It was Freedom to Marry Day (FMD) at American University two days ago and there was this map that I saw that I had conflicting feelings about. I remember when it was being made. It was a regular Queers & Allies meeting. This meeting was meant to be a prep for FMD, so we were making fact sheet signs on pieces of white posterboard paper. I remember just sitting there being the room DJ and enjoying conversation with a person I've recently grown to like a lot in a non-sexual way (awkward phrasing I know).
Anyway, here we all are, talking, shouting, blasting music and my eyes fall on one particular sign which brings up a lot of frustration. It's a beautifully crafted, if geographically insincere, sign with countries colored in ranging from a forest green to a desert red. The individuals working on it clearly are putting their all into that little sign that will probably be used and forgotten in a few months.
Looking at the legend, I began to see that the greenish colors meant more gay friendly (it pretty much only looked at LGB issues) and the more reddish colors were unfriendly areas. I couldn't help but notice that most of the Middle East and Africa were in the more red categories. It made me very angry, but not necessarily for the reason that you may be thinking about.
I felt like the map was extremely culturally relative. I mean come on, to have the "best" countries be forest green if they have same-sex marriage? Is that really how we measure the pinnacle of success for LGBTQ rights, same-sex marriage? Massachusetts has had same-sex marriage for years yet and they STILL don't have gender-identity employment and housing protections! And South Africa? Sure they have same-sex marriage, and yet this map fails to show the clear disconnect between law and reality in South Africa.
Having visited many parts of that country as a social researcher, I know that South Africa has the most progressive constitution in the world, but that constitution doesn't really apply to every part of South Africa. I mean, ADEQUATE HOUSING is a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT in South Africa. Anyone who knows anything about South Africa knows a bit of the acute housing crisis there. But somehow because "same-sex marriage" is legal, that all of a sudden makes South Africa a queer haven?
I have very deep resentments when people in developed countries criticize the developing world. A lot of that has to do with my wariness and the wariness many non-developed world citizens feel when they here the West lecture them on "human rights".
It's just a bit hypocritical I think sometimes when not even 60 years ago colonialism was still in vogue. The developed world loves to pretend that colonialism is a historical footnote and often fail to connect problems in the contemporary developing world as having origins in colonialism. Many of the countries on there that are orange or red are so because they still have colonial era British sodomy laws. Shouldn't that partially implicate Great Britain in the blame for the state of queer rights in developing countries? Why is Great Britain green, even though its centuries of colonization destroyed open societies and imposed Victorian morals throughout the world? And THEY'RE GREEN STILL ON THE MAP.
I also think that The West and many Western activists feel that what works in their countries can be achieved in the same way in every country. I don't think Western activists take developing world cultures into context as often as they should.
I don't approve of the West blasting developing nations for violations of "human rights" when they often refuse to make concessions to make more economically fair institutions. I mean it's kind of hard for activists to fight for LGBT rights when they're more concerned about their and their family's economic security.
My frustration has been simmering for days, but it spilled over when I saw this little bit from 365gay.com:
Thirty men have been arrested in a so-called morals raid on a private home in the Iranian city of Esfahan an international human rights groups said Friday.
Citing sources within Iran the New York-based Human Rights Watch said that the men were arrested in late February and have been held for almost four weeks without access to lawyers and without formal charges.
The men allegedly are accused of consensual homosexual conduct, drinking alcohol, and other related "morals" offenses.
Police reportedly referred them to a forensic medical examiner to look for "evidence" that they have engaged in homosexual conduct.
Human Rights Watch urged Iranian authorities to release the men.
"When police routinely break down doors to enforce a brand of morality, it means a line has been crossed to invade people’s privacy at any time," said Joe Stork, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
.
My anger is also directed at the oppressive regimes that exist everywhere, like in Iran. I can't help but think however that Iran was once a DEMOCRACY with a lively progressive movement and a duly elected non-extreme conservative leader. It all ended thanks to 3 letters: C I A.
This intersection for me of being a citizen of the developed world but a descendant of the developing world is probably a reason for my conflicted feelings. It's just hard for me to hear people blast very rich cultures like those in Iran or Saudi Arabia without taking into account the strong progressive forces that exist in these countries. Saudi Arabia has a vibrant feminist movement and Iran even to this day has cultural dissenters that Western Media never really cover.
I just have to plead, let's not compare our LGBT movement with our standards to the rest of the world, and let's not absolve our responsibility for the state of LGBT rights in formerly colonialized developing nations. It's as simple as that.