Defying Cultural Norms: LGBTQIA+ Rights in Traditional Indigenous Cultures

Defying Cultural Norms: LGBTQIA+ Rights In Traditional Indigenous Cultures Author’s Name The Institutional Affiliation Course Number and Name Instructor Name Assignment Due Date Introduction Keeping in view the complex genre of LGBTQIA genre, an exploration of their historical context seems laced with continuous deprivations, struggles, and political and social discrimination. The community has to endure several tough times to get their rights accepted and comply with societal norms. Before the arrival of colonialism and the acceptance of heteronormativity values in Latin America and Africa, people from the LGBTQIA community were facing mixed responses from the societies (Cruz et al., 2022). For some people, these people were held in great esteem, and for others, they were not expected. A society’s religious, political, societal, and cultural norms and values shape the acceptability of the rights of people belonging to a different community. When the colonial powers captured Latin America and Africa, they developed laws and practices specifically to subdue those with homogeneity. For example, the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861 was passed to suppress the LGBTQIA community from having same-sex relationships. Some of the prominent such laws were developed against same-sex matrimonial alliances and the fundamental rights of LGBTQIA people. The community dealt with harassment and discrimination in the name of rights (Alterman, 2018). The LGBTQIA community struggled for hundreds of years to gain their fundamental rights. It was not until the 20th century that their efforts were heard. The prime reasons behind their successful momentum struggle were uniformity and sustenance. It was the result of their efforts that many countries have to pass laws to protect and acknowledge the rights of the LGBTQIA community. South Africa became the first country to pass LGBTQIA protection laws in 2006, so the government officially recognized the community. Even though many countries in Latin America and Africa acknowledge and recognize the rights of the LGBTQIA community, they are still facing discrimination based on their gender in many countries. They are deprived of fundamental rights, including education, healthcare, and religion. Discussion History of LGBTQIA’s Rights in Latin America and Africa The history of LGBTQIA has spanned different ages through different cultures and civilizations, and its exploration manifests an entangled display of struggle, tolerance, and persecution. The cultural values and recognition which is currently given by the current modern society to the transgender were not always given to them. They had to fight a lot to realize the world of their recognition. The history of the LGBTQIA community is enriched with thousands of examples of when they were discriminated against, harassed, and humiliated for holding homogenous relations. Their existence at one time was associated with a stigma, and they were not provided with any care or concerns, even by their families (Smith, 2022). Gender and sexuality were dealt with diverse attitudes before the imposition of colonialism and the spread of heteronormativity. Locally developed cultures across America also had traces of mixed views on same-sex relationships. Some people used to call the homogenous relations holy, but for some, it was not very kind (Knight & Wilson, 2020). For example, Swahili Coast, one of the ancient tribes of Africa, had traces of respectful treatment of people belonging to homogeneity. In some local communities, transgender people were given prestige and were recognized as an essential part of the culture. Traces of marriages with same-sex and their involvement in important cultural and social matters are also found in ancient African history. They were held and recognized as essential to society in Latin America. Despite being identified as an important part of society, they were also humiliated by others in the same society. Their humiliation was associated with entangled cultural norms and values (Shopland, 2020). Many native American tribes recognize and treat people of the LGBTQIA community with esteem. For them, people with both masculine and feminine traits were known as “Two Spirit People.” Such people were blessed with jobs of esteem and were considered to have holy powers to treat people from different sorts of suffering. People used to visit them for healing purposes or soul purity. Since they were treated as Nobel individuals in society, they were revered as spiritual leaders and healers. They were even given many important social and political positions to serve the community with their knowledge and healing powers. Specific laws and practices were developed to subdue the LGBTQIA community by the British in their African and Latin American colonies. For example, the British Buggery Act, which was passed in 1533, made sodomy a huge offense (Kholid, 2024). Similarly, the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861 was passed to criminalize unnatural crimes, including sodomy. Virginia’s Sodomy Law, which was passed and adopted in 1610 in Latin America, was used to impose the death penalty on people having same-sex relationships (Carilli & Campbell, 2023). These laws and practices were created by the inspiration of moral values and norms followed by the colonial powers, including religious beliefs and cultural values. Massachusetts Bay Colony law, which was passed in 1641 and imposed in Latin America, was used by the British to punish people having homogenous relationships by imprisoning them or even by imposing death penalties. In Africa and Latin America, individuals were criminalized through laws developed by penal codes and were used to suppress LGBTQ. Social stigmas, norms, and values were created, devoiding the existence of this community, and they were brutally punished, including slavery and captivation in case of having relationships with same-sex partners. Moreover, the colonial powers tried to incorporate religious beliefs with social values to develop criminal laws for the offenders of same-sex relationships. Catholic doctrine was used as the medium of religious beliefs to disrupt homogeneity in the regions of their control and to suppress the local population. The people belonging to the LGBTQIA community were sentenced under these laws by discrimination, persecution, and violence (Leslo, 2021). Before colonialism and the implementation of heteronormative values in Africa and Latin America, people with homogeneity were dealt with mixed reactions, including negative and positive. Though same-sex relationships were not always admired or accepted by the local communities, they were suppressed the way they began to be suppressed after the arrival of the colonial powers. For example, the Navajo (Diné), one of the North American Tribes, recognized LGBTQIA as a separate and respectable entity. Similarly, the Zuni tribe, also among North American tribes, used to hold in prestige the individuals with masculine and feminine traits. They used to call these people Ihamana and rewarded them with perks and privileges (Falabella Fabrício, 2022). Several factors paved the way for accepting the LGBTQIA community into society as ordinary people. The movements for attaining the rights of the LGBTQIA community were initiated in the late 20th century and played an instrumental role in advocating the rights and recognition of these people. Some critical events, including the Stonewall riots in 1969 and the following gay liberation movement, paved the way for increased momentum (De Souza & Rodrigues Selis, 2022). Legal victories against ...