"Lesbianas Presente:" Lesbian Activism, Transnational Alliances, and the State in Mexico City, 1968-1991 Lucinda Grinnell
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository History ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2-13-2014 "Lesbianas Presente:" Lesbian Activism, Transnational Alliances, and the State in Mexico City, 1968-1991 Lucinda Grinnell Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Grinnell, Lucinda. ""Lesbianas Presente:" Lesbian Activism, Transnational Alliances, and the State in Mexico City, 1968-1991." (2014). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds/35 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lucinda Grinnell Candidate History Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Elizabeth Q. Hutchison , Chairperson Dr. Linda B. Hall Dr. Jane M. Slaughter Dr. Amy L. Brandzel Dr. Jocelyn Olcott i "LESBIANAS PRESENTE:" LESBIAN ACTIVISM, TRANSNATIONAL ALLIANCES, AND THE STATE IN MEXICO CITY, 1968-1991 by LUCINDA GRINNELL B.A., Sarah Lawrence College, 2000 M.A., Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico, 2006 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy History The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December 2013 ii DEDICATION For My Daughter, Seda Tavtigian-Grinnell iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work owes itself to the guidance, support, and inspiration of many people. First and foremost, I want to thank the activists in Latin America who inspired this research. Luisa and Amanda Centeno, long time feminist activists in Condega, Nicaragua, first sparked my interest in Latin American feminisms. As an undergraduate student and volunteer in their community, they always encouraged me to speak and act “con confianza.” Nearly ten years after working with Luisa and Amanda in Nicaragua, enthused by the long and dynamic history of lesbian activism in Mexico City, I began my dissertation research. In particular I want to thank Trinidad Gutiérrez and Rotmi Enciso, for encouraging my initial research. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge all the activists in Mexico City who have supported my work by talking with me, both informally and formally about their histories. In particular, I appreciate the vast insight and support that Alma A. and Yan María Yaoyólotl Castro have provided me. I hope that this research will honor the extraordinary history of lesbian activism in Mexico City. I am indebted to the many archivists and administrators who helped me with my research in Mexico City, the U.S., and Canada. In Mexico City, Trinidad Gutiérrez, Yan María Yaoyólotl Castro, and Carmen opened their homes to me to conduct research in organizational archives. Support in the form of fellowships from the American Association of University Women, the Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New Mexico, and the History Department at the University of New Mexico have been invaluable to my research. Without this assistance, I would not have been able to conduct and finish this research. At the University of New Mexico, I am extremely thankful for the guidance and mentorship provided by my advisor Elizabeth Q. Hutchison, who has read over many versions of this dissertation and wrote innumerable letters of support along the way. My committee members, Linda B. Hall, Jane M. Slaughter, Amy L. Brandzel, and Jocelyn Olcott have also provided incredible support and feedback. I also want to recognize all that I have learned from other UNM faculty members including Kimberly Gauderman, Judy Bieber, Barbara Reyes, Kathryn Wichelns, and Claudia Isaac. The administrators of the Department of History have also provided me invaluable support. Without the support and comradery of fellow students Nydia Martinez, Rebecca Ellis, Lavinia Nicolae, Kathleen MacIntyre, Julian Dobson, William Veeder, Scott Crago, and Yann Kerevel I would not have made it. Thank you also to Priscilla Murolo, professor of History at Sarah Lawrence College who first inspired my interest in history, and to my dear friends from Massachusetts, New York, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Mexico who continue to support and inspire me-James, Nicole, Reb, Pheobe, Ines, Kim, Kay, Lauriana, Teresa, Julie, and Sandra. My daughter, Seda was born as I began the writing of this dissertation. Her joy and laughter have sustained me throughout this process. My partner, Leah has provided incalculable support and love. Finally, thank you to my mother, father and extended family whom have always supported my academic, activist, and professional endeavors. iv “LESBIANAS PRESENTE:” LESBIAN ACTIVISM, TRANSNATIONAL ALLIANCES, AND THE STATE IN MEXICO CITY, 1968-1991 LUCINDA GRINNELL BACHELOR OF ARTS, SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE MASTER OF ARTS, LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO ABSTRACT My dissertation examines the emergence of lesbian movements in Mexico City in the context of the Cold War and the onset of economic neo-liberalism. A transnational approach is crucial to understand the constitution of these movements because they responded and contributed to global sexuality rights movements as well as to the global Left. During this time, Mexican lesbians allied with the political Left offering support to socialist and anti-imperialist groups. In turn, the government treated lesbian activists as they did the Left, monitoring and harassing lesbians and their organizations in an effort to weaken the groups’ influence on civil society. Confronting this state repression as well as increasing economic instability throughout the 1980s, Mexican lesbian activists organized in coalitions with local, national, and international actors defending gay, lesbian, and human rights and pressing for the democratization of the Mexican state. Challenging Western understandings of the utilization of human rights discourse as a liberal construct, my research reveals that Mexican lesbian activists’ use of these discourses was grounded in their work with anti-imperialist movements in Latin America to democratize the state from the grassroots. They used human rights rhetoric not only to uphold individual civil and political rights, but also to demand social and economic rights and to express solidarity with other marginalized groups working to democratize authoritarian states in Latin America. In particular, my study focuses on the anti- v imperialist politics that Mexican lesbians brought to international organizing for lesbian and homosexual liberation and to the politics of lesbian and homosexual liberation that they sought to instill in the Mexican Left. As part of efforts to further lesbian and gay rights, Mexican lesbians also became leaders in international activism, particularly by their participation in campaigns and conferences of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). vi TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 1 Reform versus Revolution............................................................................................................. 3 Left Internationalism, Human Rights, and Solidarity........................................................... 5 Historical Context...........................................................................................................................10 Chapterization.................................................................................................................................15 Review of the Literature...............................................................................................................19 Methodology.....................................................................................................................................30 CHAPTER ONE: FORGING “SEXUAL OPENINGS” AND CONTESTING SOCIAL NORMS: INCIPIENT LESBIAN AND GAY ACTIVISM IN POST-TLATELOLCO MEXICO CITY, 1968-1977 ...................................................................................................42 Political and Sexual Openings: The New Left and “La Onda” in Cold War Mexico ....47 Incipient Liberation Movements: The First Homosexual and Feminist Organizing 53 Cárdenas as Public Figure: Challenging Social Norms and Raising Consciousness..59 Forging International Ties ..........................................................................................................64 Mexican Lesbians “Come Out” to the Nation and the World ............................................69 Lesbos: Mexico’s First Lesbian Organization ........................................................................73 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................79 CHAPTER 2: “NO ONE IS FREE UNTIL WE ARE ALL FREE”: LESBIAN AND HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVISM, SOCIALIST POLITICS, AND INTERNATIONALISM, 1978-1982 ...............................................................................................................................81 Mexico’s “Doble Discurso:” Political Reform Amidst continued Government Repression ........................................................................................................................................86