Lesbian and bisexual women in Cuba: family, rights, and policy

ABSTRACT

This article draws on interviews with 17 self-identified lesbian and bisexual women living in Havana, Cuba, focusing on state support for their family relationships. It examines some of the tensions and contradictions between international and national policy, and societal norms, some of which support LGBT people, and some of which do not. In many ways, Cuba is progressive and has actively protected women’s rights. However, non-heterosexual and gender non-conforming women appear to have been somewhat overlooked in the gains of the Revolution, as there are few specific policies protecting their rights. The key policy points participants raised were the need for same-sex marriage and the lack of assisted reproduction for those in same-sex relationships. Nonetheless, Cuba’s traditional non-nuclear family forms also provide some social space for LGBT parents and queer families.

Cet article se base sur des entretiens menés avec 17 femmes s’auto-identifiant comme lesbiennes et bisexuelles et vivant à La Havane, Cuba, en se concentrant sur le soutien apporté par l’État à leurs rapports familiaux. Il examine certaines des tensions et contradictions qui existent entre les politiques internationales et nationales d’une part, et les normes sociétales d’autre part, dont certaines, mais pas toutes, soutiennent les personnes LGBT. À bien des égards, Cuba est un pays progressiste et a activement protégé les droits des femmes. Cependant, les femmes non hétérosexuelles et au genre non conforme semblent avoir été quelque peu négligées dans le cadre des progrès obtenus par la Révolution; en effet, il n’y a guère de politiques spécifiques qui protègent leurs droits. Les points clés de politique générale que les participants ont soulevés sont le caractère nécessaire du mariage homosexuel et l’absence de procréation médicalement assistée pour les couples homosexuels. Néanmoins, les formes traditionnelles de familles non nucléaires de Cuba fournissent aussi un espace social pour les parents LGBT et les familles homosexuelles.

A partir de entrevistas con 17 mujeres que se autoidentifican como lesbianas o bisexuales, habitantes de La Habana, Cuba, el presente artículo examina el apoyo brindado por el gobierno en materia de sus relaciones familiares. En este sentido, analiza algunas de las tensiones y contradicciones existentes entre políticas a nivel internacional y nacional, así como las normas sociales. Al respecto, algunas de estas últimas apoyan a las personas lgbt, mientras que otras no lo hacen. Si bien en muchos sentidos Cuba es un país progresista, que ha protegido activamente los derechos de las mujeres, algunas mujeres no heterosexuales o con estilos de vida no convencionales en cuanto a género han carecido de la atención que cabría esperar en el contexto de los logros de la Revolución, toda vez que existen pocas políticas específicas destinadas a proteger sus derechos. Las entrevistadas señalaron la necesidad de impulsar algunas políticas importantes: el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo y la reproducción asistida para quienes tienen una pareja del mismo sexo. Aun así, las tradicionales estructuras familiares no nucleares en Cuba dejan algo de espacio social para padres de familia lgbt y familias queer.

KEYWORDS:

• Queer
• Cuba
• LGBT
• socialism
• marriage
• reproduction

Notes on contributor

Evie Browne is a doctoral researcher at the University of Sussex, UK. Postal address: School Office, Arts C168, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9SJ, UK. Email: [email protected]

ORCID

Evie Browne http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1617-1344

Notes

1 Facilities and technologies for assisted reproduction do exist in Cuba, but there are only enough resources to assist a few people per year. Hence, the competition for access is high.

2 For a review of sexuality and gender diversity through the Cuban Revolution, see Kirk (2017).

3 A nuclear family is a couple and their dependent children. A blended family includes a couple, their children, and their children from previous relationships. An extended family includes the above, plus step-relations, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, living together or close by. In Cuba, families also include people not related by blood, such as neighbours, close friends, or children of deceased friends.

4 For more information on CENESEX’s work, see www.CENESEX.org/ (last checked 16 December 2017).

5 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, see www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/ (last checked 16 December 2017).

6 ‘Cisgender’ describes someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. It is the opposite of transgender.

7 My research is funded by the IASSCS Emerging Scholars International Research Fellowship Program (www.iasscs.org/communication-results-2017-iasscs-research-grants last checked 16 December 2017).

8 Snowballing is a method of finding participants by asking each subject if they know anyone else who might participate.

9 Most people in Cuba have mixed ethnicity, between white, black, and some Chinese. A person’s ethnicity may be considered differently by different observers, and by the person themselves. It is based on a combination of physical features, like hair, noses, and lips; and social features, like education, wealth, and level of culture. Mulata or mulato refers to the general category of mixed-race black and white. Jaba or jabao is a person between mulata and white, who is light-skinned and/or light-eyed, but with afro hair. India or indio is a person who is perceived to have indigenous features, although, in Cuba, they are not usually indigenous. For more information on race in Cuba, see Roland (2013).

10 For a recent review of economic, political, and social issues in Cuba, including the recent reform process, see Font and Riobo (2015).