at a very young age...

IGLA Report. - The Eastgarden. - Gay Dominican Republic. (Global Gayz) - Gay Santo Domingo. - News/Reports. - Gayscape.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

 GRENADA:  -  Gov't says no to homosexuality: Health Minister Ann David-Antoine says the Grenada Government will not consider a recommendation to decriminalise homosexuality and prostitution on the island. A recent study commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recommended the decriminalisation of homosexuality and prostitution. - Grenada will not consider legal reforms to allow homosexuality, prostitution: Health Minister Ann David-Antoine said religious and cultural factors would prevent the government from taking up legal reforms advised in a report by the United Nations Development Programme in Barbados after a September conference on combating HIV/AIDS.

Sexuality, Gender, HIV Vulnerability & Human Rights in Grenada: A Shadow Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (PDF Download): The buggery laws of Grenada effectively criminalize consensual homosexual relations, providing for up to 10 years of imprisonment. Beyond establishing a legal ground for the deprivation of life, liberty, health and opportunity, these laws preserve ingrained stereotypes about homosexuals and, in effect, serve to strengthen social stigmas against them.

Brenda Hood: 'It will not happen again': Minister of Tourism, Senator Brenda Hood has responded to negative feedback from large sections of the population following the visit to the island by hundreds of gay passengers on a cruise ship...  However, she said that she intends to hold discussions with cruise lines, and cruise line agents in Grenada to inform them that promiscuous behaviour is not allowed in Grenada.

DOMINICA: - Dominica okay with gay tourists: Dominican authorities said on Friday they had an open door policy towards all tourists despite public concerns that several gay cruises had been planned for the country, beginning November. Dominicans have inundated talk shows with calls protesting the proposed arrival of gay tourists, calling them bad news for the country's youths. - Dominica has no plans to decriminalize homosexuality. - LGBT rights in Dominica.

Laughing and Learning in Dominica: Homosexuality began to surface as a hot-button topic in the Caribbean with the formation of gay cruises in the late ‘90s. In Dominica, the government was eager to promote tourism, but many people opposed allowing gay cruise tours to visit the island. A local singer had released a song for Carnival called “Iron Underpants” which advised local men to craft chastity belts and not drop the soap if “The Gays” came to town. The buzz was reflective of a society that didn’t hate gays with the violence of Jamaica, but viewed us as a disappointing, amusing anomaly. Gay Dominicans were spoken of with a kind of patronizing affection. “Ah! There goes the village gay.” They were tolerated as long as they conformed to public perception of what gays should be. I became friends with a gay couple in the village that had been together for many years. In addition to raising a niece and caring for an aging mother, they were advocates for persons living with HIV. From the start, we did our best to take care of each other... By the time I finished in 2006, I had made my peace with Dominica. Was the island homophobic? Wi (yes). But bearable and mostly enjoyable?

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

SAINT LUCIA: -  St. Lucia May Ban Sizzla Over Violent, Anti-Gay Lyrics. - What is your opinion on the opposition to Sizzla performance in St Lucia? - St Lucian law may permit same-sex marriage, says local hotelier. -  Gay and Outlawed in St Lucia: A Change is Coming? - St. Lucia's Le Sport Resort--Gay-friendly in the Caribbean.

- (Global Gayz): - News/Reports.- IGLA Report. - Sodomy Laws: Saint Lucia.
 

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: - Kevin Aviance leaves hospital, St. Marteen gay bash ring leader surrenders. - Four convicted in St. Maarten attack on gays. - U.S. Virgin Islands Court LGTB Couples With Wedding Bells N/A. - Community leaders talk about legalizing same-sex marriage as way of boosting tourism in U.S. Virgin Islands. 

(Global Gayz): - News/Reports.

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.
 

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: -  Britain Scraps Homosexuality Laws: "Britain has scrapped laws making homosexuality a crime in its five Caribbean territories, acting after legislatures refused to do so."

British Virgin Islands. - The Eastgarden. -

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

Search GLBTQ: The Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture. - Search BGLAD. - Search the QRD. - Search all GLBT Resource Directories. - Search Google.com. - Search Google Scholar. - Search Google's G:LBT Directory. - MSN Search. - Search findarticles.com: many full text articles and papers.

Academic Searches: Search IngentaConnect: The most comprehensive collection of academic and professional publications. - Search Project Muse: Scholarly Journals Online. - Search JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive. - Search The National Library of Medicine.
 

CAYMAN ISLANDS: -  "Rainbow" welcome for gay cruisers in the Cayman Islands: Eight years after they were forced to make a detour to avoid the wrath of Caymanians, 3,200 gay tourists landed on Grand Cayman on Tuesday to a "rainbow" type welcome in the traditionally Christian Island. - Gay cruisers vow to return to the Cayman Islands: The cruise passengers on the Navigator of the Seas which came to Grand Cayman last week and was billed as one of the biggest gay cruises in history may have caused a stir in the Cayman Islands amid protest and welcome, but the passengers have vowed to return for what they said was another "overwhelmingly positive" response. - Gay cruisers return to Cayman. - Gay cruise sparks debate in Cayman.

Gay Marriage Law Imminent? A ruling in the Dutch Supreme Court, which ordered Aruba to recognise same-sex marriages registered in the Netherlands, has rekindled the gay rights debate in the Cayman Islands... The People for Referendum said the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), which overseas the governance of Cayman, could force gay marriages down the throats of the Islands' residents.

Grand Cayman says No to homophobic singers: Dramatic change can happen quickly, especially in the bright light of the Caribbean sun.  Up until five years ago homosexuality was a crime on the Cayman Islands, the anti-gay laws openly supported and promoted by religious leaders, the Cayman Ministers Association.  In fact, the Cayman islands were at one time governed by Jamaica which is just slightly safer than Iran for gay men and women. So it is nothing short of remarkable to discover that the Cayman Immigration Department has officially declared their islands off limits to anti-gay performers, particularly from their next door neighbor and former master, Jamaica.

Cayman Islands Government Minister Defends Ban on Gay Sex. - Cayman Churches Want Anti-Gay Law. - Britain Forces Caribbean Territories To Accept Homosexuality. -  Repeal of Caymans’ Anti-Gay Laws Strains ‘Partnership’ with Britain. - Cayman Islands Still Furious Over Sodomy Repeal N/A. - Bahamians Protest Gay Cruise Ship. - Gay cruise banned from the Cayman Islands. - Trouble In Paradise: dangers gay travelers face in overseas places that are anti-gay. - Gay Group Opposes Ban by Cayman Islands.

A View of Distinction on the White Paper: "3. Good Governance ­ Human Right ­ (Changes in law legalising homosexuality) While undoubtedly laws against homosexuality can, in certain circumstances be classed as discriminatory, they reflect a view deeply held by religious people in the Cayman Islands and strongly advocated by the local churches, (although these sometimes seem to have lost the true Christian spirit). I am in favour of abolition of illegality of homosexual acts but feel that we must ensure that the new legislation completely restricts these acts to consenting adults in private. I feel it is most important the the legislation prohibits public display and prohibits public support of homosexuality. All that should be removed is the criminal sanction. I also feel it is important that the age of consent be 19 (not 18) in order to prevent homosexuality becoming accepted in schools.>>" - Between Colony and Independence: Constitutional Modernization in the Cayman Islands.

LATIN AMERICAN / CARIBBEAN RESOURCES

GENERAL: - Latin America hosts gay soccer cup for first time. - Gay football World Cup kicks off: The gay World Cup has kicked off in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, showcasing more than 500 footballers from 28 countries. - Gay rights in Latin America - Out of the Closet - And into Politics. -  Gay Pride in Latin America: Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, El Salvador, Chile & Colombia (2007). - Fighting stigma against sexual minorities in Latin America. - Special Science Issue Examines HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean (2006). - Fighting stigma against sexual minorities in Latin America. - Las uniones homosexuales en América Latina (Translation). - Movilh valora parcialmente resultados de encuesta de cohesión social y minorías sexuales en América Latina (Translation): El organismo valoró que nuevamente una encuesta refleje el descenso de la discriminación a las minorías sexuales, pero lamentó que Chile aún se ubique por bajo de los índices de tolerancia de América Latina.

The fourth regional conference of ILGA in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC): taking place in Lima, Peru September 20 – 23, 2007. It aims at gathering a large number of activists dealing with LGBT issues in Latin America and the Caribbean (ILGA members and non members) to further progress their advancement. - America Latina: Derechos Civiles LGBT (Translation). - De Hechos y derechos: Minorias sexuales en Americana Latina (Translation): Gays, lesbianas, trasvestidos y transexuales latinoamericanos han ganado espacios de tolerancia en grandes ciudades. Pero tener una preferencia sexual diferente a la de la mayoría es todavía un peligro en gran parte de la región. Vea la situación en cada país en este especial de BBC Mundo. - Los derechos de los homosexuales toman fuerza legal en las Américas (Translation).

VII Latin American and Caribbean Lesbian Feminist Meeting to Be Held in Chile, 2007. - Feminist history in Latin America. - La relación feminismo-lesbianismo en América Latina: una vinculación necesaria (Translation). - La realidad lesbiana en América Latina (Translation):  Ser lesbiana en Cuba no es igual que en Nicaragua o Bolivia. Realidades culturales diferentes, pero que en América Latina parecen tener un denominador común: ¿lesbofobia, invisibilización o machismo? - Apuntes para la historia del Movimiento Lésbico en América Latina (PDF Download) (Translation). - Lesbianas en América Latina: de la inexistencia a la visibilidad (PDF Download). - Lesbianas y discriminación laboral en América Latina (PDF Download). - Primera marcha lésbica de México y América Latina. - Movimientos Gay, Lésbico y Trans de América Latina son Recibidos por el Ayuntamiento de Madrid (Translation).

For a Day Against Homophobia: "We don't want more or less rights than anyone else; we want exactly the same rights," says Mexican transsexual Sofía Valero, one of millions of Latin Americans who suffer discrimination and are at risk of gay bashings and murder because of their sexual orientation. In Brazil, 2,511 people were the victims of homophobic murders between 1980 and 2005, in Mexico 1,000 were killed in the last nine years, and in Argentina, 50 were murdered between 1989 and 2004... Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the largest number of homophobic crimes in the world, says PAHO in a study on anti-homophobia campaigns carried out in the past few years in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico... There are no available statistics on the number of homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals in Latin America and the Caribbean, but PAHO estimates that between six and 20 percent of men in the region have had sex with other men at some point.

Protestas y avances concretos en el Día de Combate a la Homofobia (Translation). - Es hora de poner fin a los crímenes homofóbicos en América Latina y el Caribe (Translation). - Homofobia De Estado en America Latina y el Caribe: Un estudio latinoamericano y caribeño de las leyes que prohiben la actividad sexual con consentimiento entre personas adultas (PDF Download). State Homophobia in Latin America & the Caribbean: A Latin American and Caribbean survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults (PDF Download).  - Homofobia = violencia política (Translation). - La homofobia que se vive en el continente (Translation): La homofobia en los países latinoamericanos es algo se vive día a día y que sigue sufriendo el sector homosexual de la sociedad. Estudios señalan que las causas de esta se podrían derivar entre otras cosas, por los factores sociales (machismo) y religiosos que permean la conducta de la población, sin embargo no hay una clara explicación.

Homofobia en América Latina (Translation): Tres casos históricos en tres países latinoamericanos, en tres épocas diferentes, ilustran la virulencia de esta persecución. Una persecución institucionalizada, tanto por el Estado como por la sociedad civil. Latin, inheriting America of the judeocristiana tradition, is not free of the persecution of lesbians, gays, transgéneros and bisexuals. The few historical registries that exist give account of an institutionalized persecution, as much by the Be in favor as of the civil society. Three historical cases in three Latin American countries, at three different times, illustrate the virulence of this persecution. - La homosexualidad no mata, la homofobia sí, dicen sus familiares en Uruguay (Translation): "La homosexualidad no mata, la homofobia sí", afirmó la mexicana Irma Angel en Montevideo, en un acto en el marco del III Encuentro por la Unidad Familiar en la Diversidad con representantes de 14 países de América y Europa. El acto, en homenaje a las personas y familias víctimas de la homofobia, se realizó en la Plaza de la Diversidad Sexual, ubicada en el casco antiguo de Montevideo, donde se reunieron algunas decenas de personas con pancartas que rezaban consignas como "En una de cada cinco familias alguien no es heterosexual"...

Violence Unveiled: Repression Against Lesbians and Gay Men in Latin America (1996, by by the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA, Canada, Word Download): In his trilogy entitled "Memory of Fire", Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano recounts the story of Captain Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador who in 1513, during the course of his journeys, discovered a group of fifty indigenous men in Panama who had engaged in homosexual relations. Taking the men to a nearby mountain clearing, Balboa had the men stripped naked, then set his dogs on them, allowing the animals to tear the men to shreds. Various chronicles of the Spanish conquest of the Americas provide accounts of homosexuality among several of the indigenous peoples inhabiting the region -- an element which, together with others, served to provide "moral" justification for the genocide which marked the conquest... Five hundred years after the arrival of the European conquerors, lesbians and gay men in the Americas continue to be subjected to widespread human rights violations. In countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, sexual minorities6 have been faced with arbitrary arrest, torture and assassination. Paramilitary groups or death squads in Brazil have been responsible for the death of more than 1,200 gay men and lesbians since 1982. In Nicaragua, Chile and Ecuador, homosexual activity is a crime punishable by lengthy prison sentences. Throughout the region, vaguely worded laws or police regulations are frequently used to arbitrarily detain lesbians and gay men and subject them to various forms of abuses, including extortion. During the last few years, there has been a gradual emergence in some Latin American countries of associations of gay men and lesbians which, as part of civil society, have attempted to press for their basic human rights.

You can't be gay, you're Latino! - Coming Out in Spanish: "Raymond Pifferrer's father, a Cuban-born janitor, threw him through a window when he told his father he was gay..." - Among Latinos, Homosexuality Still Creates a Quandary. - 'Latin Boys': A Fine Line Between Heaven and Hell N/A. - Sources of Homophobia in Latin America. - Cultural Dynamics of Homophobia in Latin America (PDF Download). - Family, Religion, and Homophobia: (Alternate Link) "While homophobia might not be greater in the Latino community than other communities, deeply rooted connection to machismo and religious traditions, in addition to cultural , often cause issues of homophobia unique to the Latino/a community..." - Information about Masculinities and perceptions of homosexual males in the Caribbean. - Living la vida loca. (Alternate Link) (Alternate Link). - Transfóbia y homofóbia en Latinoamérica (PDF Download). - The LGBT Community and the Media in Latin America.

Health Care Settings: Latin America and the Caribbean (PDF Download) "Homophbia: Despite the emergence of gay rights organizations and some acceptance of openly gay men in liberal social circles, homophobia remains widespread throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and is a major factor in HIV/AIDS-related discrimination. In many sectors of Latin American society, homosexual activity is acceptable if the man only penetrates his partner. Men who are penetrated or perceived as being penetrated are considered “less-thanmen” and therefore “legitimate” subjects of stigma. Violence against men known or suspected of having sex with other men is common in the region and includes rape and murder. Cases have been most documented in Brazil but are reported from almost every country. HIV/AIDS is often a rationale for attacks, with the victim being accused of spreading the virus, whether or not he is HIV-positive.Violence often occurs in sexual situations and is fueled by the attacker’s fear and anger that he is being accused of being a man who is penetrated. (Mott et al 2002) Although sexual activity between two men is legal in most countries in the region14, the police use laws referring to public morality to prevent men from congregating or to restrict their behavior in public or semi-public places such as bars. Police violence against homosexual men is also widely reported. Homophobia in the health services in the region is widely reported..." - Homofobia en América Latina - Parte 1: De Porfirio a los Montoneros Una persecución institucionalizada, tanto por el Estado como por la sociedad civil.

The Pro-Homosexual Movement in the Hispanic World.  - NACLA: Gay Rights in Latin America. - Sexual Diversity Celebrated. (Alternate Link) - Resúmen derechos de los gays en América Latina N/A. - Argentina, México, Uruguay y Chile países con menos rechazo hacia homosexualidad y aborto. - Greed, Indifference Continue to Kill Gay Men in Central America. - Latin America: Gays, lesbians say they face harassment, discrimination, violence in Latin America N/A. - Coming to America to be gay - migration to United States of gay Latin Americans.

En profundidad I  Las minorías sexuales y la ley. - Iglesias en pie de guerra: Contra derechos humanos de gays en América Latina. - ALC Noticias Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay: "Episcopal Church asks for tolerance for homosexuals." - Cyber Café Initiative: El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. - América Latina y el Caribe: Resumen LGBT 2002: Parte 8: Desarrollo organizacional. - La homofobia:  La homofobia en la América Latina de hoy en día tiene sus raíces más profundas precisamente en el machismo que fue traído desde Europa por los colonizadores, que consideraban la sodomía como el peor y más sucio de los pecados. Al desembarcar en el Nuevo Mundo, los europeos encontraron una gran diversidad de pueblos y civilizaciones, cuyas prácticas sexuales eran muy diferentes de las costumbres europeas. Muchas de las costumbres de las civilizaciones encontradas por los europeos tenían puntos de vista distintos con respecto a la desnudez, la honra, la virginidad, el incesto, la poligamia, y sobre todo, la homosexualidad, el travestismo y la transexualidad. Al poco tiempo los europeos se dieron cuenta de que la práctica de la sodomía era común en todo el nuevo mundo. Los conquistadores se escandalizaron profundamente al encontrarse con esculturas que mostraban en forma explícita relaciones entre personas del mismo sexo, generalmente hombres. En México, América Central, América del Sur -tanto en los Andes como en la Amazonia-, se dieron cuenta de que muchos indios e indias gustaban de la practica de sexo anal, a lo que terminaron asociando con la falta de conocimiento por parte de los grupos indígenas de la existencia de Dios y la Iglesia...

Homosexuality and Political Activism in Latin American Culture: An Arena for Popular Culture and Comix. (Alternate Link). - La Homosexualidad es Amor .- Is South America the next big travel frontier for gay travellers? - Europe Exported Lesbian/Gay Oppression to Americas.  - Historico: Preparan Primera Marcha Lesbica De America Latina. - Europe Exported Lesbian/Gay Oppression to Americas. - Living A Dual Life: Hispanic gays who left their homelands to escape persecution have discovered an intoxicating freedom. They just can't tell their families. - Identidad, Cuerpo, Exclusión Y Gays.

Machismo Normalizes While Silences Homosexual Acts: In his book "De Los Otros" (Of the others?) Joseph Carrier publishes the findings of his 25 year sexual ethnographic study in Mexico. One of the interesting things in his findings is the sexual intermingling of gay and straight males. This practice is apparently common and hinges on constructions of binary gender roles within same sex acts. Machismo is a key factor in Mexican and Latin American masculinity operating to normalize this trangressive sexual behavior in heterosexual males. The notion of the high sex drive of those with 'machismo' permits them to "copulate with anyone male or female' (199) as a proper expression of heteronormative male sexuality.

Portrait of An Activist: Meet one of a new breed of activists that is changing the face of AIDS and queer organizing in Latin America. - Retrato de un activista: Un miembro de la nueva generación de activistas que está redefiniendo la lucha contra el VIH/SIDA y en pro de los derechos humanos de las comunidades lgbt en Latinoamérica. - Sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in Central America. - Gays Make Unexpected Gains Although Legal Hurdles Remain: Same-sex couples are eligible for marriage-like status in Buenos Aires; similar bills have been presented elsewhere. 

Changes and Variations in Male Homosexuality in Latino and Indigenous Societies: Book Regerence. - Hispanisms and Homosexualities.(Book Reference) - Homosexuality in Non-European Cultures. - Latin American and Caribbean Regional Conference (Chile, 2004) (Alternate Link): "Homosexualities, globalization and social movements in Latin America, are the topics that will open the conference of the International Lesbian and Gays Association (ILGALAC) in September..."  - Submitting or Resisting: Exploring the Popular Central American Belief that Homosexuality Can Be Induced. - Male homosexuality and spirit possession in Brazil.

En el portal de ISLA TERNURA cuentas con un lugar para los adolescentes gays y homosexuales que apuestan por la ternura. - Site Index. - Papeles Para Pensar. - Artículos Literarios. - Carta De Navigantes: Desde El Corazón. - Amores De Leyenda. - GLBT Identity in Latin America (Power Point Presentation). - Anthropological Research on Homosexuality in Latin America and the lesbian Drought. - Sexualidades, Salud y Derechos Humanos en América Latina: Reunión Regional, 7-9 de mayo de 2003, Lima, Perú: Panel: Sexualidad, investigación y política: Posibilidades, límites, contradicciones, paradojas y avances (PDF Download). -  GLBTQ: Latin America: Colonial.

Le macho et le maricon: ...Pourquoi l'Amérique latine est-elle la région du monde où l'homosexualité, et principalement l'homosexualité masculine, est à ce point objet de rejet, de mépris et de haine? À cela deux raisons : l'armée et l'église... Il n'est donc pas possible aujourd'hui pour les hommes et les femmes homosexuels de ce continent de vivre et d'affirmer leur différence. Les seuls homos tolérés (et encore), sont les travestis, les drag queens, portant des vêtements de femmes.  Ils sont considérés comme des comiques, ridicules, peut-être fous, mais ne constituant pas une menace contre la masculinité. Heureusement il y a quelques exceptions..." - El movimiento antivida y el movimiento en pro del homosexualismo invaden América Latina.

Las construcciones culturales de la masculinidad. - The Lieutenant Nun: Construction of Masculinity in Colonial Latin America. (Alternate Link) - Machismo y psicología social. - Discontinuidades En El Modelo Hegemónico De Masculinidad. - La deconstrucción masculina. - La impunidad por homofobia y discriminación que sufre la comunidad GLBT en América Latina y Caribe: PDF Download. - Queering Development: Institutionalized Heterosexuality in Development Theory, Practice and Politics in Latin America. - Tortilleras: Hispanic and U.S. Latina Lesbian Expression (PDF Download).

Transgenderism in Latin America: Some Critical Introductory Remarks on Identities and Practices. - The First International Transgender Rights Conference. - Differences in the situations of TG and TS people in different countries around the world. - América Latina, un infierno para transexuales (Translation): La vida para un gay o una lesbiana ya es difícil y problemática, pero para un transexual es doblemente dura, ya que se trata de seres humanos que con su imagen atentan contra las normas impuestas por la herencia de una sociedad machista, intolerante y fascista. Argentina, Panamá, Perú, Chile, México, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, Bolivia, etc, son países en donde desgraciadamente los derechos de las personas transexuales brillan por su ausencia, lugares donde son perseguidas, humilladas y asesinadas.

Etno-história da homossexualidade na América Latina. - The Gay History of Planet Earth: South America. - Homosexualidad en la Historia (Translation). - “La Escondida Senda”: Homosexuality In Spanish History And Culture (Published without the title as the Introduction to Spanish Writers on Gay and Lesbian Themes. A Bio-Critical Sourcebook, ed. David William Foster (Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999), pp. 1-21.): PDF Download. - An extract from: Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia - Jeffrey Quilter and John W. Hoopes, Editors (PDF Download): "These Yanomami myths are among the more interesting and salacious narratives... This sounds eerily like Freud’s mythic scenario of the psychic constitution of women, in that they fear that the female organ is the mark of the castration of their (original) penis. These myths strongly assert the primacy of men in creation and fertility, in a mythic Eden, before humans were separately sexed, when there was only male sexuality, and when male homosexuality was the norm. A common narrative feature of these myths is the subordinate place, even the absence, of women in mythic biology and reproduction. The Mesoamerican notion of a primeval and seemingly coequal aged mother-father creator couple may not exist in the Intermediate Area, where, in myth and imagery, the male term of binary sexual difference is frequently privileged..." - Anti-gay, anti-trans Inquisition in the Americas... Colonialism: the real ‘Apocalypto’. - Notable Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Transgender People of Latino/a Descent and Friends N/A.

Historia de la Homofobia en America Latina (Translation): Cuando se descubrió América, España y Portugal vivían su período de mayor intolerancia contra la sodomía -la práctica de sexo anal. En la recién descubierta América se instalaron tribunales de la Inquisición -tribunales del Santo Oficio, en México, Perú y Colombia. En Brasil por su parte, representantes del Santo Oficio enviados desde Europa hacían inspecciones regulares a la colonia, denunciando y apresando a los que practicaban la sodomía. Esta práctica era considerada como uno de los pocos crímenes que las primeras autoridades de Brasil tenían autoridad para castigar con la pena de muerte sin necesidad de consulta previa con el rey de Portugal. La homofobia en la América Latina de hoy en día tiene sus raíces más profundas precisamente en el machismo que fue traído desde Europa por los colonizadores, que consideraban la sodomía como el peor y más sucio de los pecados. - Historia de la homofobia (Translation): the marica term and its variants, is used anywhere in the world Latin American, even in Brazil, as one of the most frequent insults against the homosexuals. The same hostility falls on the lesbians, who undergo serious violence on the part of their families, ex--lovers or companions, inspired by lesbofóbia that treats the lesbianism as an insult and a threat to the machista culture.

The Status and Trends of HIV Transmission in Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM): "It is well recognized that since the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, male "homosexual and bisexual transmission" has been the mode of HIV transmission most frequently reported as the probable route of infection of cases included in national surveillance reports, explaining as many as 43.5 percent of the total number of AIDS cases reported in the region. However, throughout the last decade limited attention has been paid to this population subgroup due to the emerging spread of HIV among injecting drug users and through heterosexuals transmission. Since its epidemiologic importance in the region remains crucial, new, honest efforts should be undertaken to understand the complex structural, cultural and behavioral contexts in which men have sex with men in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as their connection with HIV risks..."

It's what you do: most of the men who have sex with men in the South probably don't identify themselves as `gay' or `bisexual': Certainly Latin America remains the site of what Peter Drucker called `transgenderal undergrounds', which he believes persist because of underdevelopment, in contrast with the West where the advanced market economy permitted the emergence of reciprocal gay relationships.  The photographer Annie Bungaroth who has worked with communities of transvestites in Lima, believes that in a highly macho culture men in dresses are less threatening to their prospective partners than men as men; the tradition of cross-dressing is a posture of submission, which gains acceptance in the poor and marginalized suburbs. In the early stages, as in the West, the spread of HIV in Latin America was primarily from male-male sex. In Lima, five years ago the ratio of men to women testing positive was seventeen to one; now it is one to one. This suggests that many men have infected girlfriends and wives. Societies which regard men who have sex with men as a negligible minority suddenly take notice when HIV appears among women and children. It is at this stage that governments acknowledge the significance of such minorities, but their national AIDS programmes and strategies are often unable to cope. Marvin Leiner argued in Sexual Politics in Cuba: Machismo, Homosexuality and AIDS, that Cuba's programme of quarantining those infected with HIV reflects an idea of the uncontrollable nature of male sexuality...

Los hombres y la epidemía del VIH. - UN Says Latin America Must Confront Growing AIDS Crisis. - Regional consultation on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support programmes in Latin America and the Carribbean for men who have sex with men: PDF Download. - HIV infection and AIDS in the Americas:  lessons and challenges for the future (2003, Word Download). - HIV/AIDS among Latin American MSM: tailoring programmes to their specific needs. - Molecular Epidemiology of HIV Type 1 in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Argentina. - Behavioral and health services research to improve gay youth's access to HIV/STD services in Latin America. - Community-based advocacy: better practices mobilizing political will in five countries in Latin America based on regional cooperation.

Caribbean 2006  AIDS Epidemic Update (PDF Download): Nearly three quarters of the 250 000 [190 000–320 000] people living with HIV in the Caribbean are in the two countries of the island of Hispaniola: Dominican Republic and Haiti. But national adult HIV prevalence is high throughout the region: 1%–2% in Barbados, Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and 2%–4% in the Bahamas, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago. Cuba, with prevalence below 0.1%, is the exception. Overall, an estimated 27 000 [20 000–41 000] people became infected with HIV in 2006 in the Caribbean. Although HIV infection levels have remained stable in the Dominican Republic and have declined in urban parts of Haiti, more localized trends suggest that both countries need to guard against possibly resurgent epidemics. - HIV among gay and other men who have sex with men in Latin America and the Caribbean: A hidden epidemic?

UNAIDS, 2006: Latin America (PDF Download):  Two thirds of the estimated 1.7 million people living with HIV in Latin America reside in the four largest countries: Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. However, estimated HIV prevalence is highest in the smaller countries of Central America; just under 1% in El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama, 1.5% in Honduras and 2.5% in Belize in 2005. HIV transmission is occurring in the context of factors common to most of Latin America; widespread poverty and migration; insufficient information about epidemic trends outside major urban areas; and homophobia. Unprotected sex between men accounts for as much as 25%-35% of reported cases of HIV in countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala and Peru. - The Overlooked Epidemic: Difficult as it is to assess the regional epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, HIV is aided and abetted by a few common factors: widespread poverty, massive migration, weak leadership, homophobia, tensions between church and state, and a dearth of research into patterns of transmission. Compounding the problems, HIV-infected people face pervasive stigma and discrimination, sometimes even from doctors and nurses... Although machismo leads many Latin American countries to play ostrich about homosexuality, Mexico and Peru each openly report that their epidemics are driven mainly by men who have sex with men (MSM)--including many who also have sex with women. The Caribbean, in contrast, largely has a heterosexual epidemic that's fueled by the popularity of sex workers, who do a thriving business with both locals and tourists. - Alta incidencia del sida en Latinoamérica por relaciones homosexuales (Translation).

SIDA y sexo entre hombres en América Latina: Vulnerabilidades, fortalezas, y propuestas para la acción - Perspectivas y reflexiones desde la salud pública, las ciencias sociales y el activismo (Carlos F. Cáceres, Mario Pecheny y Veriano Terto Júnior, Editores, 2002) - PDF Download): Confrontando la epidemia de VIH/sida entre los hombres gay y otros hombres que tienen sexo con hombres en América Latina y el Caribe (Carlos F. Cáceres y Mario Pecheny). - Epidemiología de la infección por VIH entre los hombre que tienen sexo con hombres en América Latina y el Caribe: Situación Actual y Recomendaciones para la Vigilancia Epidemiológica (Carlos F. Cáceres). - Contexto Sociocultural del Sexo entre Varones (Gabriel Guajardo S.). - Vulnerabilidad de hombres gays y hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (HSH) frente a la epidemia del VIH/sida en América Latina: La otra historia de la masculinidad (José Toro-Alfonso). - Prevención del VIH/sida en “hombres que tienen sexo con hombres” {Hernán Manzelli y Mario Pecheny). - Lecciones aprendidas de las actividades y programas para la prevención del SIDA entre hombres con prácticas homosexuales (Tim Frasca). - La salud de los hombres gay y otros hombres que tienen sexo con hombres: Desafíos para la tercera década de la epidemia de VIH/sida (Veriano Terto Júnior). - La epidemia de sida se mantiene estable en América latina (Translation) (Alternate link).

Tropical Medicine Central Resource: "Cuba and the Caribbean: A large screening study within Cuba has revealed that the overall prevalence of infection in that country is extremely low, with higher rates in visiting foreigners and in homosexuals. Those infected are isolated to contain the epidemic. Other Caribbean countries differ greatly from Cuba. In these countries transmission appears to be primarily homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual, with a minor contribution of intravenous drug abuse. Bisexuality is generally believed to be common in the Caribbean because homosexuality is not well tolerated; therefore many homosexuals are married with families. Subsequent spread to the general heterosexual population has occurred, and pediatric AIDS has resulted. Further spread of HIV in the community has been promoted by cultural patterns of multiple sexual partners and a propensity for unprotected sex. Quinn's study of 4000 women attending a prenatal clinic in Port au Prince, Haiti, demonstrated a 9.2% HIV infection rate. High rates of infection have also been seen in the English-speaking Caribbean countries such as the Bahamas and Bermuda... Central and South America: In Latin America, HIV infection is most common in Brazil and Mexico. Initial infections appeared in homosexual and bisexual males with subsequent spread to the heterosexual community via bisexuals. Intravenous drug abusers contribute to spread in a limited fashion, particularly in Argentina and Brazil. Unlike Africa and Asia, prostitution does not appear to be a major factor..." - South and Central America HIV/AIDS statistics: Summary. - The HIV epidemic among MSM in Latin America and the Caribbean (Power Point Download). - Shifting perspective and taking action: UNDP's response to HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean (2005, PDF Download). - The scale of Latin America’s AIDS epidemics.

Homosexuality and Political Activism in Latin American Culture: An Arena for Popular Culture and Comix. - Director alemán invitado al 'Ciclo Rosa' en Bogotá dice que solo cree en las películas personales: "El evento organizado por el Goethe Institut es el único espacio destinado a la proyección y discusión de cine de temática homosexual en todo el país. Y como es costumbre, el ciclo también incluye talleres, exposiciones y las conferencias, que tratarán el tema 'Fe y diversidad sexual'. Uno de los invitados es el director teutón Michael Brynntrup, quien presentará ocho de sus cortos y uno de sus largometrajes..." - Face Value:
Contemporary video works from Colombia. - Auge del cine ‘gay’: "Las películas españolas de contenido homosexual predominan en una retrospectiva sobre esta temática que presenta hasta la próxima semana el Festival LaCinemaFe, que trae a Nueva York lo último del cine de España y América Latina..."

ILGA-LAC: the Latin American and Caribbean Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). We work for human rights and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people at Latin American and Caribbean level. With more than 130 member organizations ILGA-LAC is the second largest ILGA region, in number of members, after Europe. ILGA-LAC has been gathering organizations throughout the region since its first meeting in Mexico in 1991. - Lesbians, health and human rights: a Latin American perspective: a contribution for discussion and reflection. - Sexual Rights of Gays, Lesbians, and Transgender Persons in Latin America (PDF Download). - "The struggle against discrimination based on sexual preference is a matter of human rights": an interview with Alejandra Sarda: Alejandra Sarda is the coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Program of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). - Movimiento GLBTTTI y movimientos revolucionarios en América Latina (Translation).

Orientaciones: revista de homosexualidades: Número 9: América Latina (Translation).

La espia del Sur: Literatura Gay Y Lésbica. - Artículos. - Temas. - Autores. - Biografías. - GLBTQ: Latin American Literature. - Gay & Lesbian Themes in Hispanic Literatures & Cultures. - glbtq: Latin American Art. 

The Ultimate "Planet Out" Guide to Queer Movies (Subject: Latino/a Images). - Shergood Forest: Gay Movies - Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Mwxico, Peru, Venezuala). - Queer Bodies in Contemporary Spanish Cinema. - Almodovar & after - memorable film portrayals of gay Latin American and Spanish characters. - Queer Issues in Contemporary Latin American Cinema - 2004 - by David William Foster. - Festival of International Transgender Film. - ¿Como se representa la comunidad gay, lesbiana, bisexual y transexual en el cine y los programas de televisión que miramos? (Translation)

Dispatch from Brazil: Mix Brasil Celebrates Record Attendance With Innovative Programming: It is one of Brazil's greatest contradictions that a deeply religious country is also one of the most sexually liberal societies in the developing world. Despite the influence of Catholicism and other fastly growing religions (Brazil is home to the world's largest number of Catholics), sexual minorities have a visibility in Brazil that makes it an anomaly among Latin countries. In such a unique context, the growing success of the Mix Brasil Film and Video Festival of Sexual Diversity - which celebrated its 13th year with record attendance in Sao Paulo from November 10-20 (and will tour abridged programs to Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia) - is an important exploration of film and sexuality in a pluralistic world.

Almodovar, referente en Hollywood y América Latina (Translation): El tratamiento de la temática homosexual y de identidad de género en las películas de Pedro Almodóvar es “un punto de referencia fundamental” en América Latina y en Estados Unidos, según afirmó ayer el profesor del Departamento de Lengua y Literatura de la Universidad de Arizona, David Foster. Foster, que ha realizado estudios sobre la construcción de la identidad sexual y el feminismo en la cultura urbana de países latinoamericanos como Argentina, Brasil y México, impartió ayer una ponencia dentro del Festival Gay-Lésbico de Artes Audiovisuales de Andalucía IDEM.

To "The SEARCH Section" For The Best Search Engines & Information Directories, The Searchable Sites to Locate Papers & Abstracts... and The Sites - Some Searchable - Where "Free Papers" Are Available!

Resource Links: - Pridelinks.com's Latino Links. - QRD: GLB People in the Americas.  -  Gayscape's GLB Latino & Latin American Resources. - Nuestra Guia Gay: a place where you will find the most complete tour through the out and about of some of the most important cities in México, south USA and Latin America: what to do, where to stay, services and all kind of stuff that you need to know for enjoying your visit. - FELIPE'S Things Latino at EgOWeB: Lesbiana, Homosexual,Gay, Femenista CyberRaza N/A. (Archive Link) - Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Web Resources: Latin America and the Caribbean. - CiudadaniaSexual.org. - Asociaciones y organizaciones de Gays y Lesbianas foráneas. - Gay News: Latin America, by Countries. - Free Forum Online: We look at Health & Social issues For the Men who have Sex with Men Communities in the Caribbean.  FRee FORUM attempts to emphasize information and articles from writers within this region. In your style with your words, your articles serve as our MSM Caribbean Voice. Red Lesbica: Connecting the Latina Lesbian Community. 

Associació Cristiana de Gais i Lesbianes. -  Arenal the Spanish Speaking Lesbigay Homepage. - Global Gayz: Index of Countries. - IGLHRC: Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean & South America. - ILGA Index. - Liens: Amérique Latine.  - Diversidad Sexual. - "Homosexual occupations" in Mesoamerica? - LLEGÓ established El Centro Nacional de Información N/A (Archive Link) (The Resource Information Center) to gather program and population specific information and resources targeted to the Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community.  LLEGÓ compiles and distributes program models, curriculums, leadership tools, behavioral studies, brochures, pamphlets and other prevention and education materials targeted to Latina/o Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals & Transgenders. - GLBT Groups in Central and South America. - Cultura Lesbiana: Blogs de Lesbianas (Translation).

Blabbeando Blog: Latin American GLBTQ News / Commentaries: 2005 to Present.

Latina Lesbian & Bisexual Bibliography. - Bibliography of Works on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Chicanos/as and Latinos/as. - Bibliography of Sexuality Studies in Latin America (Alternate Link, Many items on homosexuality). - Bibliography of Gay and Lesbian materials for Latin America in the University of Chicago Library. - Bibliography - Latin America: "There is a surprising wealth of material in English on LGBT issues in Latin America (and more in Spanish and Portuguese). This body of work is growing rapidly and has come to include almost all countries in the region (with a few exceptions, such as Bolivia and Paraguay)..." - Latin America: Gay (GLBT) Life & Movements. - Curricular Guide to Gay / lesbian / Queer Studies. - Bibliografía Anotado: Minorías Sexuales: Argentina (PDF Download).

Books: - De Los Otros : Intimacy and Homosexuality Among Mexican Men - 1995 - by Joseph Carrier. - Latin American Male Homosexualities - 1995 - edited by Stephen O. Murray, Clark L. Taylor, Manuel Arboleda G., and Paul Kutsche (Review). - Hispanisms and Homosexualities - 1998 - edited by Syllvia Molloy and Robert McKee Irwin. - Latino Gay Men and HIV : Culture, Sexuality, and Risk Behavior by Rafael M. Diaz. (Abstract via Routledge's Subject Search "Lesbian and Gay Studies"  (Alternate Abstract)  - Machos, Maricones, and Gays: Cuba and Homosexuality - 1996 - by Ian Lumsden (Review). - In the Land of God and Man: Confronting Our Sexual Culture by Silvana Paternostro (Review) (Review) - Sexualidad y homosexualidad: Por el derecho a la diferencia - 1997 - by Aedo, Joaquín et al. (Review in Spanish). - Puentes de respeto: Creación de apoyo para la juventud lesbiana y homosexual; una guía de referencia del American Friends Service - 1992 - by Committee y el Comité de Servicio Chileno Cuáquero. [Bridges of Respect: Supporting the lesbian and gay youth; a reference guide by the American Friends Service Committee and the Chilean-Quaker Service Committee.] by American Friends Service Committee (Review). - Before Night Falls - 1994 - by Reinaldo Arenas (Review). - Latino Truck Driver Trade: Sex And HIV in Central America - 2001 - by Jacobo Schifter. - Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Participation in African-Inspired Traditions in the Americas - 2004 - By Randy P. Conner (Review) (Review).

Search Engines & Directories: - Google.com. - Google Scholar. - MSN Search.- Proteus Search. - Wikipedia Listing of Search Engines. - All GLBT Resource Directories. - Google's GLBT Directory. - Yahoo's Directory. - DMOZ: Open Directory. - BGLAD. - Wikipedia. - GLBTQ: The Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture.

Directories for Open Access Resources: - The Directory of  Open-Access Journals. - Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR). - Yahoo Theses Access Directory. - Google Directory: Free Access Online Archives.

Open Access Collections From Multiple Sources: - Australian Research Online. - hal: articles en ligne (French / English Version). - Archive Ouverte INRIA. - Hispana. Directorio y recolector de recursos digitales. - Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina y el Caribe, España y Portugal.  - Pacific Rim Library. - OAIster: a union catalog of available digital resources. - OpenPDF.com. - OpenJ-Gate: Open Access. -  findarticles.com: many free full text articles and papers. - Scribd.com. 

Search for Free Papers / Book Reviews: - All Papers are free at BioMed Cental (Open Access) & PubMed Central. - HighWire Press (Numerous Free Papers).  eScholarship Repository:  University of California, e-books, journals and peer-reviewed documents. - DSpace Eprints: Australian National University. - DSpace@MIT. - Virginia Tech: Digital Library / Archives. - eScholarship: U of California. - University of Southampton CiteBase. - Eprints: University of Nottingham. - T-Space at The University of Toronto Libraries.  - NTUR, National Taiwan University. - Allacademic: Some free papers to either read online or download as PDFs. -  UNESCO: Articles, Report, Dissertations, Films, etc. - Kyoto University Research Information Repository. - Doctoral dissertations and other publications from the University of Helsinki. - E-LIS: eprints in Library & Information Services. - CogPrints: eprints. - RePEc: Research Papers in Economics. - DiVa: Scandinavian University Documents. - The International Gay & Lesbian Review (IGLR): Book Reviews & Abstracts. - InterAlia, a peer-edited scholarly journal for queer theory. 

Search for Free Articles, Papers or Reports:  FindArticles.com - The Free Library. - France Queer Resources Directory. - Séminaire gai. - The QRD. - GLBTQ: The Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Culture. - Human Rights Campaign. - IGLHRC: The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. - ILGA: The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. - ILGA-Europe: International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association of Europe. - Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. - Kinsey Institute Staff Publications. - Sexual Policy Watch Working Papers. -  NAZ Foundation International: Primary aim is to improve the sexual health and human rights of marginalised males who have sex with males, their partners and families in South Asia and elsewhere.  The World Health Orgazization. - The Body: The complete HIV/AIDS Resource. - POZ Magazine: Archive dates back to 1994.

Search for Papers, with Abstract Available (Some May Be Free): The National Library of Medicine (Free papera are highlighted). Abstracts from searches are available at: ERIC: The Education Resources Information Center (Many Free Documents). - Informaworld. - Oxford Journals (Some Open Access Content). - Springer Journals (Some Open Access Content). - ScienceDirect Journals. - University of California Press Journals on Caliber. - IngentaConnect. - Project Muse. - JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive. - Wiley Interscience. - Cambridge Journals Online: Follow Link. - Sage Journals. - Palgrave Macmillan Journals. - Emerald E-journals. - University of Chicago Journals. - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Journals. - HeinOnline (Access Free Content, Law Papers). - SSRN: Social Science Research Network.

Search for Free Theses / Dissertations, May Include Papers: Library & Archives Canada, Electronic Free Theses Download. - Virginia Tech: Electronic Theses and Dissertations. - DSpace@MIT. - Electronic Theses & Dissertations BYU. - OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Center & Worldwide ETD Index. - Australasian Digital Theses Program (Abstracts Given & Free Downloads). - Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Abstracts). - PQDTOpen Dissertations (Abstracts & Free Downloads: ProQuest). DART-Europe: Free Access to European Doctoral Theses. - The British Library's EThOS service (British Doctoral Theses Abstracts). - DORAS: Free Theses,  Ireland. - TEL (thèses-en-ligne). - DiVa: Scandinavian Theses / Other Documents. - BORA: Open Archive, University of Bergen, Norway.  - Doctoral dissertations and other publications from the University of Helsinki. - LUP: Lund University Publications. - National Cheng Kung University Institutional Repository. - HKU Scholars Hub. - Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertacoes (BDTD), Brazil. - OAIster: a union catalog of available digital resources. Free papers also available - OpenThesis.org.

Full Text Articles / Papers / Studies / Reports (and/or Abstracts):

Abramschmitt C (2007). Is Barbados Ready for Same-Sex Marriage?: Analysis of Legal and Social Constructs. SALICES Conference Paper. PDF Download.

Gómez ER, Villegas GT (2007).  Este tema no es científico: La violencia simbólica en el conocimiento y discurso académico. La Manzana, 2(3). Full Text (Translation)

Gutiérrez JMS (2006). Hacia una nueva sensibilidad social en el reconocimiento del “otro”: las minorías sexuales. La Manzana, 1(2). Full Text (Translation)

IRB, Canada (1999). Mexico: Treatment of Sexual Minorities. Issue Paper prepared by the Research Directorate of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada on the basis of publicly available information, analysis and comment. Full Text. Update, 2000: PDF Download.

Izazola-Licea JA, et al. (2000). Assessment of non-response bias in a probability household survey of male same-gender sexual behavior.  Salud Pública Méx, 42(2): 92-98. Full Text. 

Izazola-Licea JA, Gortmaker SL, De Gruttola V, Mann J (2000). Prevalence of Same-Gender Sexual Behavior and HIV in a Probability Household Survey in Mexican Men. Journal of Sex Research, 37(1): 37-43.  Full Text, Find Articles: findarticles.com. (Journal of Sex Research: Table of Contents)

Jesus ML (2006). Los costos ocultos de la masculinidad. .La Manzana, 1(2). Full Text (Translation)

Kovac, Amy L (2002). Africa's rainbow nation. Journal of Southern African Studies, 28(2). Full Text.

La Fountain-Stokes, Lawrence  (2007). LGBTT and Queer Studies in the Caribbean. PDF Download. xx

Laguarda R (2002). "Vamos al Noa-Noa": de homosexualidad, secretos a voces y ambivalencias en la música de Juan Grabriel. In: Actas del IV Congreso Latinoamericano de la Asociación Internacional para el Estudio de la Música Popular. Mexico, 2002. PDF Download. PDF Download.

Lind A, Share J (2003). Queering Development: Institutionalized Heterosexuality in Development Theory, Practice and Politics in Latin America. In: Feminist Futures: Re-Imagining Women, Culture and Development, edited by Kum-Kum Bhavnani, John Foran and Priya Kurian, Zed Press, 2003: 55-73. Full Text.

Massiah E, et al. (2004). Stigma, discrimination, and HIV/AIDS knowledge among physicians in Barbados. Rev Panam Salud Publica (Pan American Journal of Public Health), 16(6): 395–401. PDF Download.

Meyer AM (2003). Anthropological research on homosexuality in Latin America and the lesbian drought. Kaleidoscope: University of Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship. Fall, 2003. Full Text.

Morales MI (1997). Submitting or Resisting: Exploring the Popular Central American Belief that Homosexuality Can Be Induced. Full Text.

Morales ZR (2000). El movimiento lésbico en México: reconstrucción de una historia no escrita. Espiral, 7(19). PDF Download.

Narrain A (2005). Brazil Resolution on Sexual Orientation: Challenges in Articulating a Sexual Rights Framework from the Viewpoint of the Global South. Paper presented at The First International Conference of Asian Queer Studies, Bangkok, Thailand, July. PDF Download. Download Page.

Ortiz-Hernández L (2004). La opresión de minorías sexuales desde la inequidad de género. Política y Cultura, 22: 161-182. Full Text. PDF Download.

Ottosson D (2007). State Homophobia in Latin America & the Caribbean: A Latin American and Caribbean survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults. PDF Download.

Ottosson D (2007). Homofobia De Estado en America Latina y el Caribe: Un estudio latinoamericano y caribeño de las leyes que prohiben la actividad sexual con consentimiento entre personas adultas. Un informe de ILGA: Asociación Internacional de lesbianas y gays. PDF Download. 

Parry O (1996). In One Ear and Out the Other: Unmasking Masculinities in the Caribbean Classroom. Sociological Research Online, 1(2). Full text.

Pinnock AMN (2007). “A Ghetto Education Is Basic”: (Jamaican) Dancehall Masculinities As Counter-Culture. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 1(9): 47-84. PDF Download.

Plaza RC (2006). Trabajo sexual masculino y factores de riesgo en la adquisición de VIH/SIDA en Xalapa, Veracruz. La Manzana, 1(2). Full Text (Translation).

Posa R, Sardá A, Villalba V (2005). Lesbianas en América Latina: de la inexistencia a la visibilidad. Orientaciones: revista de homosexualidades, 9: 37-53. PDF Download. Full Text.

Prieur A (1994). 'I am my own special creation.' Mexican homosexual transvestites' construction of femininity. Young, Nordic Journal of Youth Research, 2(3): s. 3-17. Full Text.

Ruvalcava HD (2006). El cuerpo del héroe. Homofobia y homosociedad en El águila y la serpiente de Martín Luis Guzmán. La Manzana, 1(2). Full Text (Translation).

Toro-Alfonso J, et al. (2006). Strengths and Vulnerabilities of a Sample of Gay and Bisexual Male Adolescents in Puerto Rico. Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 40(1): 59-68. PDF Download. Full Text.

Trumbull, Charles (2002). Prostitution and Sex Tourism in Cuba. Cuba in Transition, 11: 356-71. PDF Download. Download Web Page.

White RC, Carr R (2005). Homosexuality and HIV/AIDS stigma in Jamaica. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 7(4): 347-359. PDF Download. PDF Download.

Williams J (1998). Homosexuality and Political Activism in Latin American Culture: An Arena for Popular Culture and Comix. Other Voices, 1(2). Full text.

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