Machos Maricones and Gays: Cuba and Homosexuality
Since the Cuban revolution in 1959, male homosexuality has been a controversial aspect of Cuban society. In this strikingly honest and accurate portrayal of homosexual life, Ian Lumsden explores the treatment of male homosexuality under Castro within the framework of prerevolution prejudices and preconceptions. His remarkable first-hand report links the cultural history and current erosion of traditional "machismo," the correlation between traditional women's roles and the relationships...
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This remarkable account of gays in Cuba links the treatment of male homosexuality under Castro with prejudices and preconceptions prevalent in Cuban society before the Revolution. Ian Lumsden argues that much of the present discussion does not acknowledge the significant improvements that have occurred in the last decade. As an antidote to what he considers wide-spread misinformation, Lumsden locates the current issues surrounding homosexual identity within the broad context of Cuban culture, history, and social policy and makes revealing comparisons to the experience of homosexuals in other Latin American countries. Lumsden explores the historic roots of the oppression of homosexuals through such issues as race, religion, and gender. He considers the cultural history and current erosion of traditional "machismo," the correlation between traditional women's roles and the relationships between gay men, and homosexuality as defined by the law and as presented in typical sexual education. He addresses the international controversy over state-imposed sanatoriums for HIV/AIDS patients, and details the social scene, the varying ideals among different generations of gay Cubans, gay life and family ties, and the difference between being publicly and privately gay in Cuba. Lumsden's involvement over the years in gay culture in Cuba, his interviews with gay Cuban men, and his formidable scholarship produce a strikingly honest, accurate portrayal of the changes in homosexual life.
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1An Introduction to Contemporary Cuba12Machismo and Homosexuality before the Revolution283Institutionalized Homophobia554Homosexuality and the Law815Homosexuality and Sexual Education in the 1980s966The Erosion of Traditional Machismo1157Gay Life in Havana Today1308The Impact of AIDS1609An Imperfect Revolution in an Imperfect World178Appendix A: Cuban Sexual Values and African Religious Beliefs205Appendix B: El Pecado Original209Appendix C: Manifesto of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Cuba211Notes215Select Bibliography247Index255
