There's been a very successful campaign in the imperial core to paint queerness as an expression of bourgeois individualism. Queerness-as-fashion, queerness-as-urbane-liberalism, queerness-as-a-consumer identity that you can market products to. Coupled with the pinkwashing imperial core nations like to do to excuse their horrendous actions elsewhere, it's not all that surprising that ML movements - many based in countries where much of the population is illiterate, never mind versed in modern gender and sexuality studies- would shun the LGBT struggle.
That said the Bolsheviks decriminalized homosexuality in 1921 and Castro officially apologized to queer Cubans in 2010 for their internment in the aftermath of the revolution.
It wasn't just a decriminalisation streak. During the early Soviet years there was a wide-ranging LGBT debate and multiple efforts to develop LGBT research and services, especially from the Constructivist/Cosmist factions.
Even the decriminalisation wasn't just a sweeping reform, since they deliberately didn't put the law back in with their new legal code. This pamphlet shows the opinion of the progressive factions of the SU on what the law reform meant (slight cringe anti ML stuff from the guy in the intro)
Finally, several prominent Bolshevik leaders were LGBT, most notably Georgy Chicherin the first Foreign Minister of the SU and a close associate of Stalin.
Unfortunately, open LGBT people were widely associated not just with the upper classes but those close to the Tsar (since those were the only people powerful enough to be openly gay). Even though much of the peasantry was openly gay, the proletariat was very conservative due to the 18th century francophile reforms, the Tsar had had some of the strictest anti- LGBT laws ever (including anti-lesbian laws, which were quite rare elsewhere) and authors like Tolstoy using gay characters to illustrate corruption and decadence didn't help. Nor did the prejudice of some of the Soviet Leaders. Finally, we need to remember that Gay people were not separated from paedophiles in many people's heads, and it suited the conservative factions to keep it that way.
Ultimately the debate fell on the side of LGBT being a mental illness and it was recriminalised, but it was a halting step forwards for the time.
That said the Bolsheviks decriminalized homosexuality in 1921 and Castro officially apologized to queer Cubans in 2010 for their internment in the aftermath of the revolution.
The NPA has also been pretty great on LGBT rights:
In 2005, the NPA conducted the first recorded gay marriage in the history of the Philippines.[37] In contrast to the deeply religious nature of mainstream Filipino society, the NPA leadership openly accepts gay and lesbian people into their ranks, though the attitudes of members within the various and largely isolated guerrilla branches can vary.
Filipino president Duterte has mocked the NPA's acceptance of LGBT members, erroneously claiming that '40 percent' of NPA members are gay.[38] Duterte also claimed that NPA guerrillas once attempted to sexually seduce his son.[39] NPA co-founder Jose Maria Sison confirmed that the NPA openly accepted LGBT people and called Duterte's claims "unbelievable".[40]
Like Atreides said, it was more part of generally throwing out of the entire tsarist legal system as illegitimate. But I still think it counts for something that at least from 1921 to 1953, gay people were relatively legally safe in the USSR at a time when the UK was still carrying out chemical castration.
Edit: But maybe I've been misinformed, see @Mardoniush 's more in-depth historical analysis above.
There's been a very successful campaign in the imperial core to paint queerness as an expression of bourgeois individualism. Queerness-as-fashion, queerness-as-urbane-liberalism, queerness-as-a-consumer identity that you can market products to. Coupled with the pinkwashing imperial core nations like to do to excuse their horrendous actions elsewhere, it's not all that surprising that ML movements - many based in countries where much of the population is illiterate, never mind versed in modern gender and sexuality studies- would shun the LGBT struggle.
That said the Bolsheviks decriminalized homosexuality in 1921 and Castro officially apologized to queer Cubans in 2010 for their internment in the aftermath of the revolution.
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It wasn't just a decriminalisation streak. During the early Soviet years there was a wide-ranging LGBT debate and multiple efforts to develop LGBT research and services, especially from the Constructivist/Cosmist factions.
Even the decriminalisation wasn't just a sweeping reform, since they deliberately didn't put the law back in with their new legal code. This pamphlet shows the opinion of the progressive factions of the SU on what the law reform meant (slight cringe anti ML stuff from the guy in the intro)
Finally, several prominent Bolshevik leaders were LGBT, most notably Georgy Chicherin the first Foreign Minister of the SU and a close associate of Stalin.
Unfortunately, open LGBT people were widely associated not just with the upper classes but those close to the Tsar (since those were the only people powerful enough to be openly gay). Even though much of the peasantry was openly gay, the proletariat was very conservative due to the 18th century francophile reforms, the Tsar had had some of the strictest anti- LGBT laws ever (including anti-lesbian laws, which were quite rare elsewhere) and authors like Tolstoy using gay characters to illustrate corruption and decadence didn't help. Nor did the prejudice of some of the Soviet Leaders. Finally, we need to remember that Gay people were not separated from paedophiles in many people's heads, and it suited the conservative factions to keep it that way.
Ultimately the debate fell on the side of LGBT being a mental illness and it was recriminalised, but it was a halting step forwards for the time.
@Archivist
According to Mike Duncan, it was more part of abolishing the tsarist order of things and all the old laws.
The NPA has also been pretty great on LGBT rights:
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Like Atreides said, it was more part of generally throwing out of the entire tsarist legal system as illegitimate. But I still think it counts for something that at least from 1921 to 1953, gay people were relatively legally safe in the USSR at a time when the UK was still carrying out chemical castration.
Edit: But maybe I've been misinformed, see @Mardoniush 's more in-depth historical analysis above.