Being LGB in Argentina

Abstract

Latin America is at the forefront of sexual rights. Since the mid-1990s,numerous countries in the region have advanced a variety of rights to sexual and gender minorities, which include the decriminalization of same-sex relationships in all Hispanophone and Lusophone countries;, the enactment of legislation and the reform of constitutions that bar discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, and the adoption of civil unions and marriage for same-sex couples. Yet, the sexual-rights landscape is highly heterogeneous: while whereas some countries have made strongstrides toward the extension of these rights, others have stagnated, or even regressed. There exists, then, a wide spectrum in the expansion of l Lesbian, g Gay, and b Bisexual (LGB) rights across Latin American countries. Argentina is placed at the most progressive end of that spectrum. Along with Uruguay, Argentina has extended numerous civil, political, and identity rights to its LGB population, and it is widely considered to be one of the most advanced. Indeed, Argentina has been at the forefront of the extension of many of these rights, a phenomenon that has largely been the result of a well-organized LGB movement, which is the oldest in the region, as well as the absence of any relevant religious-based party able to block policy reform. However, as in many other countries in the region, there exists a gap between the extension of formal rights and the treatment of LGB citizens: despite their de jure protection, harassment and bullying are still experienced by LGB people, and, in somecases, hatred has resulted in their killing murder. The complete elimination of discrimination and violence against LGB citizen remains unfinished business in Argentina.