VIII Week of Sexual Diversity Mexico City from 25 Th to 30th, May 2009

I will make a brief outline of the issues that we collected in this important event which was sponsored by nearly one hundred groups - institutions, civil society organizations, government bodies and independent groups- but unfortunately it did not led to a massive attendance of the public despite the variety of subjects and the importance of them to the general society.

Dr. Sendra Nataxta Racing introduced a lecture "Discrimination and violence by social class and gender: transvestites, private accompany and table dancers", where she included a presentation of "The six crazy women," a group of vestites, named in this way because, in her own words “they are dressed up as women all day" (also known as transvestites but did not use that name), in the city of Puebla, where she has been working on for seven years. This group started with forty-five members and they are now only thirteen, the majority has been undermined by violence fateful, for the HIV-AIDS or complications with silicone implants. Their average age is 45 years old. For their proximity to death, of being on risk, they honor The Death as saint, and their most important day of celebration is November the second.

This group practices the prostitution, which is not recognized as legally permissible but socially carries many risks for those who exercise it. In the comparative study that makes Carrera between transvestites, table dancers (nude dancers in Table Dance) and private accompany (women allowed in bars where the customer must buy a card with which the woman dances with him or sit just to drink a cup), the transvestites are the poorest and more vulnerable, the most stigmatized (by gay groups), because they are sex workers and, at the same time, for being very appealing, always highlighting their presence. They have to pay fees to the police officers around their work area, but this does not leave the safe from physical or verbal aggression. Hence many table dancers and private accompanies are safer for working in an enclosed space and for having an employment contract. The risks are greatest when they go out of their working places to give a sexual service. In the case of drag queens that do not have any kind of job security and should always work in public the risk is much higher.

The situation of “The six crazy women” is very similar to that experienced in other countries by transvestites, prostitution remains the privileged space where they operate because of lack of employment opportunities, social rejection and a moral hypocrisy. It is symptomatic in this case, the cult of death, which shows some defeatism, a fatalistic acceptance of their status. This is a dangerous position in their personal protection to prevent and fight for their rights.

The Soc. Angie Rueda Castillo introduced a lecture entitled "Problems of discrimination and violence against transgender community, transsexual and transvestite." In the presentation it was clear that T had more to do with gender than with sex, and that the fear is the main reason of prejudice and discrimination against the trans community. A very interesting proposals that by Rueda Castillo was to create an observatory of the media to denounce discrimination, mockery and degradation for the figure of transvestites, transsexuals, transgender, but also gays and lesbians (which would add to the women, indian groups and all vulnerable groups ). Every citizen is an observer citizen and thus an acknowledgment of these stereotypes and validated in the media, which would be reported in alternative media to generate a positive synergy that intimidate and ultimately stops this kind of negative and degrading image of trans people and for the general opinion.

This proposal seems to me the most suggestive, since it rarely takes the space of culture and symbolism as an area in which the population thinking is changed. The possibility that the society is auditing all of the negative images that degrade and continues the marginalization in several of its members can recognize on one hand the representation of an ideology, secondly that people have an active role in building the symbolic reference and thirdly, the positive influence towards building a more equitable and less discriminatory society.

In his lecture, "Discrimination and violence among couples LGBTTT," Mr. Gabriel Gutierrez Garcia talked about "the other closet," the one that comes before the acts of domestic and family violence within the LGBT community. The principal problem faced by those suffering from this violence is that they have no place to go, the prevention and counseling spaces are for men and women, and we they are not prepared to welcome the LGBT community, since there is no specific policy towards them.

For fear of being abandoned by a partner, for economic or emotional dependence, it is not easy to leave a situation of abuse. This violence does not respect gender or academic level, LGBT activism is not a vaccine against it. There is a misunderstanding and justification in the sexual or generic "diversity” that would create a target and degradation of LGBT groups in the social imaginary. A gay man who has suffered domestic violence from his partner needs to hear from family, not a word of support they expect, but the sentence that "if you'd got a woman this wouldn’t have happened."

It is evident that programs to prevent and eradicate domestic violence in the LGBT community must be created with specific policies. This would imply to be legally recognized as families at first, and secondly to reject excuses for violence or abuse, no one deserves to live in violence, life free from violence is a human right so the society and the State must work to ensure access to the peace and safety of people inside the family. Thirdly, it also means that the LGBT community ought to talk about it, not keeping it in silence to demand and find open spaces for socialization to treat the disease and especially a greater evil that is internalized: homophobia and transphobia, which in some cases is the cause of such violence as result of a system and a society that does not provide space to the LGBT identities. It is clear that the violence does not happen by itself, by spontaneous generation, but it is a social product and is therefore in this area that must also be focused.

As Dr. Diana Garcia said in her lecture "exclusion and inclusion of bisexuals”, bisexuality is within the LGBT community, one of the most discriminated, because no one wants to talk about it, as there is no room for dialogue and the community is not organized around this topic. It is thought that bisexual people do not know what they want, the same people involved tends to reject them.

There is also a problem on defining the bisexuality as something always negative or evasive. It is also possible to find concepts that which classifies bisexuality when you have had half male and half female couples in the emotional journey of a person. However, the 50-50 does not seem a valid option, at least not a quantity which defines bisexuality. Garcia suggested the possible definition of bisexuality as an erotic choice that affects the differences in sex and gender so they are no longer determinative. We must refuse the idea of bisexuality as a simple attraction to men and women, or a combination of homosexual and heterosexual ones. A bisexual person may differ in the way of falling in love or having sex, you may feel physically attracted to some, but only being able to generate relationships with others. It would be so complicated.

There are various myths about bisexuality. One is that bisexuals and are attracted to all men and all women. Another is the one that says that they have parallel relations between men and women. It must be clear that bisexuality does not stop the choice making or imply polygamy; it should also establish relationships that are monogamous. Sexual preference does not determine the type of relationship established. It is believed that bisexuality is a state of transit of heterosexuality to homosexuality, but this is not a rule, in some cases, but it is also reversed and those where it is neither one thing nor the other.

For all these myths, bisexuality is associated to double discrimination in the LGBT group and heterosexuals. LGBT groups think that bisexuals have privileges that they don’t have, heterosexuals believe that bisexuality is an amoral act. There is no room for dialogue or reflection, and lack of support in health facilities and education to receive a bisexual person.

Bisexuality is merely another way of channeling the erotic desire and its negative consequence, the bifobia that affects day by day, a society that rejects that identity as valid. These prejudices stop serious researches on bisexuality, because the logic of mutually exclusive, in which there is no possibility of a point. In bisexual people the identity is not mutually exclusive, hence the difficulty of thinking about it because it breaks with the paradigm of homosexuality and heterosexuality. The bisexual identity is inviting us to accept that between the reality and its opposite it may be various options.

It is established that the path of sexual identity is neither unique nor easy. The identity of the individual on the collective, can not escape from this relationship. Therefore, we must find ways to feel more comfortable with an identity. We must read and analyze the identity, as something different from its political and collective side. Everybody assumes the identity at the time we can, there are no theoretically manual of bisexualism. It is something being built, created and recreated with the contributions of feminism and the human rights speech and the sexual and gender diversity.

A big challenge is to recognize that we all discriminate, which is one of the principles that underpin the society in which we live. But to recognize it and to fight is only a step towards a life free of discrimination. You should not be the eternal victim, or mistrust among the organized groups, it is necessary to prevent disunity and work together for greater strength.

Mrs. Hazel Gloria Davenport presented the issue on "Sexual and Reproductive Health in a transgender person." She emphasizes the difference in the rights of sexual health such as the one to autonomy and to the body, to sexual pleasure, orgasm and erotic, and rights related to reproductive health to partner for breeding and reproduction. At this time, the physical reality of transgender people, an act that his rights under the sexual and reproductive health should start from the recognition of their identity, promoting respect for the relatives, that above all they are not forced to any anatomical and surgical change, requirements for the granting of civil rights.

The experience of the erotic transgender change is new, complex, and requires an adaptation and understanding of the transgender person and the partner, especially about the hormonal effects, the construction of a new eroticism related to the body being constructed. Like many transgender people they can not alter their genitals to have children, in the same way the recognition of their partners and their children, and to the families that are very important. It also includes the recognition of the biological family right.

Many programs that fight HIV-AIDS conceive the transgender population as men who have sex with men, this is a transphobic attitude. It is necessary to generate specific treatments for transgender women and target prevention programs for transgender people. Although current laws allow the City access to the identity chosen by changing the birth certificates, the access to health care is denied. In that way, psychological and medical evaluations are required for the identity change that must be paid by trans people themselves, who are subject of private entrepreneurs and specialists who sell "all-inclusive packages” for the identity change that includes the expertise and the lawyer.

In brief, “setting the sexual and reproductive rights of transgender people is something that involves the State's obligation related to their own gender identity, their reproductive capacity and a free decision. The State must guarantee the right to health in the private industry transgender identity. The city hall should open an access to health care to transgender people and try to understand that this refers not only to genital changes. They must stop thinking about penises and vaginas and keeping mind that they do have hearts. "

It was very interesting the participation of Bishop Raul Vera Lopez of Saltillo about the position of the liberation theology of sexual diversity. Liberation theology recognizes the individual rights providing to the poor people and the faith the role that must develop in the society to break the alliances between the government and the Church. Liberation theology finds on the poor people the basis for the religion; it gives importance to the experience of God who was in the village, the solidarity and love that exist in all human groups. Gustavo Gutierrez said that we have to make people free from any situation of oppression, creating awareness among the people. Liberation theology is committed to the person and the abolition of all forms of oppression. There can be no success if we all progress; we can not move the world if someone is left behind, because the human dignity and greatness is found in every person. It is necessary to work as community with the dignity of sexual diversity, for a different kind of life. Any person must be respected, no matter who they sleep with or how they are defined. Eros should be included in religion, because it is a part of being human. The Church has to understand that it is a fact of sexual diversity and should look for a change and social transformation, as its usual mainly purpose. The person and the wealth as a human being are what count on with the respect for who a person is.

This theology of liberation point of view is actually liberating, as opposed to the dogmatic, static and blind positions of the real world where we live in, against a church that does not recognize its mistakes, which conceals a pedophile behavior opposed to human rights in contradictions to the values; although the real problem is the archaic and the outdated values which perpetuate the supremacy of power over the oppressed. It is encouraging to understand that religion is allied in the fight for freedom, the desire and the rights to sexual and gender diversity.

All these ideas started questions in the audience, and there were also many who participated with their personal experiences, which indicates that the spaces of socialization and dialogue are only a few. It was interesting to have the attendance of people from different ages, backgrounds, professions and paths of life interested on learning more about sexual diversity. We hope we gradually become more, we are sure it will benefit the society turning it more inclusive.

Because of the importance of disseminating the new researches on issues of sexual diversity, the lack of systematization, analysis and socialization experiences, we will publish some of these papers so that they can be reviewed directly by the viewers and readers. We hope it is a reason and an excuse for further progress in knowledge and practice of sexual and gender diversity.