Socialism and Homosexuality

In: New politics: a journal of socialist thought, Band 12, Heft 2, S. 16-26

Abstract

A contribution to a symposium on, "Gays & the Left," points out that sexual relations between men were praised in Ancient Greece & widely tolerated in Christian Europe until the late 12th century. A morality of compulsory heterosexuality emerged during the Industrial Revolution with the extension of the bourgeois family model based on patriarchal supremacy & strictly-defined gender roles. A look at attitudes toward homosexuality among socialists notes that Marx & Engels never actively criticized homophobia & the socialist press avoided the topic of homosexuality until gay liberation was temporarily extolled during the Bolshevik Revolution. However, homosexuality was criminalized under Stalin & gays were persecuted as "asocial" outsiders who represented a potential threat to the new system. This homophobia was reproduced in Communist parties throughout the world. Although much progress has been made, the strong resistance to equalizing marriage rights indicates the struggle for full sexual equality is far from over. Emphasis is placed on the need for socialists to lead the movement toward a populist, anti-capitalist party that advocates for gay rights. J. Lindroth