One of my older host brothers is friends with a gay man who was recently elected councilman of one of Santiago's more hip cuica comunas, Providencia. This is a big deal in Chile, especially because he didn't hide it. The councilman elect was openly associated with Movilh as part of his political platform. During the campaign, my host family, including my host parents who are around 70-years-old, were supportive of his candidacy. The three youngest (26-40 years) siblings especially admire his openness and appreciate the social significance.
"En Providencia fue electo el primer concejal públicamente gay" -El Ciudadano
"Jaime Parada becomes Chile's first openly gay councilman" -Gay Star News
Yesterday, my host mother's cousin and his son came over for lunch. The son is probably in his late 30s and is a professor at the Catholic university I attend. He is gay and seems to live his life pretty openly. His appearance and voice is pretty masculine and stereotypically "straight" expect for a set of hoop earrings on one side. Even those are not uncommon to see on straight, masculine Chilean men.
He was talking about the yelling and honking he and his partner receive if they engage in any kind of PDA on the streets of Santiago. He also talked some about his experience at the university and the bipolarity of it. On the one hand, the university is very LGBT-friendly in certain departments (namely the arts and humanities, especially psychology and sociology) and has a university-recognized queer student group. However, there are priests and professors of certain departments (medicine, engineering, economics, etc.) who are frequently in the national news for anti-gay comments posted on Facebook, hosting lectures on 'ex-gay therapy,' etc. My host family seemed to sympathize and agree with this commentary. They also mentioned France's and Spain's recent legalization of same-sex marriage. But, again, there was a palpable (though not verbally expressed) difference in the enthusiasm and level of understanding among my host parents and my younger host siblings.
The confusion and large verbally expressed generational differences among my host family are found in regards to members of the military serving openly. My host mother's views can summed up as a) homosexuals in the military should stay in the closet, b) other countries will defeat Chile if they know there are gays in the military, and c) the existence of openly gay soldiers will invite other countries to attack Chile. Although this makes little logical sense and reflects a very stereotypical view of gay men as feminine and weak, my host father seems to agree with this sentiment despite being less verbal about it. The two oldest siblings (40-50) tend to agree that gay soldiers should remain closeted but can see the fallacy of their mother's other arguments. The three youngest siblings are more verbal in arguing against their mother on all three counts.
In general, I feel that my host family is a prime example of the evolution of the LGBT movement over time, each generation pushing the boundaries and opening their minds a little more. I can only imagine how 'normal' and equal my six host nieces and nephews (ages 1-14) do and will see homosexuality and same-sex relationships. After all, three of them were there yesterday as we discussed gay PDA and LGBT university life with a gay relative over lunch. Granted the kids were more interested in finishing their food so they could jump on the couch, but I'm sure it will sink in slowly over the years. I am happy that their parents (especially the friend of the councilman) have made the effort to include these people and dialogues in their children's lives. Living in a conservative Catholic macho society as they do, it is important that they counter these sociocultural influences for the betterment of society and the of their children in case they later question their sexual orientation or gender identity.
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