While we can often have debates surrounding nature vs. nurture and what takes precedence, it cannot be argued that the environment people grow in, has a large role to play in how they develop as individuals. Guyana’s general environment is one that promotes ignorance, sloth and stagnancy in almost everything. It comes as no surprise then that large sections of the population are still fiercely resistant to the equal rights and protections of those who love a bit differently than them.
The reasons for celebrating queer visibility are often questioned, but I believe that the general lack of safe and welcoming environments is exactly why celebration of PRIDE is so important. While Pride month has been morphing into something that is akin to rainbow coloured parties, this is but only one facet of it. Pride is not only a testament to the power of community; it is a challenge against the status quo and a celebration of what makes us different in this toxic heteronormative world.
Those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans + have had a fairly difficult existence within this space. Conservative ideals that prioritize beliefs over humanity and hate over reason has created an environment that is unsafe for a lot of queer people. Many dream of being free from the ever-watchful eyes and sharp tongues that are always ready to castigate them for how “sinful” they are being. When you grow in a society where the “Adam and Eve” sexuality is seen as being the only acceptable standard, what happens is that persons begin actively suppressing their identities due to the internal and external shame, fear and stigma related to being a sexual or gender minority. Living in the age of information, it cannot necessarily be said any longer that people just don’t know any better. Many do, but still make a conscious decision to hold on to learned behaviours and attitudes that harmfully impact sexual and gender minorities.
Whenever the importance of achieving equality for LGBT persons are brought up, people are always quick to say that there are more important things to talk about and fight for. They would go on to bring up a host of the world’s ills, from poverty, racism, sexism etc. and make the argument that these are much more relevant things to address rather than aiming to secure marriage rights for the “homos.”
Aside from being crass, this is really just a diversionary tactic that seeks to decentre the very real demands that local LGBT activists and allies have been calling for over the years. It also says a lot about how limited and incapable of nuance many persons are. LGBT people are not removed from society; although many would like us to be, we are also impacted by all these various isms inclusive of the phobia that often greets our sexualities and gender identities. In fact, LGBT persons are often made even more vulnerable to things such as poverty and homelessness because of the stigma faced. We do not live single-issue lives and speaking on one barrier to progress does not negate other barriers, as they all tend to work in conjunction with each other.
In their attempts to paint any marginal progress for the community as being a slippery slope towards marriage equality, very little gets done because despite what our constitution states, there is little to no separation between Church and State. Frankly, I find the preoccupation with marriage equality to be a really Westernized perspective. Not saying that this should not be on the agenda, but it is telling how resistance against it in the Caribbean is often used as a determiner to not address the concerns of the LGBT community.
So instead of addressing the issues that have been brought up ad nauseam, politicians will do the bare minimum and tweak the optics to come out looking like progressive supporters of queer liberation. This is currently what is happening before us as parliament seeks to rescind the colonial era cross-dressing law. This move really does not mean very much as the Caribbean Court of Justice had already struck down the law in 2018. If parliament were truly willing to show their support for the LGBT community, they would not attempt to do so by being redundant. Rather, they would seek out other legislation steeped in homophobia such as the removing the Buggery Law and amending Section 4 of the Prevention of Discrimination Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity. One gets the sense though that these are not things that will happen anytime soon.
