Is homosexuality accepted in Argentina

[lionel]

I hear conflicting opinions about how accepted homosexuality is in Argentina. I´d like to hear some opinions.

 

[Granadaiscool]

I hear conflicting opinions about how accepted homosexuality is in Argentina. I´d like to hear some opinions.

[...] I would guess yes

I would say look at the number of gay bars in BA and you will get an idea

 

[syngirl]

Thank god someone erased Granada's previous comment. He needs to be reigned in.
Granada, this is not your personal forum to spout your views on sexism, racism, or any other hatred.

The fact is, while BA may sell itself as a great Gay destination, the reality is that the scene is still pretty underground. I'm from Vancouver so to me it's kind of strange -- the absence of "other" in this city (other race, other sexuality etc -- Capital can come off as pretty conformist). This definitely is not the Castro nor the West End.
On the other hand, there is the right to Civil Union and homosexual couples that take advantage of this are guaranteed the same rights as any married couple. The Civil Union document however is not accepted outside of Argentina, I believe -- ie if you're Canadian and move home you would have to get married there as well to have it recognised.
In areas like San Telmo and Palermo, affection between a same-sex couple would barely raise eyebrows. However, the gay couples I know never even hold hands in public -- now that could say just as much about them as it does about the city, but I don't want to get into their own psychology!
One couple I know just went to Salta last week -- it took them awhile to explain to the guy that they only wanted one room and they only wanted one bed in it. This was not a language issue -- they are Argentine -- this was essentially an initiation for the hotel owner into the world of homosexual travel!
There are definitely areas where you'd want to be careful in the city, there have been incidents of gay-bashing in the past.
A new gay-only restaurant just opened last week in Palermo, so the scene certainly is growing and becoming more open (or since it's a private resto, would that be more closed, ha!).
It can be kind of funny here -- the portenos totally accept transvestites on primetime tv, but only the good-looking ones! On bailando por un sueno there are two -- Florencia de la V, who everyone loves, and then there's another not so good-looking girl who's name I can't remember that people can't believe -- in fact the guy that's dancing with her is supposedly paid twice as much as everyone else to do so. Florencia de la V is treated completely differently in this respect.
In terms of the pick-up scene beyond the clubs, there's definitely a lot of park life going on, and lots of dating/escort services as well.

 

[syngirl]

Granada, my comment was in reference to your entire contribution to this site, not just this last post.

 

[eschal]

"A new gay-only restaurant just opened last week in Palermo"...doesn't sound so open minded? Straight friendly would be more open minded.

 

[cruizes]

I feel that Buenos Aires is very closeted. Let me clarify by saying that the men are closeted. Married men are having sex with other men and then going home to their "happy familes." Very sad situation. And in my opinion, the same-sex law passed in July was politically motivated because Nestor would have received more popular votes. Well, that is behind us now since he is dead. I think that it would be interesting to find out exactly how many gay couples have actually gotten married. I would believe that it would be under one dozen.

 

[marksoc]

Married men are having sex with other men and then going home to their "happy familes."

In the same way that married straight men have a lover in BA and after a nice afternoon in the telo go back to their "happy families". We don´t want the American model of "I don´t like this pair of socks, let´s divorce", thank you very much. Family will always come first, and Argentinian girls still act as women (maybe that is way there is a lot less gay people here, and make no mistake, is not that they are closeted, there are simply less).

 

[palermochica]

In the same way that married straight men have a lover in BA and after a nice afternoon in the telo go back to their "happy families". We don´t want the American model of "I don´t like this pair of socks, let´s divorce", thank you very much. Family will always come first, and Argentinian girls still act as women (maybe that is way there is a lot less gay people here, and make no mistake, is not that they are closeted, there are simply less).

At least the "American model", if such a thing exists, is not built on lies. If you think what you wrote is acceptable, perhaps you need to look at your morals. I'm not saying that family is not important, it is, incredibly so, in fact that's exactly what I want to say. But if the family was really that important to you then you'd be true to them. And when I say you, I don't mean you personally.

And I'm not even going to start on the ridiculous comment of if girls were more like women of bygone times then less men would become gay. Seriously, what planet are you on?

 

[perry]

In regards to relationships and sexuality in Buenos Aires I do not see it as some nirvana and please do not tell me that there is less divorce here than the USA when the facts prove otherwise. I have never lived in a city that has more divorced people looking for a partner .

In regards to gay sexuality and acceptance I tend to agree that Buenos Aires is a conservative society and tolerates only the wealthy creative gay man who is conservative in public. The argentine government is much more progressive thah the society and It wiill be a long time before real tolerance is visible here.

 

[starlucia]

I'll just say that I rarely hold my girlfriend's hand in public anymore, nor do we kiss on the lips while saying goodbye at Ezeiza, because I feel like I'm on display at the circus or something. Not only do people gawk more here than in NYC or San Francisco, but they gawk more than in Tampa, Orlando, and other American cities that aren't exactly paradigms of liberalism. I don't necessarily feel a vibe of disapproval, but this is such a homogeneous society that two girls holding hands is definitely not a commonplace sight on the streets of Recoleta (hence some people's eyes falling out of their sockets.)

In my personal experience, Argentine women tend to be more accepting of and open-minded towards homosexuality towards men. I was surprised by the homophobic jokes and comments that have come out of the mouths of my male students, and these are educated professionals from ages 20 to 40. One (a well-traveled, 23-year-old medical student) even said that gay adoption should be illegal because having two parents of the same sex would do psychological harm to the child. My personal theory is that these younger Argentines are more narrow-minded (homophobic and somewhat anti-Semitic, too) than their older counterparts because they've been exposed to much less of the world. They were young children when the peso collapsed, so many of them have never even traveled out of Argentina, resulting in a much more provincial mindset.