380 Chapter 16
around sexual identities to claim full and equal rights to political par-
ticipation and representation and access to welfare entitlements.
LGBT subjects’ acceptance in mainstream society in liberal-demo-
cratic capitalist states becomes contingent on the group’s ability to
prove their importance as a valuable economic block of good citizen-
consumers.
Cuban Discourses of Citizenship
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for
your country”Despite the fact that the rights guaranteed to Cuban citizens in the
state’s constitution far surpass those guaranteed to US citizens in our
constitution, Cuban citizenship discourses fall within a civic republi-
canism tradition which “places more stress on [the citizen’s] obligation
[to the state], often mediated through political participation in com-
mon affairs” (Bell and Binnie, 2000:7).^2 The Cuban constitution guar-
antees all citizens equal rights, without regard to “race, skin color, sex,
national origin, religious beliefs and any other form of discrimination
harmful to human dignity” and holds them subject to equal responsi-
bilities under the law (Cuban Constitution 1992, art. 43). While the
state’s obligations to its citizens are clearly outlined in the constitution,
so too are the citizens’ obligations to the state.
Cuban citizenship discourse focuses on citizen’s responsibility vis-
a-vis the state to be productive members of society, and contribute to
the nation/Revolution. Rather than being tied to consumption,
belonging to and being accepted by mainstream society is asserted
through supporting the social and ideological goals of the Revolution
through participation. Full citizenship is recognized contingent on
one's ability to prove his or her importance to the construction of
social project. In order to achieve full sexual citizenship, Cuban LGBT
subjects argue for inclusion in contexts which allow them to contrib-
ute to the nation/Revolution.