Religious community turns up temperature on LGBT issues ......

Since recent happenings on the LGBTQIA circuits and public agitations in various forms the church community is not taking it lying down and have been landing a battering on the issues casting hell fire on homosexuality and the associated abominations while leaving out the other "sins", the Seventh Day Adventists in particular despite the perception in many circles that their well pressed suited males are on the down low prepared a radio program offering restorative therapy as relief to gays which has been repeated three Sundays in succession on the main religious station LOVE 101 FM here is the post on my sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch where I added the audio as well:

I stood frozen in my living room around 6pm today after coming in from the rain to hear this coming from a psychologist of all persons who ought to know the difference between orientation and practice when it comes to homosexuality. The ease in which he confuses the two is disturbing and I wonder where he got his training? He described homosexuality as a disorder.

http://www.centralja.org/index.htm

Seventh Day Adventist pastor and psychologist (we are seeing more of those popping up in churches) Alton Williams pastor for the Spanish Town District of Churches on a SDA produced program aired on the religious station Love 101 FM went on about the churches stand on the "Homosexual Lifestyle" as himself and the host coins it. On the question of what homosexuality is? he responded:

"Homosexuality is an erotic attraction to persons of ones own sex, it includes sexual thoughts, feelings and fantasies and other overt sexual acts with persons of ones own sex." the host wanted to verify if only thoughts constituted a designation of being gay to which he responded "the volume of the literature on the subject the experts have included sexual thoughts and fantasies in the definition of homosexuality."

I managed to catch the program some two minutes into its run so I may have missed the initial introduction but on the question of the church's stance on homosexuality he responded: "As seventh day Adventists we believe sexual intimacy belongs only with the marital relationship of man and woman, this was God's design at creation God created Adam & Eve male and female Genesis 1:27 male and female created he them. He went on to clarify that the SDA was not homophobic but the biblical positions are what they follow but he affirms the human dignity of persons therefore persons should respect persons, "God hates the sin but loves the sinner." Homosexuality is no different from other sins he tried to point out.

He continued that, "homosexuality is a manifestation of disorder and brokenness in human inclination and is caused by sin coming into the world, we believe that while everyone is subject to fall by God's grace and encouragement of the community of faith .... should reach out in compassion to these individuals, should be God's heart or hands"

To the question if homosexuality is natural or learnt, genetic or cultural? he answered: "....this has been a long debate, as to whether or not persons are born homosexual or later on they learnt and embrace the behaviour, the studies done on the subject are not conclusive that there is any causal relationship between genetics or biology ....... all the findings have been controversial and speculative ...." on the social setting and family setting he concludes that "based on observation ones family setting and background shapes who that person becomes, socialization all objects and products if socialization, there have been studies that suggest a dominating mother or a weak ineffective father could shape the orientation or the inclination of the male towards homosexuality or the absent father or weak ineffective father could also influence a girl turning towards her own sex, past sexual experience, trauma, maybe the person was violated or raped by an older person or a child was exposed to the practice and sometimes this affects their self esteem and they practice later on as an alternative lifestyle.

The host suggested lesbians do not know how to relate to males so they become gay the girls may have gone to a girls school or have no brothers or have no exposure to males, Mr. Williams went on to add that sons feel ignored or rejected by fathers so he seeks it in other males as part of male bonding where persons take advantage suggesting paedophilia I think. Mr. Williams also said that if a mother distrust or fear males she can teach this to her sons or daughters which could influence sexual behaviour or ones orientation.

I thought orientation was more a genetic matter than a behavioural one.

Mr. Williams went on to quote Genesis 2:24 .... therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife .... sex is for pleasure and procreation in the context of marriage he was careful to say that the SDA does not condone singling out a particular group for scorn "We don't believe we should abuse persons or kill them because they are homosexuals but God's word condemns homosexuality" He said that through the redemptive process individuals can be helped to overcome homosexuality as they can any other sin. The restorative recommendations came near the end where he said "you might need to get counseling and intervention, change the environment, what you read"he continued that professional help is needed and an exercise of will. He discourages the habits once they have been discovered and try to enter a healthy home environment. He would look at what the person is watching or reading, he would present a healthy perspective of what a human sexuality should be.

"Homosexuality is a deviation from God's will"

Then as expected the Sodom and Gomorrah issue came up, he was quick to point out that homosexuality was not the only reason that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah but because they refused to take the word of God and his compassion.

To contact the SDA office:

Lifeline

Communications Dept

Central Jamaica Conference SDA

P.O Box 81

Spanish Town

St. Catherine

communcation@centralja.org

Tel: 984 - 5576 0r 7

www.centralja.org

Here is what I could capture as I caught it after it began plus it was raining outside, apologies for the slight distortions:

Lifeline SDA 17.07.11 on Homosexuality by glbtqja1

Will this argument between the LGBT lobby and the sections of the evangelical community ever end anytime soon as recent publications and responses to the ad campaign though heavily critiqued by myself and others and a barely luke warm response from the community itself ever end? Check out this article from the Jamaica Observer on the pastoral responses to the video JFLAG launched,

Please see: Gay TV advert angers clerics

Some quotes include:

".................associate pastor of the Tower Hill Missionary Church in Kingston, Mark Dawes, suggested that the church needed to be more vocal in denouncing the homosexual lifestyle.

“I am prepared to be loving and compassionate to all persons, irrespective of their class or creed or persuasion, but that love and compassion to all and sundry will not stop me from speaking the truth in love as I see the truth,” said Dawes, a former journalist.

“As innocuous and as innocent as that public service announcement might appear, it is part of a wider plan by militant homosexuals to gradually desensitise Jamaicans to homosexuality, so that homosexual behaviour and practice can become mainstream in Jamaica,” asserted the pastor.

Rev Monsignor Kenneth Richards, rector at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston, was just as sceptical of the message of the PSA, pointing out that the Catholic church did not embrace homosexual unions since they were not in keeping with religious principles.

“I don’t think we should tolerate it, we should object to it. I don’t think it should be broadcast,” said the priest when asked his views on the PSA."

Other sermons have been caustic on the subject with some giving the impression that the lobby is about to launch a gay blitz to force everyone to accept homosexuality and that even the expected Antichrist figure head will also be gay and hate women, why are some church leaders and commercial preachers using this now to make themselves look good in their followers' eyes? sad that the word of God is being twisted I feel to create panic and fear whilst making the big bucks with prosperity gospel messages. What is the church really about?

Peace and tolerance

H

Jamaican Law, Homophobia, and HIV .........

By Maurice Tomlinson of AIDSFREEWORLD
August 1, 2011

The Global Commission on HIV and the Law has been holding a series of regional consultations to interrogate the connection between punitive laws and their impact on the HIV epidemic. The Caribbean leg took place from April 14-15, 2011, and Maurice Tomlinson made the following submission highlighting the nexus between the 147-year-old Jamaican anti-buggery law, the country’s notorious homophobia (measured at 82.2% of the population), and the grossly disproportionate HIV prevalence rate of 32% among Jamaican men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) as against 1.6% in the general population.

Section 13.1 of the 2004 revision of the Staff Orders for the Jamaican Public Service prohibits discrimination on the grounds of, inter alia, sexual orientation.1 However, Jamaica’s 1864 colonially-imposed buggery law still criminalizes any form of consensual adult male same-sex intimacy, whether private or public.

2 The HIV prevalence rate among Jamaican men who have sex with men (MSM) is 32% as against 1.6% in the general population.

3 Alternatively, in Cuba, Suriname, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic (Caribbean countries without such legislation), the HIV prevalence among MSM ranges from one to eight per cent. It would be an over-simplification to argue that the presence of Jamaica’s anti-buggery/gross-indecency legislation is the cause of the high HIV prevalence rate among MSM. However, the legislation certainly contributes to the island’s legendary climate of homophobic violence, discrimination, and deep stigma associated with homosexuality that the Jamaican Ministry of Health has acknowledged are among the factors driving the national epidemic.

4 For example, popular Jamaican dancehall artiste and 2010 Grammy winner, Buju Banton, sang about shooting and killing gays and when challenged about his homophobia he said it was justified under Jamaican law.

5 The criminalization of male same-sex conduct not only breeds homophobic violence, it also systematically drives Jamaican lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals (LGBTI) underground, away from effective HIV prevention, treatment, care and support interventions.

6 The major LGBTI organization on the island, Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG), reports that homophobic attacks by state and non-state actors are common. AIDS-Free World is working with J-FLAG to effectively document these attacks. In February, 2011, there were two police raids of gay clubs in Kingston and Montego Bay, and during the Montego Bay raid, heavily armed officers kicked in doors, aggressively accosted patrons, indiscriminately beat and pistol-whipped them and chased everyone from the venue. Throughout the operation the police hurled homophobic slurs encouraging clientele of nearby clubs to join in the melee by throwing bottles, stones and other missiles as individuals fled for their lives. The club served to house many LGBTI who had been evicted from their homes because of their sexual identity, and the major AIDS NGO on the island, Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, regularly used it for HIV outreach. Even though Jamaica does not criminalize same-sex female intimacy, amongst the general population, the belief is that any form of homosexuality is outlawed. The result is that “corrective rapes” of lesbians to make them straight are not uncommon.

7 There is no record that such rapes have ever been perpetrated with the use of condoms.

8 The presence of the anti-buggery/gross-indecency law also precludes the distribution of condoms in Jamaican prisons with the result that the HIV prevalence rate among inmates is twice the national average. In 1997, the Commissioner of Corrections, on the advice of his prison doctor, proposed the distribution of condoms in the island’s prisons but was advised that he would be aiding and abetting a criminal offence namely buggery. Condoms thus remain contraband in Jamaica’s prisons although there are reports that prison warders do a thriving business trading in them. Prisoners who can’t afford to pay resort to the use of plastic bags. Jamaica’s supermarkets are now “going green” and will soon cease to distribute this major prophylaxis used by inmates. The result is that the HIV and AIDS prevalence among prisoners is expected to rise. Once they are released, their partners are also at risk, as the Ministry of Health has recorded high levels of unprotected sex and promiscuity among the Jamaican population.

Section 26 (b) of the Jamaican Constitution ”saves” the country’s 1864 anti-buggery law from judicial review, along with all pre-independence laws. Although the Constitution is being reviewed in order to provide for an expanded Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, a savings law clause is being re-inserted with regard to sexual offences. The result is that Jamaican courts will still be precluded from reviewing these laws in line with evolving societal standards and norms. A domestic legal challenge (as happened in India to repeal that country’s anti-sodomy law9) is therefore seemingly impossible in Jamaica.

Jamaica’s homophobic laws have been justified by relativist arguments based on Judeo-Christian theology. Notwithstanding the fact that section 21 of the Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion,10 the very idea that homosexual identity or practice is somehow “non-Christian” demonstrates the unfortunate role that religious leaders have played in perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Cultural arguments are also often used as justification for retaining Jamaica’s homophobic laws. However, as the UN Secretary General reminded the world on World Human Rights Day December 10, 2010, while cultural sensitivities may make it difficult to recognize the human rights of LGBTI, culture must never be used as justification for the denial of fundamental human rights. Finally, some of Jamaica’s elected officials have claimed that they are unable to change Jamaica’s buggery/gross indecency law until “society changes first.” While reasonable people may disagree as to the relationship between laws and attitudes, it is clear that the job of legislators is to ensure that all laws are fair, non-discriminatory, and comport with basic principles of civil and human rights. Jamaica’s legislators have failed to address the fundamentally discriminatory nature of the buggery/gross indecency law by allowing it to stand.

Conclusions
Jamaica’s anti-buggery/gross-indecency law contributes to violence and abuse by police and private citizens of LGBTI citizens. The laws also marginalize LGTI and inhibit them from seeking treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases that increase the risk of HIV transmission. The prevailing association of HIV and AIDS with homosexuality compounds the marginalization of many people living with HIV and AIDS, who face additional stigmatization through the presumption that they have engaged in illegal sex. It also keeps those at highest risk of the disease—including people who do not engage in homosexual sex—from seeking HIV-related information and health services.

Recommendations to the Commission
• Denounce and condemn Jamaica’s anti-buggery/gross-indecency laws;
• Demand that Jamaica ensure that all allegations of excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officials based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression are investigated promptly and thoroughly;
• Demand that Jamaica train all law enforcement and criminal justice officials on international human rights standards and nondiscrimination;
• Demand that Jamaica conduct awareness raising programs, especially through the education system, to address social stigma and exclusion of individuals and communities on grounds of their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression; and
• Demand that Jamaica facilitate access to social services, and especially health services, regardless of the individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and/or HIV status.

DOWNLOAD

ENDS

1 http://www.moj.gov.jm/pdf/rev_staff_order.pdf, page 80.
2 Offences Against the Person Act 1864 s 76 criminalizes anal intercourse; s 77 criminalizes any attempt by males to engage in anal intercourse; and s 79 criminalizes any act of “gross indecency” between men.
3 2009 UNAIDS report.
4 See, e.g., Jamaican Ministry of Health, Jamaica HIV/AIDS/STI National Strategic Plan 2002-2006, January 2002, p. 10; see also Zadie Neufville, “Fear Among Gay Men Said to Fuel HIV/AIDS Cases,” Inter Press Service, March 5, 2002; Garwin Davis, “Homophobia Remains High. Gays Remain in Seclusion, Health Officials Worry,” The Jamaica Gleaner, July 26, 2001.
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIRmQNM4xUk, accessed March 2, 2011. Other popular Jamaican dancehall artistes are also notorious for their performance of virulently homophobic songs, such as Elephant Man, who justifies the corrective rape of lesbians, Capleton, who invokes the burning of gays, and the group T.O.K., which endorses the stomping and kicking of gays.
6 Human Rights Watch interview with Dr. Yitades Gebre, executive director, Ministry of Health Program Coordination Unit, Kingston, June 23, 2004, and Human Rights Watch interview with Dr. Peter Figueroa, chief, Ministry of Health Epidemiology Unit, Kingston, June 23, 2004, demonstrate that providing HIV education and prevention services to men who have sex with men is extremely difficult because they are forced to remain invisible due to prejudice and abuse.
7 See Makeda Silvera, “Man Royals and Sodomites: Some Thoughts on the Invisibility of Afro-Caribbean Lesbians,” Feminist Studies, vol. 18, no. 3, Fall 1992, pp. 521-532 (reporting gang rape of women “suspected” of lesbianism in 1950s Jamaican towns).
8 In 2010, J-FLAG received reports of three (3) corrective rapes, two of which occurred within days of each other. In one instance, four men gang-raped a lesbian and used a knife to cut her so she can better “tek man.” In the other instance, the lesbian was savagely raped at gun-point, and then dumped half-naked after her ordeal. Her rapist commented on how “tight” she was and promised that the next time he would use a condom.
9 In Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi and Others WP(C) No.7455/2001 the High Court of Delhi struck down much of S. 377 of the Indian Penal Code as being unconstitutional. The Court held that to the extent S. 377 criminalised consensual non-vaginal sexual acts between adults, it violated an individual's fundamental rights to equality before the law, freedom from discrimination and to life and personal liberty under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Jamaica’s Constitution guarantees similar rights in Article 13.
10 In September 2010, the Jamaican Prime Minister said at an interview at the United Nations in New York that homosexual acts remain illegal in Jamaica because the country is a Christian country.

Quick Two Cents

Another well written paper but like many before they come and go and very little or no improvements, let us see if there will be action this time around. It's one thing to prepare lovely papers it's another to properly engage the community, a set of criticisms that will continue to come until we see major improvements in that department. See the post below on that:

JFLAG/AIDSFREEWORLD unimpressive show at community meeting

Peace and tolerance

H

Our Children are at great risk ........

By Leighton Levy wrote this piece in the Star News which is one of the few remaining sensible non sensationalistic columns left in the paper which was once described as the afternoon version of the Gleaner: Have a read:

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to live with faith.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.


- Dorothy Law Nolte PhD (1972)

It was bound to start happening. I mean children live what they learn, children learn what they live, or so the song above says. We could not go on treating each other like savages and killing each other the way we do and it not affect our children. After all, this is what we have been teaching them for a while.

It was no surprise then that in recent times we have borne witness to a couple of incidents where children have become the perpetrators of murders. There was an incident recently where a young girl stabbed her 22-year-old brother to death, another where a girl accidentally stabbed her brother to death 'while playing' (I mean, who plays like that with a sharp knife), but the most heinous occurred a few days ago when a 15-year-old girl stabbed her six-year-old brother to death!

Now, I don't know about you but a single stab wound is one thing - even though I am still unable to wrap my mind around why someone would want to stab a six-year-old - but to stab the child four times, that's just plain cruelty.

perpetual violence

It is easy to pin these incidents on the attackers and turn a blind eye to the bigger picture and we do that very well here in Jamaica, but how much longer can we continue to ignore the fact that the perpetual violence that this country has been besieged by for more than a decade has finally begun to take hold of the psyche of our kids.

Seriously, what kind of dispute can a 15-year-old have with a six-year-old that would require the elder of the two to resort to stabbing the latter to death? I don't care what the issues are; stabbing someone to death can never be the solution. But in Jamaica today, we seem to have lost the ability to argue our way out of disagreements. The minute an impasse develops our first reaction is violent. So while we continue to try to dig our way out of this enormous financial hole we have found ourselves in, there are other more serious issues that we also need to contend with.

The examples we set for our children are very important in their overall development. It makes no sense we tell our children one thing and then we show them examples that are in direct contradiction. Children are not idiots and it's time we recognise this; and I don't care where you're from.

People who live in impoverished communities sometimes like to use their economic circumstances as an excuse to behave poorly. What they should remember however, or at the very least be cognisant of, is that we should always want our children to lead better lives than we did. So with that in mind, we have to start to do better. Similarly, in more communities of more affluent people, if their children see their parents using their considerable means to flout the law, what do they think the children will do when they become adults?

We have to start to do better. It seems as if it is already too late to save this upcoming generation that has already been severely scarred by the violence around them, but I have long held the belief that even on the road to madness there is always a way back.

Send comments to shearer39@gmail.com

ENDS

Coincidentally the matter was touched on via the GLBTQ Jamaica Facebook Group by a bisexual parent who expressed some concern about children's care and safety, she commented

"When adults are not conscious of how unconscious they are, they are unaware of how damaging their actions can be. in many cases the children suffer more than adults realize. (Discover the Gift)

For many years my world struggled to understand my passion for deliberate parenting, my focus on identifying and unlocking the key to my childrens' heart and mind and not just their actions. My scarifices (seeming), professionally as i pursued the school of life, to create, find, recreate a world in this world for children to BE acknowlegde as equal spirits to all other beings.

To clear the confusion as to the Right to be seen as well as heard, to be trusted rather than to have doubt and dependence shackled to them. To connect to the pain and bewilderment, the frustration and the thoughtless submission enforced by an ' unaware adult world, it hit my consciousness today, i cannot get weary in fighting for parenting to be more than a presumable osmotic expierence.

So many experts now speak and write books on strategies of parenting, missing the most important link, to build the consciousness of the adult, to change thought, deny myths, affirm spirit in the process, allow the equal participation of the childs spirit with ours.

This was was cry as a child lost in an adult world, today i allow my children to help me to find 'our' way in this world.

I thank my parents Walter and Rubie for giving me a glimpse of Positive Proactive Parenting."

Also at a recent community meeting where JFLAG was present it was asked and subsequently proposed that we stand with allies on other issues chief among them the rights of the child and given recent atrocities to the young it is disturbing that we have not joined in the chorus of condemnations on them, it's no wonder why the nation is cynical and compare rights as more needed than others with our calls deemed unimportant?. We cannot just be locked on gay rights or seeking superstar status as it appears to be that on that basis as many of our own detractors are champions for children's issues chief among them Betty Ann Blaine for example, if we ask the gay lobby are asking the nation to be tolerant then why are we uncooperative in working with these groups on issues that affect us as a whole? Yes Jamaicans for Justice and others do speak from time to time about LGBT issues then why are we reciprocating and join them publicly on issues they champion?

So the hypocrisy on our part continues.

Also see: Gay Parenting (a view on the ground) Functional Bisexuality, family units & the discourse

Gay Parenting (a view on the ground) (repost from 09) ........ International Family Day

Peace and tolerance

H

MSM Homeless Issues brought back to attention again

So the issue of homelessness, displaced, aimless, unemployed or unemployable Men Who Have Sex With Men has been brought back to the front burner via a Star News article yesterday August 2, 2011 where a set of guys in the New Kingston area came into some trouble with the police which is not the first time as carried here and on my other blogs about the lack of interest in really getting to the root and starting to solve this issue. Sadly the lack of care also from the MSM community itself who see themselves as well behaved and by extension better off is not encouraging either.

Have a read of the article in question from the Star News:

POLICE end gay party

Party celebrations among a group of gay men who were seen stripping and throwing water at each other along Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston was brought to a premature end by the police yesterday morning.

"You should a see dem, some inna bottom rider shorts and all a wear brassiere," an alleged eyewitness told THE STAR.

Information reaching THE STAR is that the men who were attired in close fitting clothes were jeered by motorists who drove by where they were standing but the men stood their ground and continued their antics.

THE STAR understands that the men, numbering about five, who were later identified to be homosexuals fled at the sight of the police who arrived at the location about 10 a.m.

Two men who were a part of the group were later apprehended by the police after they became involved in a brawl.

An 18-year-old man and his 27-year-old lover became involved in a dispute after the teenager accused the man of rendering his services and not paying him.

warned

They were warned by a police patrol team that arrived on the scene.

The men, both of Portmore addresses, held hands and walked away in good spirits.

Interestingly, THE STAR further understands that after the men avoided intial prosecution by the police, they got themselves into trouble again after they assaulted a man.

"Dem see a man a pass and a psst after him and a tell him seh dem like him," a person who claimed to have witnessed the incident told THE STAR.

It is also understood that the male victim kept his composure and ignored the taunts from the men but became infuriated after one of the men slapped him on his bottom.

The man then reportedly tried to hit the man who touched him on his buttocks but had to make a hasty retreat towards the New Kingston Police Post after the men threatened to beat him.

The men later ran in separate directions after the police tried to apprehend them.

The St Andrew Central police confirmed the incident.

ENDS

Two cents continued:

While some members of the community lambaste the Star for the alleged eye witness being present others loathe the so called sketel/raucous behaviour of the men some of whom are openly cross dressed and are not afraid to "carry on" as it were in public, many persons feel that the phenomenon in not only New Kingston is setting a bad precedence for the rest of the community as if somehow all we are are just worthless males who in essence sell our bottoms or are involved in commercial sex. Sadly as hinted to above in the introduction no sustained semi or fully residential typed interventions are in the offering now or if any soon and I fear that even if they were to be such programs put in place it would take some time for the men to come around as their "freedom" on the streets though dangerous as it can possibly get come with no rules or guidelines from others except their own. There are some who are still concerned about the lack of empowering activities to help them to help themselves and not a bootcamp scenario as was attempted when the old temporary shelter was in operation, which was closed to accommodate its conversion to an office for JFLAG. There is limited access for some of the brothers to shower and have a meal or take away items but it is not nearly enough even in the face of a campaign to get Jamaicans to be tolerant and accept gay children.

Other comments for Jamaicans ring:

"Even though the star tend to over exaggerate their stories at times esp the gay ones - if this story near go so. then we can clearly see that sometimes we ourselves as gay draw attention and harm on ourselves. its bad enough that Jamaica is a homophobic society but at least we can curve our behaviours/actions so ppl can slowly accept us for who we are. when we portrait these types of behaviour in public, do we think we are doing ourselves more good than harm? Then we get up everyday and say how Jamaica is violent against homos etc.. but really and truly, sometime things that happen can be avoided. we self inflict wounds on ourselves..."

"There are less than perfect gays in any society in any country, but it's bullshit to think that they 'represent' the community by their actions. An individual is just that, an individual...they represent THEMSELVES in words, thoughts, actions and attire. Anyone who believes that all gays act a certain because of the actions of a few is dumb as hell..."

"Some of us need to come to Jamaica and see what the gay society has become .It is a microcosm of the nastiness that prevail in the society today ....most of us are decent and ambitious. but like every deviant conduct the few will make it bad for the society in question ..so instead of blaming tabloids and going around the the issue we need to recognize there is a problem and find strategy to deal with it ....we need to face reality . Sometimes I am embarrassed to be in new Kingston at nite and see their behavior and if they know that you are gay and you pass them by without stopping when they call ...they then try to "bring you down" and this loudness and dancing and skinning out on the street is not necessary ...and yes they do wear clothes that could be termed as women attire ...."

"There is blame on both sides, but some of us have a tendency to take aim at the community more than it deserves.

The Star's lack of value as a journalistic publication is easy to prove: when have they *ever* published any story involving gays that paints us in a positive light? It's always, always, always jealous lovers stabbing each other, or schoolboys having sex in the back of a taxi, or shrieking queens disturbing the peace in broad daylight.

They know full well that playing to the gallery sells papers."

So debate continues in various quarters, let us see where it takes us.

Also see older happenings on the subject of homelessness:

Men Beaten in New Kgn

Drag queens double jeopardy

MSM Homelessness 2011 ...my two cents by glbtqja1

Peace and tolerance

H

More complaints about Clovis cartoons ................ Part 2

In part 1 on sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch we looked at the series of cartoons coming from Clovis, resident cartoonist for the Jamaica Observer who has come in for some sharp criticisms from letter writers locally and overseas, while I can understand some of the concerns in as far as painting the stereotypes of the gay community in a negative sense thus feeding homophobia there is another side to it especially the toon of the effeminate looking men shopping which may suggest open cross dressing and effeminacy may have come a far way in as far as public showing are concerned but by no means near the tolerance levels should be.

Here are some of the cartoons as published in the Jamaica Observer recently:

here is the letter below on the complaints with regards to the last toon from top, see what you make of it

Clovis' underpants are showing

Dear Editor,

Clovis has recently received much attention for his editorial cartoons and I would like to add my few pennies to the pot. One John E Sabio wrote in his letter on July 29, "Clovis and homophobic cartoons": "Yet, while his pen describes reality, it also often prescribes a deadly dose of condemnation, specifically on the issue of homosexuality. Clovis's pen leaks not only ink, but blood as well... When he assails the LGBT community with his virulently homophobic sketches, he muzzles sensible debate by fanning the flames of the Bun Chic-chic man mentality. The most fatal consequence of Clovis's sketches, which is not readily apparent as the bright colours he uses, is the blood that drips from his stained paper. He emphasises a woefully inaccurate stereotype... My request is that his dissent should not encourage a bloodthirsty mob. It is one thing to disagree, but quite another to inject animus. The latter, I am sure, cannot possibly sit well with his religious values, or if the case may be, his secular morality."

Now I know a picture is worth a thousand words and that the pen is mightier than the sword, but to use words like "fatal", "blood", "bloodthirsty mob", "assail", is blatant overexaggeration, superb hyperbole and clear melodramatics. All this seems like utter paranoia and griping by Mr Sabio. Which of last week's two homosexual-depicting cartoons seem to be conjuring up the mysterious anti-homosexual hysteria to which Mr Sabio is referring, and how does it or will it arouse homophobia and anti-homosexual sentiments across the nation? I fail to see how. I am even more hard-pressed to see how Clovis will be responsible for any alleged homosexual bloodletting that has gone on in the past or could take place in the future. Mr Sabio's letter is a baseless emotional outburst, with no substance and nothing to substantiate it in reality.

Recently in the media as well, there has been much debate on objective journalism, media balance and political bias. Now if there is any fault I can find with Clovis, it is his clear political bias. The letter "Good job, Clovis" by K Whyte which states: "I have a cartoon idea for you. Show a meeting of comrades with everyone in orange underpants. Then have someone at the podium like Sister P announcing, 'We need a few more volunteers for journalists and political commentators. Just try not to let your underpants show.'"Clearly the writer and Clovis have been caught with their underpants showing. I have always suspected it to be green.

Yannick Nesta Pessoa

cyber_yan@yahoo.com

ENDS

also see:

Why does Clovis make gays look effeminate? (Observer Letter) .....

Cartoons and the use of gay typed characters part 2

New Ad Encouraging Families to Love Gay Children by JFLAG to Hit TV in August .... but

first a PRESS RELEASE from JFLAG
Kingston, Jamaica —July 28, 2011

“Homophobia must be eliminated [in Jamaica] immediately” was the rallying cry of Pamela E Bridgewater, the United States Ambassador to Jamaica. “The US Mission joins all partners in the fight against homophobia [because] as President Obama says, no one should be hated because of who they love,” she stated.

The US Ambassador was addressing a packed audience at the launch of ‘Unconditional Love’, a new public service announcement (PSA) featuring Christine Straw, former Miss Jamaica World and Miss Jamaica Universe, and her brother Matthew Straw on July 28, 2011. Heading the list of endorsees were Hilary Nicholson from Women’s Media Watch, Helin Jenkinson, First Counsellor at the European Union, Dr. Pierre Somse, UNAIDS Representative in Jamaica, Rob Fuderich, UNICEF Representative, Yvonne Sobres, Convenor of Family Against State Terrorism and a number of other human rights and HIV activists.

Unconditional Love tells a heart warming story of Christine Straw who declares her unending love for Matthew, her brother who is gay, while calling on Jamaicans to love their family members and friends who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). “As Jamaicans we have to stop this stupidity of alienating our [people] because of their homosexual orientation,” stated Straw. “They are our brothers and our sisters and we must love them, no matter what [..] because they need support and encouragement,” she said.

In detailing the impact of homophobia in Jamaica, Maurice Tomlinson, Legal Adviser at AIDS-Free World (AFW) said his organisation was proud to support this collaborative venture which calls on all Jamaicans to live up to their world renowned culture of One Love. He stressed that members of the LGBT community must also strive to understand the source of the lack of knowledge of persons who stigmatize and violate their rights and hurt them. “The empowerment of these individuals is crucial for the breaking down of walls which prevent persons from seeing the true value of the contribution LGBT Jamaicans make to the society” Tomlinson said.

According to Dane Lewis, Executive Director at Jamaica’s only gay rights lobby, Jamaica Forum of Lesbians All Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), “it is our hope that this inspiring public declaration of love will motivate other families and friends of LGBT to share their stories of acceptance and that those who are on a journey to acceptance will be moved to love LGBT persons in their lives unconditionally.”

Dr. Pierre Somse of UNAIDS was insistent that Jamaica had to keep pace with the rest of the world and get rid of anything that might retard the gains made in reducing the spread of HIV over the years. “Homophobia is a major stumbling block to effective HIV interventions and unless we guarantee the human rights of homosexuals, all other populations are at risk,” Dr. Somse highlighted.

A similar sentiment was echoed by Yvonne McCalla Sobres of Families Against State Terrorism (FAST), “When the state ignores the harm and hurt being felt by any population, because of their difference this is tantamount to state terrorism. It cannot therefore be business as usual for us here in Jamaica”

Unconditional Love , is another collaborative initiative of J-FLAG, Jamaica AIDS Support For Life (JASL), the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) and AFW aimed at promoting the human rights of persons who are members of the LGBT community by encouraging Jamaicans to be unreserved about who they love’. The PSA will hit TV screens and the internet immediately.

Link to PSA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhH6UhfEI-E

For interviews contact:-
Pierre Somse UNAIDS 960-6536-8 (office) or 919-8537 (cell)
Ian McKnight CVC 631-7299 (office) or 474-8847 (cell)
Kandasi Levermore JASL 978-2345 (office) or 875-2737 (cell)
Dane Lewis J-FLAG 978 8988 (office) or 875-2328 (cell)
Maurice Tomlinson AFW 784-0908 (cell)

Press Office at the US Embassy KingstonPress@state.gov

ENDS

One hopes that this is not the only video in this campaign as it certainly does not reflect the true demographic of LGBT people in Jamaica, in fact it may reinforce the "black stay back, brown stick around" culture on a national level and on an inter- community level it may reinforce the feeling that some Jamaicans are better off than others who live above a certain geographical boundary who can live a more north american utopia typed life while those who are below that are continually abused, beaten and suffer homophobia. Both persons here in fact are of Scottish heritage and often travel to those events overseas. The divide has always been an issue in our community it affects how we socialise and how even advocacy is dealt, this could be described as a formalization of that contemptuous and top down approach to how business is done. It is as if to say families do not exist elsewhere. Families also exist in the inner cities and middle class Jamaica, is JFLAG et al saying the "comfortable" should get more comfortably? what about the others who do not have this existence and experience everyday?

This also dropped when sections of the nation, media and academia are looking at the post traumatic effects of slavery right in the Emancipation/Independence celebrations when "blackness" is looked at more so than any time of year.

Sad that the latest attempt though noble misses the mark in my view really in gelling the community despite of social standing and to think this has the backing of groups like FAST, Families Against State Terrorism who know all too well that it is not a Miss Jamaica or her brother who are the real victims of violence let alone any form of direct harmful stigma and discrimination as class determines how one is treated.

See what you make of it.

Peace and tolerance

H

Asylum and “Credible Fear” Issues in U.S. Immigration Policy Report

Foreign nationals seeking asylum must demonstrate a well-founded fear that if returned home,they will be persecuted based upon one of five characteristics: race, religion, nationality,membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Foreign nationals arriving or presenting the United States may apply for asylum affirmatively with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security after arrival into the country, or they may seek asylum defensively before a Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) immigration judge during removal proceedings.Asylum claims ebbed and flowed in the 1980s and peaked in FY1996.

Since FY997, affirmativeasylum cases decreased by 79% and defensive asylum claims dropped by 53% by FY2009.Asylum seekers from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) dominated both the affirmative and defensive asylum caseload in FY2009. Five of the top 10 source countries of asylum seekers were Western Hemisphere nations in FY2009: Haiti, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Colombia. Ethiopia was the only African nation that was a top source country for asylum seekers in FY2009. Despite the general decrease in asylum cases since the enactment of the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA ) in 1996, data analysis of six selected countries (thePRC, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, and Mexico) suggests that conditions in the source countries are likely the driving force behind asylum seekers.

Roughly 30% of all asylum cases that worked through USCIS and EOIR in recent years have been approved. Affirmative asylum cases approved by USCIS more than doubled from 13,532 in FY1996 to 31,202 in FY2002, and then fell to the lowest point over the 14-year period—9,614—in FY2009. The number of defensive asylum cases that EOIR judges have approved has risen by99% from FY1996 through FY2009. The PRC led in the number of asylum cases approved byUSCIS and EOIR over the decade of FY2000-FY2009. Despite national data trends that appeared to be consistent, approval rates for asylum seekersdiffer strikingly across regions and jurisdictions. For example, a study of 290 asylum officers whodecided at least 100 cases from the PRC from FY1999 through FY2005 found that the approvalrate of PRC claimants spanned from zero to over 90% during this period. In a separate study, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzed asylum decisions from 19 immigrationcourts that handled almost 90% of the cases from October 1994 through April 2007 and foundthat “significant variation existed.”

Those advocating revisions of asylum policy have divergent perspectives. Some assert thatasylum has become an alternative pathway for immigration rather than humanitarian protection.Others argue that—given the religious, ethnic, and political violence in various countries aroundthe world—it has become more difficult to differentiate the persecuted from the persecutors

.Some express concern that U.S. sympathies for the asylum seekers caught up in the democraticpolitical uprisings in Libya and other parts of the Middle East, northern Africa, and south Asiacould inadvertently facilitate the entry of terrorists. Others maintain that current law does notoffer adequate protections for people fleeing human rights violations or gender-based abuses thatoccur around the world. Some cite the disparities in asylum approvals rates and urge broad-basedadministrative reforms. At the crux of the issue is the extent to which an asylum policy forgedduring the Cold War is adapting to the competing priorities and turbulence of the 21
st century

Read the rest below:

Asylum and “Credible Fear” Issues in US Immigration Policy

Embarrasing Lesbian incidents

As if we did need more negative press now comes a Star headline on a fight in a girl's home and as usual the Star News has to feed us with a same gender loving grabber to create labrish and excitement. 

If that wasn't enough another fight of sorts occurred in a plaza in full view of many late last week which has been causing a stir as well. Alleged photos were taken at the time of the the very public quarrel and uploaded to a popular social networking site but have since been removed for reasons unknown.

That incident has also drawn the anger of many who say or ask why gays and lesbians have to bring their business in public?

As if to say we don't have a right albeit somewhat embarrassing as the exchange maybe but the use of public spaces for any activity not illegal is limited to only heterosexuals, if two heteros were fighting or arguing in public it would have drawn a large crowd and loads of laughter but a lesbian couple must somehow step aside. 

Only a couple months ago in Spanish Town there was another such incident involving two school girls from an institution in St. Catherine where the quarrelling couple were parted by other classmates (males included) this phenomenon of fighting in public in particular once seen more so in the MSM and drag groupings of the lower socio populations and used to be strongly condemned by other members of the LGBT community mostly from middle and the upper socio economic levels who often complain about the embarrassment and disruption it caused at parties and on the community itself so much so that the entertainment arenas became very class divided and questions would be asked in response to adverts about upcoming events like "are those people going to be there?"

I can almost assure you that a string of sensational same gender loving tinged stories are going to start flowing again from the tabloid as they go on an on again off again quest.

Here is the story from the Star:

During fight at girls' home ... LESBIANS THROW FILTH AT EACH OTHER?

Sheldon Wright, STAR Writer

A group of lesbian girls at a place of safety are alleged to have thrown faeces at each other last week when they became involved in a huge fight.

According to reports reaching THE WEEKEND STAR, the fight at the home, which is said to house teenage girls, allegedly developed when one ward became involved in a fight with another because of her involvement with a female.

After the authorities tried to stop the fight, it is alleged that the girls went to a nearby cesspool took the faeces and began throwing it at each other and the authorities.

When the police were alerted and arrived on the scene, a source told THE WEEKEND STAR the girls went as far as stripping to prevent the lawmen's operation.

Unheard of behaviour

Source said that even with the presence of the person in charge of the home, it took quite some time and effort to get things under control.

When THE WEEKEND STAR contacted a representative of the Child Development Agency we were told that; "There was a fight last week, however, it was brought under control."

The representative said that it appears that one girl who was recently transferred to the facility met upon another girl with whom she had a fight at the previous facility.

When asked about the alleged lesbian relationships taking place on the compound, the representative said, "There are no such reports of such behaviour as we have never heard of any of that there."

ENDS

The story is conflicting though as the so representative of the facility was said to have said they are not aware of any same gender loving activity taking place there but the article starts off by describing the alleged fighters as lesbians, someone is lying it seems. But the public reaction as I've seen so far earlier today is enough to justify that the Star has a winner in their camp in terms of stoking the homophobic/lesbophobic levels as many when hearing fecal matter was involved seem to merge gay male anal sex with contact with the substance as well then looping all into the realm of "nastiness"

Peace and tolerance

H

Protect Transgender people in Latin America

Between January and June 2010 alone, 93 transgender killings were reported by the media across the world. Eight out of ten of these murders (74 cases) took place in the region.

On 7 June the General Assembly of the Organization of American States adopted a resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity that reaffirms the commitments of member states made in three previous resolutions on the issue.

Now that OAS have reaffirmed their commitments to human rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity it is imperative that member states keep their promises and ensure that the rights of sexual minorities are respected, protected and promoted and that gender based hate crimes are properly investigated and perpetrators taken to justice.

How transphobia is impeding the HIV response
There are an estimated 1.4 million people living with HIV in Latin America. For the last 30 years the transgender community in Latin America has been almost invisible. HIV monitoring focused solely on men who have sex with men, so the exact number of transgender people living with HIV was not known.However, recent studies have shown that where most Latin American countries have a HIV prevalence rate of 0.5 – 1%, among transgender people prevalence rates are estimated to be 35%.
Current laws and law enforcement practices do not support people living with HIV and
most-at-risk populations to access essential HIV services. In addition in Latin America, a culture of machismo and religious conservatism has nurtured a growing pattern of violence and hate crimes against the transgender community.

Without laws and law enforcement practices which protect human rights, people living with HIV and the communities most at risk of HIV are unable to access HIV services and participate in prevention, treatment, care and support programmes without fear of arrest or prosecution.
There have been some moves to legally protect most-at-risk populations from
discrimination (new and proposed legislation passed in Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador for instance). However, the reality is that prejudice and stigma is still deeply rooted in public services, particularly among health care workers, and unequal access to justice remain.

INCREASED VULNERABILITY TO HIV FOR TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

In addition to the violence and intimidation experienced by the transgender community, what puts them at particular risk to HIV?
Minimal to non-existent access to adequate healthcare. When transgenders access health services, the care provided is often stigmatising. They are treated as men and discriminated against for looking like women. The situation is worse for transgender people living with HIV;
few are able to access ARV treatment, even in countries where the state has committed to universal access to treatment.

Sex work is one of the few options available to transgender people in order to earn
money. Minimal educational background and strong discrimination on the part of employers result in few employment opportunities for transgender people. Studies suggest that about 90% of transgender people engage in sex work. Condom use is inconsistent – clients will often request unprotected anal sex and this will increase the risk of HIV.
Auto-prescription of hormones and self-administered body implants are very common
among transgender people. This very often involves the use of needles. Hormones and
silicone may be bought on the street. Unsafe body implant substances (like cooking and baby oil) are used and self-administered with minimal hygiene conditions and their use is not monitored by healthcare professionals. This is very risky and lead to severe health repercussions and a shorter life

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

TAKE ACTION HERE

TvT-TMM-Tables2008-2010-en

Why does Clovis make gays look effeminate? (Observer Letter) .....

Fellow blogger and activist in his own right Brian Paul Welsh responds to the recent caricaturizations by resident cartoonist for the Observer Clovis as evidenced in the toons below. Personally I understand somewhat why he does it the way he does as it is a reflection of the national psyche on effeminacy or sissy attitudes from men that determines they are in effect gay.

Our response in this case is not to kill the messenger but all of us including the limp wristed advocates (who should have counteracted the perceptions stoked by the print media especially all these years) but to counteract the perceptions with positive images and responses like some of those press releases that were so unneeded from the conveyor belt. Not knocking Brian's response however and he is not associated with the J.

Have a read of Brian's letter and see what you make of it:

Dear Editor,

Certain people in your editorial department may find Clovis's caricatures to be humorous, salient, poignant or whatever positive adjective is usually applied to good journalism, and especially good satire, but for quite a while now it would appear that he has fallen off the wagon and hit his head.

For instance, his insistence on typifying gay men as bleach-faced, cross-dressing, hideously unattractive, deformed and lobotomised may illicit belly laughter from those in the newsroom, but civil society is beginning to grow sick of this insensitivity.

These mis-characterisations are not novel to Clovis as he has gleefully reduced many notable Jamaicans to vulgar market vendors, witch doctors, and bald-headed crypt-keepers, so much so that one is usually left with the impression that he has left the realm of satire and gone into what seems like vitriolic personal attacks. This, of course, betrays the most basic of tenets governing journalism and one would hope that the editor would take the executive decision as a responsible journalist and refuse to publish such drivel or push Clovis to be more creative. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that such a conversation has ever taken place.

Especially in the case of his most recent typification of gay men as weak, effete headcases, he has done the community a great disservice. He must be made to elevate his creativity and become more aware of his personal responsibility to illuminate the minds of the wider community or give up journalism and go and illustrate comic books or write graffiti.

Brian-Paul N Welsh

brianpaul.welsh@gmail.com
ENDS

Also see:

Cartoons and the use of gay typed characters part 2

Apology Accepted JCF but some questions on several fronts still linger ...

here are two responses to the whole thing:

Jamaican: "it exposes the hypocrisy within the community when the SSP spoke he was actually talking about the gays that look like that but persons are up in arms because they want the Observer to portray the gay community as a bunch of nice middle class men as if that is any more representative than what the Observer has drawn so me love it cause it stokes debate about class identify within the community furthermore it is those gays that look like that which are at the front page of the fight and the nice middle class gays are in hiding, so why should the nice middle class gays get editorialised and not the cross dressing lout mouthed uncoted fags"

Guyanese: "I want to write a response to say thank you to Clovis for celebrating respect for femininity in a christian culture which beheaded two women"

Interesting.

Peace and tolerance

H

Important documentary on Intersexuality .......

The matter of intersexuality was looked at in an in depth documentary available in parts on youtube for viewing, the producers delved into issues by interviewing members of the leading intersexuality organization in Australia OII - Organisation Internationale des Intersexués (OII) for Intersexions including David Iris Cameron, Gina Wilson, Hida Viloria, Jim Costich and Yann Bradbury. Non-OII people also included are non-intersex academic Alice Dreger and Bo Laurent aka Cheryl Chase, both formerly of the Intersex Society of North America (ISNA).

more reading:

Intersexion (Is He Or Isn't She?) Documentary follows the personal stories of a variety of people who identify as neither male nor female including Mani Mitchells uniquely New Zealand story

Disorders of sex development (DSD), sometimes referred to as disorders of sex differentiation, are medical terms referring to "congenital conditions in which development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical." Lee et al. proposed a system of nomenclature based on "disorders of sex development" for clinical use, noting that "terms such as intersex, pseudohermaphroditism, hermaphroditism, sex reversal, and gender based diagnostic labels are particularly controversial," may be perceived as pejorative, and are confusing to practitioners and parents alike. In "We Used to Call Them Hermaphrodites," author Vilain makes clear that "DSD" is not a synonym for intersexuality; it replaces medical terms based on "hermaphrodite"

OII

The Organisation Intersex International (OII) is a global advocacy group for people with intersex traits. It is the largest intersex support group in the world.
Founded in 2003 by Curtis Hinkle, OII is a decentralised network established to give voice to intersex people primarily outside the USA, those speaking languages other than just English, and people who do not fit the medicalised categories of disorder promoted by some other intersex groups: it is for people born with bodies which have atypical sexual characteristics. OII rejects the terminology of disorder (as in Disorders of sex development), as well as the sexualization of intersex (as in intersexuality) within an LGBT framework; rather OII seeks to acknowledge intersex people's own distinct sexuality, or non-sexuality, or as people who may identify as gay, lesbian, trans or straight, and in alliance with people of diverse sexual orientations.

Their objective is to bring about systemic change and resist the fear, shame, secrecy and stigma imposed upon adults as well as children through both the practice of non-consensual genital surgeries and the arbitrary assignment of a particular gender without informed consultation with the individual concerned. The ethos of the group is that people will hold different views as appropriate to the individual; this often entails treating as optional socially and medically constructed categories such as binary genders, sexual identifications as well as specific and non-specific pathologisms; the identity human being being seen as the fundamental identity.

Trans-homo Couple Plans to Wed on Fidel Castro’s Birthday in Cuba

HAVANA – A transsexual and a homosexual Cuban will marry on Aug. 13 in Havana in the first wedding of this type to be held on the island on a date that coincides with the 85th birthday of former President Fidel Castro, the betrothed said.

Wendy Iriepa, a 37-year-old who underwent a sex-change operation in 2007 on the island, and Ignacio Estrada, a 31-year-old gay man who is seropositive, will marry in an open ceremony that they hope will mark a “before and an after” in Cuba with dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez as matron of honor.

“We met on May 13 of this year and we always intended to get married three months later,” Estrada – who considers himself gay but had fallen in love with Wendy, now a woman – said.

But the couple also decided to tie the knot on the “controversial” date of Aug. 13 to coincide with Castro’s 85th birthday and emphasize the “gigantic” step their union will signify for the island’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual, or LGBT, community.

Castro, in an interview a year ago, acknowledged the homophobic persecution gays and lesbians suffered in Cuba at the beginning of his revolution, and he admitted his responsibility for not paying “enough attention” to the deed that he called a “great injustice,” Estrada said.

“We would like everyone to see the date of our wedding from his point of view and we believe that our marriage will mark a before and an after,” Estrada said.

Ignacio admitted that this wedding can be held thanks to the sex-change surgeries promoted by the National Sex Education Center, or Cenesex.

That institution, headed by Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and niece of Fidel, in recent years has headed an insistent campaign to make the political elite and public opinion more amenable to respecting sexual diversity.

Among its achievements is the legalization of sex-change operations by government resolution in 2008.

Cenesex also has presented in the National Assembly a bill to modify the Family Code with elements such as legal unions for homosexuals, but this proposal still has not yet been approved.

Iriepa underwent a sex-change operation in 2007, before the decree, and this year she received official documentation recognizing her sex as being feminine, thanks to the efforts of Cenesex.

Two weeks ago, Iriepa was part of that institution’s working team, but she asked to resign after having “problems” with Mariela Castro because of her relationship with Estrada.

Mariela Castro “favored” Iriepa’s resignation, calling her a “dissident.”

In June, the LGBT group organized an unusual “walking march” for Gay Pride Day, something aside from Cenesex’s policy and working strategy.

Iriepa said that an invitation to their wedding will be extended to Mariela Castro and all Cenesex workers, although she feels that after her resignation the “treatment of her changed.”

“As a transsexual woman, I always cherished the dream of getting married. It’s something that I value a great deal,” Iriepa said, adding that other Cuban transsexuals who have undergone sex-change operations would like to marry but their identity changes still have not been officially recognized.

To date, 16 people have undergone that type of surgery on the island, but only three of those cases have been “resolved” regarding changing their identity documents, Iriepa said.

Yoani Sanchez, who is known for her criticism of the Cuban regime, said that she and her husband, Reinaldo Escobar, will be the matron of honor and the best man at the wedding.

Sanchez said they have been friends of Iriepa and Estrada for only a short time, but they are united by the struggle for “the acceptance of plurality” and she feels it is an “honor” to be asked to be the matron of honor.