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Homomercracia Social Change and Sexual Diversity in Times of Emerging Neoliberalism in Chile Abelardo León

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Homomercracia Social Change and Sexual Diversity in Times of Emerging Neoliberalism in Chile Abelardo León Homomercracia Social Change and Sexual Diversity in Times of Emerging Neoliberalism in Chile Abelardo León A Thesis In the Department Of Humanities Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Humanities) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada July 2016 © Abelardo León, 2016 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Abelardo León Homomercracia. Social change and sexual diversity in times of emerging neoliberalism in Chile Entitled: and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Humanities) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final Examining Committee: Dr. N. Jaffary Chair Dr. P. Isla External Examiner Dr. B. Nelson External to Program Dr. J.-P. Warren Examiner Dr. T. Waugh Examiner Dr. J. A. Giménez Thesis supervisor Approved by Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director 2016 Dean of Faculty ii ABSTRACT Homomercracia Social Change and Sexual Diversity in Times of Emerging Neoliberalism in Chile Abelardo León Concordia University, 2016 During the last few years, increasing sensitivity has been shown toward civil and sexual rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people in Chile. There are several reasons for this, which include, for example: the emergence of the student movement in 2006, which encouraged several social groups to demand recognition of their rights, and institutional support from the conservative government of Sebastián Piñera (2010-2014). From here, important steps in favor of the LGBT population where taken, making them more visible in the media, approving the antidiscrimination law in 2012, and creating the conditions for the approval of the civil union agreement in 2015 during Michelle Bachelet’s tenure as president. Accordingly, this qualitative case study examines the symbolic dimension of LGBT civil rights discourse in the 10 years leading up to the approval of the civil union agreement in 2015. This research uses phenomenology as a broad conceptual umbrella, and Critical Discourse Analysis and Multimodality as methodological approaches. In this sense, this study is grounded in three interdisciplinary areas: Discourse Analysis, Queer Studies and the study of Social Movements. I have analyzed this political moment as the effect of a new relationship between homosexuality, the global market and liberal democracies using a concept which I call Homomercracia. My conclusion is that under these economic and political conditions, the iii commodification of homosexuality leads to the emergence of a regulated pattern of homosexuality—a white, male, socially successful professional—which, though widely accepted in Chilean society, is strongly marked by racial and economic biases. Key words: Homomercracia, Social Change, Discourse Analysis, LGBT Studies, Empathy iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Homomercracia is the result of five years of investigative analysis of deep inner changes and meaningful observations in relation to social change in Chile. This research would not have been possible without the support of many people, both in Canada and Chile. I would like to express my profound thanks to all the participants, especially to Leonardo Fernández, Luís Larraín, Oscar Contardo, Elías Jiménez, Camila Gutiérrez, Erika Montecinos, Rolándo Jiménez, Pablo Astudillo, Angelo Cánepa, Christian Thomas, Fernando Matta, Victor Hugo Robles, and organizations encountered in this study such as MOVILH; Fundación Iguales; and MUMS. I have learned from listening to your experiences, insights and opinions. I feel honoured that so many of you shared details of your life stories and thoughts with me, and I hope to adequately represent your views in this thesis. Collectively, you have strengthened my beliefs that empathy toward sexual diversity is progressively increasing thanks to your valuable work. I would also like to thank the faculty at Concordia University, in particular, the members of my committee: Toni Giménez, Thomas Waugh and Jean-Philippe Warren. Thank you for your invaluable input and expertise and especially for believing in me. My heartfelt thanks also go to the staff at Concordia's Humanities Doctoral Program, especially Bina Freiwald and Sharon Fitch who continually supported me during the thesis-writing stage. In particular, without Sharon Fitch's administrative help and emotional support, it would not have been possible for me to complete this project. Finally, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my supportive friend in Canada, Phil Mayfield for being ever patient while correcting my English, and for the generous time he v devoted to teaching and explaining to me the behavioural nuances of his native language. Many thanks, Phil. I truly appreciate it. Also, to my friends in Chile: Alejandra Toro, Francisca Reyes, Ximena Martínez, three great and admirable women who challenged and encouraged me to develop this body of research. And, to my friends in Canada: Arturo Velásquez, Florencia Marchetti, Ryan Conrad, Marcin Wisniewski, Roy Meuwissen, David Thompson, Tim Cyr for their unwavering support and for continually motivating me to not give up. Lastly, I would like to express my profound thanks to my family in Chile: my parents, my brothers and sisters, and my nieces and nephews, for always being concerned for my wellbeing despite the distance between us, for keeping me informed about their lives, and for always maintaining their sense of humour. I extend my love, respect, and gratitude to all of you, for your invaluable support in making this research possible. Abelardo León, Montreal 2016 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THIS RESEARCH ................................ 5 Statement of the Problem............................................................................................................ 5 Literature review ....................................................................................................................... 13 Previous Research on the Topic ............................................................................................ 14 On Homosexual Public Discourse in Chile ........................................................................... 17 Summary of Literature Review ............................................................................................. 19 Proposition and Questions ........................................................................................................ 21 Proposition ............................................................................................................................ 22 Central Question ................................................................................................................... 22 Sub-questions ........................................................................................................................ 22 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 23 Some Considerations on Language ....................................................................................... 28 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 33 Broad Topics of this Research .................................................................................................. 40 Overview of the Proposed Structure of Thesis ......................................................................... 45 CHAPTER TWO: ON EMPATHY ........................................................................................... 50 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 50 Philia and the Beginning of Empathy ....................................................................................... 53 David Hume’s sympathy ....................................................................................................... 56 Empatheia.............................................................................................................................. 61 Autopoiesis............................................................................................................................ 66 Mirror Neurons ......................................................................................................................... 72 The Mechanisms of Empathy ................................................................................................... 78 Drawing upon Empathy ............................................................................................................ 94 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 101 vii CHAPTER THREE: A DISCURSIVE INVESTIGATION INTO THE ORIGINS OF THE HOMOSEXUAL MOVEMENT IN CHILE ........................................................................... 102 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 102 Discourse and Ideology:
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