Performance, Power, and Resistance: Theorizing the Links among Stigma, Sexuality, and HIV/AIDS in Cuba

Although the prevalence of HIV infection in Cuba remains among the lowest in the world, recent data suggest that the rate of infection has risen sharply since 1996, particularly among men who have sex with men. A key factor that creates conditions of risk among homosexual and bisexual men in Cuba is the stigmatization of homosexuality, a mechanism that drives the epidemic underground and poses obstacles to targeted educational efforts. This article examines and theoretically contextualizes both the devaluation of homosexuality in Cuba and recent efforts to promote sexual diversity and to create inclusive spaces for HIV education. Drawing in particular on the theoretical work of Judith Butler and Michel Foucault, I argue that in early postrevolutionary Cuba, the fusion of patriarchal machista values and authoritarian socialism heightened the stigmatization of homosexuality because, in such a context, challenges to the symbolic laws of patriarchy also posed challenges to revolutionary rhetoric. Recent efforts to destigmatize homosexuality, led in particular by the National Center for Sex Education (El Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual, or CENESEX) and its director, Mariela Castro, have not only contributed to HIV educational efforts; the destigmatization of homosexuality is also important to moving the revolutionary goal of equality toward meaningful realization.