Cuba's official sexologist: Homosexuality is a reality

by Nick Cargo

http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/Cubas_official_sexologist_Homosexuality_is_a__0105.html

"Homosexuality is a reality to be taken into account, not [gotten] rid of," said Mariela Castro Espín, daughter of Cuban leader Raul Castro, in a recent interview with Anastasia Haydulina of RussiaToday.

Castro, head of Cuba's National Center for Sex Education, has helped make strides for LGBT rights. In addition to her support for equalizing the family code for gays, Castro helped secure guaranteed care for the transgender community through the public health ministry. Work is also being done to ease the process of changing one's legal gender, with or without sex change surgery, "[because] not all of them are automatically eligible for this operation, but nevertheless people do need society to recognize them in accordance with their gender identity, not by biological sex."

Mariela Castro: We've already accomplished a lot. For example, we've achieved a resolution by the public health ministry that guarantees transsexuals specialized attention, including sex change surgeries. The first of these types of operation are about to begin. They were first performed in 1988 but were interrupted due to people's incomprehension. We're proposing important changes to the family code that include the right of people of the same sex to legalize their unions. We're also working on a gender identity decree law that will make it easier for transsexuals to change their sex and identity papers, regardless of the sex change surgery. Because not all of them are automatically eligible for this operation, but nevertheless people do need society to recognize them in accordance with their gender identity, not by biological sex.