Group items tagged

Homosexuality in Mexico is the main subject of this article. They go on to talk about masculinity and how that relates to being gay and whether it is accepted within society. The article also discusses HIV/AIDS and how it is connected to homosexuality and the various acts of men in Mexico.

This actually takes a different perspective of the meaning and purpose of "machismo". Here, it is described as being knowingly accepted by both Latino men and Latina women. It describes the exaggerated manliness that we often think of as "machismo" instead as male chauvinism. Here, the word "machismo" is described to be a counter action towards unmanly or "sissy" acts, (such as crying).

Blog from 2008: Growing acceptance of homosexuals in Latin America

This discussion talks about the "never say no" attitude of the macho Latin American culture. It also talks about the risks involved in this type of culture. In this article, Gonzales discusses the possibility of men taking on this macho attitude in order to be socially accepted by other men.

In the past, the United States has granted political asylum to gays and lesbians from Latin America who could prove that they faced discrimination and persecution in their own countries because of their sexual orientation. Many of the asylum seekers were Mexican men who were HIV positive and were able to get the medical treatment they needed in the US. However, now that Mexico has taken some steps towards being more accepting of homosexuality, political asylum for Mexicans is harder to get.

This article proposes the idea that an increasing number of Latin American countries have become more acceptive of gay and lesbian ideals. Due to regime changes, the once "closeted macho" countries now welcome such legislation as protections against sexual discrimination; the decriminalization of same-sex intercourse; grants to health benefits, parenting, and so on in countries like Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, and NIcaragua.

This article discusses the battle between the catholic church and Venezuela's socialist president, Chavez. The catholic church is being criticized as being "Chavistas" because their new mission is a "preference for the poor". Some members of the church are willing to accept that they are following some of Chavez' principals, yet others want to make a clear distinction. The article explores these identity conflicts.

This is an article from the NY Times that discusses the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court of Argentina's decision to decriminalize the private consumption of illicit drugs.

In August, the Supreme Court of Argentina decriminalized the private use of illicit drugs. Such inquiries as to whether to accept drug use, help those who are addicted, or maintain the prohibition have arisen internationally at an increased rate recently. The Argentine administration felt that the war on drugs has not succeeded as predicted and it should focus on "treatment (more than) punishment."

Magnum photographer, Christopher Anderson's new book Capitolio explores a poignant visual insight into the degeneration of Caracas, which was once Latin America's most economically advanced cities and is now plagued with chaos and despair. Murders in Caracas have grown so dramatically that they have become accepted as ordinary, and thus looking at the homicide statistics has become mundane. His images of blood and trash serve to highlight their omnipresence in the daily lives of Venezuelans. He opens with action scenes, and then moves to rural areas where the seeds of the infrastructure where set, before submerging into the hysteria of President Chavez. The book's name derives from a metaphor of an old city-center government building that exports revolution while the city itself like the building deteriorates. Anderson traveled into the countries interior to depict the polluted Lake Maracaibo in order to exemplify the interdependence between the United States, the main consumer of Venezuela's oil, and President Chavez. Anderson photographs a sugar harvester in Barinas, the town where Chavez was born into poverty and now transformed into a laboratory for revolutionary projects. When asked about the future of Venezuela, Mr. Anderson said his book is not a source for answers, but an insight for strangers.

Like the previous bookmark I added, this is another article on the Honduran Crisis. This one discusses the U.S. government's approach to the issue. According to this article, the current US position is to accept the June 28 coup, in an attempt to eliminate Zelaya, elect a new conservative government, and regain legitimacy in international organizations.

This is a very recent news about ousted president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. Honduran lawmakers will not decide whether to restore Zelaya until after upcoming presidential elections, which is on Nov. 29th, the congressional leader said Tuesday, a decision that could undermine international support for the vote. Some say the result of this upcoming election should not be accepted officially because it is held under the interim government.

This article talks about how homosexuality is coming out more and more in Latin America, and people are becoming less afraid of the idea through the support of the government movements. It talks about how the term "macho," though still existing, is starting to give way to a more "gay-friendly" region. This article also gives a bit of history on the gay, lesbian, and bi communities and their efforts in Latin America, and how it is rapidly moving to a more accepting environment despite the religious upheaval with it.

An article published in February 2009 discusses the change in attitude of towards homosexual people in Latin America. Ten years ago the area still promoted "macho" attitude and took on a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude, however, today groups are fighting for gay rights and making improvements. In 2003 Mexico even passed an anti-discrimination law that included sexual orientation. This new toleration is mainly due to the region no longer being authoritarian as well as gay and lesbian activists groups making a different in government and their local areas.

This website talks about the different people living in Buenas Aires in terms of their sexual orientation (and their freedom to be open about it). It gives information about the history of building of what they call a "gay-friendly" enviornment in the city, and the movements that have been in place the past couple of years. There are also links to different websites for youth, women, and the industry of entertainment.

The article entitled "Guatemala's 'Femicide' Crisis" seeks to explain the implications of the unnecessary and brutal mass killings occurring amongst women in Guatemala mostly by male gangs. Because the killings have exceeded such an unusual extent, it has been deemed a "Femicide", otherwise known as a "Gendercide" or a genocide directed mainly against females. The ages of girls or women discussed in this article being raped, beaten, and murdered range from three year old toddlers to middle aged women. Not only do gangs of men perform these acts for no reason other to establish masculinity within their affinity groups. Moreover, the law enforcement agencies are so corrupt that it was said, "justice imposed by the state is non-existent" and "only two per cent of crimes against women are solved." This article seeks to establish the problem that is still going on even after the forty-year civil war while other chosen articles are determined to look for solutions.

On Monday in Buenos Aires, Argentina two men were bestowed a marriage license and are planning on what appears to be the first legal homosexual wedding in Latin America. The couple obtained the authority to marry last week when a judge declared that a prohibition on same-sex marriage violated Argentina's Constitution. Mauricio Marci, mayor of Buenos Aires revealed that the city would not appeal the court order, thus prompting other homosexual couples to address their rights in court. However, the mayor did not appear to be an enthusiastic advocate for the endorsement of same sex marriage license as he said, " We have to live with and accept this reality: the world is moving in this direction." No other country in Latin America permits same-sex marriage, although some jurisdictions warrant same-sex partners to configure civil unions with many similar rights.