Gays in Latin America - Growing Rights

While the gay rights movement in Latin America started to emerge later than in other parts of the world, the progress made to date has been steady and seems to be accelerating - actually making some parts of Latin America much more gay friendly than areas of the USA - Utah and Virginia being but two examples of states hostile towards LGBT citizens. Foreign Policy magazine has an article that examines the emergence of gay rights and anti-discrimination policies in Latin America. Some of the statistics are surprising and if the trend continues, the USA may become increasingly out of step in the way it treats its LGBT citizens compared to other modern societies. Here are some highlights:

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Most analysts haven't noticed, but a major social revolution is taking place in Latin America. The region is becoming gayer. It's not that there are more gays and lesbians living in Latin America (we would never know). Rather, the region is becoming more gay-friendly.

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Despite being democratic and kind-of-Western, Latin America lagged behind. Then, in the late 1990s, legislation started to change. In 1998, Ecuador's new constitution introduced protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 1999, Chile decriminalized same-sex intercourse. Rio de Janeiro's state legislature banned sexual-orientation discrimination in public and private establishments in 2000. In 2002, Buenos Aires guaranteed all couples, regardless of gender, the right to register civil unions.

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The policy changes just kept coming. In 2003, Mexico passed a federal antidiscrimination law that included sexual orientation. In 2006, Mexico City approved the Societal Cohabitation Law, granting same-sex couples marital rights identical to those for common-law relationships between a man and a woman. Uruguay passed a 2007 law granting access to health benefits, inheritance, parenting, and pension rights to all couples who have cohabited for at least five years. In 2008, Nicaragua reformed its penal code to decriminalize same-sex relations.

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Change hasn't simply come on paper. Latin American cities are also becoming increasingly gay-friendly. The number of gay-owned or gay-friendly establishments (e.g., bars, support groups, services) per capita in Latin American cities is on the rise, with some cities outperforming even the most liberal Western capitals. Nobody really ever thought the region was a gay desert, but there is plenty of evidence now that Latin America -- at least legally and in urban centers -- is coming out.

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Latin American LGBT movements have overcome their political handicaps by adopting smart tactics. Rather than turning radical and desperate, they have forged pragmatic alliances with larger, more-influential social movements. . . . LGBT movements have also made smart use of the tools afforded by globalization. They have promoted gay tourism, worked with the media to change cultural tastes, and used the Internet and academic forums to learn about tactics that have successfully yielded change abroad.

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Clear challenges, of course, remain. Gay rights are still timid where they exist, and absent in many parts of the region, especially outside large cities. The most obvious reason is lingering homophobia. A recent survey in Brazil, the country with the largest gay-pride parades in the world, showed that 58 percent of respondents still agree with the statement, "Homosexuality is a sin against the laws of God," and 41 percent with "Homosexuality is an illness that should be treated." This is the paradox of advancing gay rights.