The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America: A Reader on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights

Introduction: The Comparative Politics of Sexuality in Latin America

Introduction The Comparative Politics of Sexuality in Latin America Javier Corrales and Mario Pecheny P  who study Latin America have not been sufficiently attentive to the genesis of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender () politics and tribulations in the region. Few studies on  issues in Latin America have been published in political science journals in the United States. This is not the case in sociology , anthropology, history, and cultural studies, in which  issues have become highly theorized and almost obligatory subjects of study. The inattention to  politics by political scientists seems inexplicable given the field’s preeminent role in studying issues of state formation, citizenship, democratization, civil rights, inclusionary politics, bargaining, social movements, identity, public policy, and more recently , issues surrounding the quality of democracy. Political scientists who study Latin America have produced novel theories and empirical studies on each of these subfields. Few of them have focused on  issues. The paucity of studies on  politics in Latin America could give the impression that  groups and issues are insignificant in the region’s politics. The purpose of this reader is to show otherwise. Collectively these readings demonstrate that  topics have been salient affairs in Latin American politics during the current “third wave of democratization,” as well as in previous waves. 1 This reader assembles complete or excerpted works by scholars, analysts, activists, and politicians on the politics of advancing  rights.We tried to select works that were written in the s and to ensure as much regional and thematic coverage as possible. The authors exhibit variations in disciplinary training, theoretical bent, methodological approach, country of origin, and units of analysis, yet, despite these differences, they share two beliefs. First, the authors agree that  politics cannot be omitted from the study of democratization. If democracy is inconceivable in the absence of respect for “cultural diversity” and “the right to difference” (Hagopian ), the authors in this reader would insist that  rights are fundamental components of diversity and difference. In essence, the authors are united behind the idea that there is a fundamental“democratic right to sexuality”(Raupp Rios ; Raupp Rios this volume). Second, they agree that studying  politics offers different and sometimes new insights about the democratization process—how it advances, stagnates , or reverses. These are insights that are not easy to visualize when studying other social groups claiming rights. In short,  affairs are essential and distinct topics of democratization. What do these works reveal collectively? At the risk of downplaying the diversity of ideas contained in this reader, we identify two major themes. First, the struggle for  rights in Latin America has made unprecedented inroads in the first decade of the twenty-first century, but not in every domain, nor everywhere in the region. In several countries and cities, it is now common to find laws and policies against discrimination based on sexual orientation, legal recognition of same-sex couples and gender changes, policies against homophobia, and the inclusion of  activists within government. In many other domains, regions, or countries, there has been little progress, if any. Several pieces in this reader document and seek to explain this uneven progress. Second, these inroads, where they have occurred, were long in coming, far longer than one would have expected given the progress achieved by  groups in many democracies elsewhere, and the progress achieved by other social movements in Latin America (see Baldez, Thayer in this volume). Furthermore, it is unclear whether inroads will continue to be made or even endure. Many of the readings here discuss the factors that have hindered and may continue to hinder the progress of  movements in the region. This reader is therefore about the uneven and late achievement of  rights in Latin America, and the potential for that achievement to stagnate. In this introduction , we would like to offer some insights, drawn mostly from our authors, about these topics. We begin with a brief conceptualization of  politics in democratization studies, and then proceed to a discussion of the political factors that have blocked or propelled  rights in the region. 2 / Javier Corrales and Mario Pecheny Fighting Heteronormativity At its core,  politics is about challenging heteronormativity. This term refers to the tendency of societies to organize social relations and citizen rights based on the notion that reproductive heterosexuality is ideal. In most contemporary societies, leaders and opinion makers often apply the standard of reproductive heterosexuality in...