|Narratives of lesbian refugees
How to perform your sexual orientation in different countries and circumstances
Name: L.C. Kooke
Student number: 11349220
E-mail: laura.kooke@kpnmail.nl
Programme: Sociology: Gender, Sexuality and Society
First supervisor: Mw. Dr. M.P.C. Janssen
Second supervisor: Dhr. Dr. P.J.H. Mepschen
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Mw. Dr. M.P.C. Janssen, Sandro Kortekaas of LGBT Asylum support, LGBT refugees of Stichting Rainbow Den Haag and all the women I have interviewed, without the help and cooperation of these persons it would not have been able to write this thesis.1
Index
1. Introduction ... 1
2. Methodology ... 4
2.1 Research context... 4
2.2 Recruiting respondents and aim of research ... 5
2.3 Research methodology ... 8 2.4 Data analysis ... 10 2.5 Dilemma’s ... 11 2.6 Questions ... 11 3. Theories ... 13 3.1 Performance ... 13 3.2 Intersectionality ... 16 3.3 Ethnosexual boundaries ... 18 4. Context ... 19 4.1 Worldwide ... 19 4.2 Jamaica ... 22 4.3 Uganda ... 23 4.4 Middle East ... 24 4.5 East Africa ... 24 4.6 The Netherlands ... 25 4.7 Conclusion ... 27
5. Relation between the performance of sexual orientation and location ... 29
5.1 Jamaica ... 29
5.2 Uganda ... 30
5.3 Middle East ... 36
5.4 East Africa ... 37
5.5 Conclusion ... 38
6. Moments of change in the performance of sexual orientation ... 40
6.1 Differences in cultural views on sexual acts ... 40
6.2 Sexual orientation and cultural practices ... 42
6.4 Behaviour ... 48
7. Conclusion ... 52
Bibliography ... 55
Appendix ... 61
Appendix 1: Introducing the interviewees ... 61
1. Introduction
Since 2010 there is a great migratory flow towards Europe. The refugees who cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe often come from Africa and the Middle East. The crisis started in 2010 and led to intense media-covering when hundreds of boat refugees died in 2013. In 2016 there were 1.205.090 first asylum applications in Europe; this number does not include refugees who apply for asylum for the second or third etc. time. In 2016 there were 101.744 refugees in the Netherlands (Vluchtelingenwerk, 2017). It is assumed that
approximately 200 to 300 LGBT refugees ask for asylum in the Netherlands annually, which means the number of lesbian refugees asking for asylum in the Netherlands is low (Jansen & Spijkerboer, 2011).
Beside the media coverage of the ‘average’ refugee, if you can say such a thing, I also have read stories from and about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) refugees. These stories expressed the discrimination and violence these persons often had to flee from in their home countries, the problems they had to cope with to be recognized as homosexual, and the struggle to be who they want to be in the country they fled to (Lewis, 2014).
An important aspect which comes back in the stories of the LGBT refugees is performance. Society has a certain expectation of gender and sexuality, and how you should behave if you have a certain sexual orientation or gender. This social reality is constituted through language, behaviour and symbolic social signs, which can vary within and between countries and
cultures. This means that identities are constructed, and oppressed persons usually will adapt their behaviour and appearance to the current societal norms (Butler, 1988). They will do this to blend in the crowd, to reduce the risk of social exclusion, violence and discrimination. A clear example is the case of violence and discrimination against LGBT people in Ghana, described by Human Rights Watch (2018). This report describes the colonial legacy that criminalizes homosexual sex, and its influence on contemporary life. LGBT persons suffer from the social stigma and constant threat of discrimination and even violence. This violence often occurs within the wall of their own homes; the place where one expects to be safe. Many LGBT persons flee from the bad conditions they live in, in the hope to build up a better life in another country (Human Rights Watch, 2018).
When I personally met a homosexual man from the Middle East who has fled his country because of his sexual orientation, and heard that he had to prove his sexual orientation in an interview with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service to obtain a residence permit, I was shocked. As a lesbian woman myself, I wondered how I would prove my sexual orientation,
and I asked myself if I would feel comfortable and safe enough to tell my life story to such an authority, if shortly before I had fled from a, often life threatening, situation in which I was discriminated, mistreated and unwanted because of my sexual orientation. As a result of this encounter I wanted to do my research on this topic, but specified on lesbian refugees, because lesbian refugees are underrepresented in research for the reason that men are the largest group within the total number of LGBT persons that apply for asylum (Jansen, 2018).
When I got the idea to do research on lesbian refugees, I approached Stichting Rainbow Den Haag. Once a month they organize a meeting for LGBT refugees; they provide some
information, for example on sexual health and about the asylum procedure, we eat dinner together and the evening ends with a party. I asked them if I could visit the meetings
considering that I’m not a refugee myself. They were glad that a Dutch person wanted to visit the meeting, and the only requirement to visit the meetings is that you are part of the LGBT community, to keep the meetings safe. I started visiting the meetings in October 2017, and received a warm welcome. A lot of lesbian refugees visit the meetings, and I have a warm contact with them. When I spoke to them I became sure that non-European lesbian refugees would become my research topic. I spoke with them at the meetings and a problem that kept coming up was how they could prove their sexual orientation when they always had to hide it (McGhee, 2003)? With their stories, and the stories of LGBT refugees I read in the media and research rapports in the back of my mind, I developed my research question;
How do non-European lesbian refugees perform their sexual orientation in different circumstances and countries?
The main research findings are that the performance of gender and sexuality differs in different countries and spaces, due to social norms and values, and the resulting freedom for or repression of LGBT persons. The more freedom the non-European lesbian refugees are given, the more they will perform their sexual orientation and gender the way they want, and in a way that makes them happy and feel free. They will for example have same-sex
relationships in the Netherlands and show affection to their girlfriends in public, while in their home country they were married with a man or have children to cover up their sexual
orientation. I will talk about the relation between location and performance of sexual
orientation in Chapter 5, and will discuss the moments the women changed their performance in Chapter 6. In Chapter 2 I will discuss the research methodology, in Chapter 3 I will look at important theories about performance and performativity, intersectionality and ethnosexual
boundaries, and in Chapter 4 I will discuss the situation LGBT persons in different countries and regions in the world. I will end my thesis with Chapter 7, the conclusion.
2. Methodology
In this Chapter I will discuss the research context and how I recruited interviewees. I will explain the research methodology, the analysis of the data obtained during the interviews, and I will conclude this chapter with the dilemma’s I have faced and the questions I will answer in this thesis.
2.1 Research context
The number of first asylum applications in the Netherlands rose rapidly between 2013 and 2015, from 9.840 to 43.095, when the refugee crisis was at its peak. Most of the refugees are from Syria and Eritrea. As of 2016 the number of first asylum applications declined to 19.370 in 2016 and 16.146 in 2017 (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 2018). It is assumed that approximately 200 to 300 LGBT refugees ask for asylum in the Netherlands annually (Jansen & Spijkerboer, 2011), which means that the number of lesbian refugees who ask for asylum is even smaller. The exact number of asylum applications done by LGBT persons is not known. All persons who apply for asylum based on their sexual orientation have to prove in
conversations with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service that they are LGBT, by telling about their life history and sexual orientation (Politie, n.d.). The LGBT refugees had to hide their sexual orientation in their home country and therefore they can be mistrustful towards police, Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and the Central Agency for the
Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). This can hamper their asylum procedure, because to be believed by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service and to obtain an residence permit, the IND expects the refugees to have experienced a self-awareness process, and to have gone through a process of self-acceptation. If they cannot or do not express that they have gone through such a process, they have a smaller chance to obtain a residence permit (IND, 2015). You are considered heterosexual until proved homosexual or bisexual (LGBT Asylum Support, 2018). This indicates that they assume a linear process in which the person changes from a unhappy person in the closet into a happy LGBT person who is out and proud. The IND ignores that not every LGBT person goes to such processes and is unhappy while
closeted and they also do not take into account that those processes of awareness and self-acceptation can be lifelong (Jansen, 2018). Another issue is that the IND expects the refugees to tell chronological story. When the story is not told in a (Western) linear-chronological order, but in a more associative way which is not common in the West, the story will be more likely to be perceived as unconvincing. These examples show that Western behaviour
are in the Netherlands (Renkens, 2018). In November 2017 the House of Representatives adopted a motion in which they agreed that the working instruction of the IND has to be changed, because it relies too much on a Western point of view; the IND expects that the refugees have gone through a process of self-acceptation and self-awareness, and expects that the refugees see themselves as homosexual. For many of the refugees this process of self-acceptation has just started, because it can be hard to reflect on yourself if homosexuality and homosexuals are suppressed in your home country; they were more concerned with hiding their sexual orientation than with acceptation. In addition, awareness and self-reflection are not as normal in other cultures as they are in Dutch culture. Dutch culture is more individualistic, with the emphasis on personal development, while Nigerian culture for example is more focussed on the family. This makes it harder for a Nigerian refugee to reflect on him- or herself, and talk about self-acceptation, self-awareness, and their feelings (LGBT Asylum Support, 2018).
In the asylum seeker centres the LGBT refugees live together with other refugees from different cultures, backgrounds and religions, who do not all have a positive attitude towards LGBT refugees. This can make it hard for LGBT refugees to open up about their sexual orientation in the asylum seeker centres; they run the risk of exclusion and violence, and therefore a network with like-minded individuals, especially from their own culture, region or country, can be very important for them (Politie, n.d.).
2.2 Recruiting respondents and aim of research
While working on my thesis proposal I started contacting organisations and persons that could help me to find interviewees. In the letter I sent I always stated that I am a lesbian woman myself so the organisations and lesbian refugees were informed. This helped to gain trust of the lesbian refugees; I can relate to them to a certain level.
First, I approached one of the organizers of the LGBT Refugee meeting who , to ask if I could have some speaking time at the next meeting, to tell the women about my research and to ask if they would like to co-operate. He found this a good idea and was also willing to introduce interviewees to me. The 3rd of March I spoke to the women. I told them who I am, that I was visiting the meetings for some months and that I was doing research on lesbian refugees for my master thesis and therefore would like to interview them about their lives. I told them that the interviews would be completely anonymous and that they could approach me if they wanted to be interviewed. I handed out neutral business cards on which I
mentioned my contact information; this way they could take the card home because it did not refer to LGBT. Immediately after that talk no-one expressed any interest, but when I
approached the women individually they were interested. I think that some of the persons, men and women, may have thought that I was just present there to get as much interviewees as possible and did not care about the women. Therefore I first did approach the women with whom I already had a good relationship at the meeting in April and at the meeting the 31st of March. I asked them if they wanted to be interviewed after explaining my research more in detail; that I wanted to know about their life and that I am doing this research because I believe lesbian women are underrepresented in research. Sheila, who also functioned as gatekeeper agreed to be interviewed. She told her friends about my research, and gave me telephone numbers of people that were interested. Through this snowballing technique I got two more interviewees.
I also approached Sandro Kortekaas, the founder and driving force of LGBT Asylum Support (Zijlstra, 2018). I told him about my interview and he invited me to come to Groningen, to the opening of an exhibition about resistance in the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum. There I met two young lesbian refugees from the Middle East who found my research very interesting and were willing to cooperate.
I approached almost all the organisations in the Netherlands that work with refugees and/or LGBT persons, such as the different locations of the COC which have a Cocktail project, Vluchtelingenwerk, Humanity House, Stichting Maruf and Uganda Gay on Move. I was able to get the contact information of Yvonne Artis Shaw, a lesbian refugee and human rights advocate from Jamaica, who tells her story in the Humanity House in Den Haag, and she agreed to be interviewed. I also was invited by different COC’s, including COC Nijmegen and COC Maastricht, to tell about my interview and ask the women if they want to be interviewed.
Through my voluntary work at COC Haaglanden I got the request to be interviewed by
someone who is working on her master thesis. This person previously had worked with LGBT refugees. I did the interview, and got the contact information of a lesbian refugee who was willing to share her story.
I heard from various interviewees that they received several requests to be interviewed, and that they were willing to be interviewed by me because I am visiting the LGBT Refugee meetings in Den Haag since October 2017, and attending other events where the refugees also went, such as the demonstration ‘Enkeltje Cuba, No Way!’ on the 11th of April 2018; the
lesbian refugees know me, and know I am also a lesbian. This helped gaining their trust and building rapport.
Snowball sampling was an important tool to attain research participants. The women I interviewed, and the women I met at the LGBT Refugee meeting in Den Haag helped me by asking their friends if they want to be interviewed, even if they did not wanted to be
interviewed themselves. The consequence of snowball sampling is that six of the interviewees are from Uganda. A more diverse group would have been more ideal and interesting. After I interviewed Sheila she told the other women that the interview went well, and that it did not look like being interviewed by the IND. Some women were afraid that this would be the case and this comment from Sheila encouraged them to be interviewed by me. In total I conducted ten interviews. Nine of the interviewees wanted to be anonymous, and two of them also did not want their home country to be named. Therefore I use pseudonyms, and in some instances talk about regions instead of countries, to guarantee anonymity. In Appendix 1 I will
introduce the interviewees.
I will talk about sexual orientation instead of sexuality because sexuality is a fixed category, while sexual orientation indicates the possibility of change. Sexual orientation consists of preferences; preferences for bodies, gender, partner number, etc. Preferences can change over time, and therefore the performance of gender and sexual orientation also are able to change over time (Van Anders, 2013).
The aim of this research is to give an impression of the way non-European lesbian refugees perform their sexual orientation, and if this performance differs in different circumstances and countries. My goal is not to discover new theories, but to present new case material, to refine the existing theories and to contribute to the literature on lesbian refugees (Snow, Morrill, & Anderson, 2003). With the case study on non-European lesbian refugees in the Netherlands, I can add knowledge to the existing literature and theories on LGBT refugees. This existing literature predominantly consists of cases studies of gay men; my research will be of added value, because my research focusses on lesbian refugees. My research will contribute to the knowledge of the life situations of lesbian women in their country of origin and the
Netherlands. It will also give insights in performance; do people adapt their appearance and behaviour to the applicable standards, values and stereotypes in different countries and spaces to be accepted as a woman or a lesbian woman (Golafshani, 2003).
2.3 Research methodology
My research consisted of a qualitative study with life history interviews, on the basis of a topic list. This topic list consisted of the following topics;
- Small talk
- Country of origin
- Situation in general and for LGBT persons - Realization of sexual orientation
- How did she learn about homosexuality? - Her life as lesbian woman
~ Could she express her feelings? ~ What could and could she not do? - Coming to the Netherlands
- Reason(s) to come to the Netherlands - Expectations of the Netherlands
- When did she become aware of the situation for LGBT persons in the Netherlands?
- Interview with the IND
~ What were her expectations? ~ How did it go?
~ What kind of questions did they ask? - Life in the Netherlands
- Place of residence
~ Does she live alone or with somebody? - Openness about sexual orientation
~ Is she open or does she hide it?
~ Does this differ per situation and place? - Relationship, friends, family
- Future
In total I interviewed ten lesbian refugees. I began my thesis interviews in the first week of April 2018, and completed my last interview at the 2nd of May 2018. All interviews were
conducted in English. Eight of the interviewees are from countries were English is an official language, and two of the interviewees are from countries were English is taught at school. All
of the respondents spoke English very well. Some of the interviewees who have learned (some) Dutch also used Dutch words while telling their life history, such as
Vluchtelingenwerk (Dutch Refugee Council), azc (abbreviation for asylum seeker centre) and inburgeringsexamen (integration exam). Of the ten respondents, one came from Jamaica, two from countries in the Middle-East, two from East Africa and five from Uganda. I did print out a confidentiality agreement, but decided only to use it when the women would ask for it. Only Eshe asked for the confidentiality agreement. My reason for this approach was that I was afraid that it would change the rapport I had with the women because it would make the situation more formal, instead of it being an informal conversation. I meet five of the women monthly at the LGBT refugee meeting in Den Haag. I build good rapport with them by eating and dancing together, and two of the interviewees I spoke in Groningen, which whom I ate dinner. They asked me about my life and when I knew I like women, and I told them about myself and my sexual orientation. All of the interviewees knew before the interview that I am lesbian myself, and I would mention this again before the interview. My sexual orientation was important for this research because if I would have been heterosexual, I would not have had access to the LGBT refugee meetings. I experienced that knowing about my sexual orientation reassured the interviewees; they knew that I could relate to them to a certain level. Some of them expressed that if I had not been visiting the LGBT refugee meetings and had not been lesbian, that they would not have done the interview with me. The fact that I invested time in them and showed genuine interest in them helped in the search for interviewees.
The interviews lasted between 45 minutes and two hours. They did not all last between one-and-a-half and two hours because I met seven of the interviewees before and they already told me about their lives and the asylum procedure. Therefore I did not have to talk about all the topics in detail. Before the interview we would have some small talk and I started with some general questions about the country of origin before we would talk about their life history. If they said that there were things they did not want to talk about, I did respect these boundaries. I only asked follow-up questions if I had the idea that the interviewees would want to talk about it, because I did not want to cause any harm. For example; Eshe did talk in detail about traumatic experiences, such as being raped, while Isoke expressed that she has scars all over her body, but did not want to talk in detail about the cause of the injuries.
Firstly I chose to do life history interviews, also called narrative interviews, instead of semi-structured interviews because I anticipated the women to mention issues or events that were important in their lives and influenced the performance of their sexual orientation which I
could not think of beforehand. More than semi-structured interviews, life history interviews collect oral histories, which reveal person’s daily lives, their experiences and their
interpretation of their experiences (Ojermark, 2007). The life history interviews provided aspects of social reality that I did not expected, such as the stigma and cultural meaning of colouring your hair in Africa. Secondly I chose this method because by letting the
interviewees tell their story, they would use spontaneous language and tell about their life history in their own words. The life history interview has a more collaborative feature than semi-structured interviews because the story emerges from interaction instead of a
questionnaire. I wanted them to describe their sexual orientation in their own words and therefore would not talk about lesbian, girlfriend, gay, but about relationships and falling in love with women. If they mentioned or identified as gay, lesbian, etc. I used that word in the rest of our conversation (Muylaert et al, 2014). Thirdly I researched performance by asking how they behaved when they had to hide their sexual orientation and how they behave nowadays; where there locations they would not visit in their country of origin which they visit here, is there a difference in self-esteem? I also asked if the way they dressed and styled their hair has changed over the years, to analyse how, when, where and why they did change or did not change their performance.
2.4 Data analysis
If the interviewee allowed me to record the interview, I used my mobile phone to record the interview. If they wouldn’t allow me to record the interview I would take notes on my laptop, while paying attention to which words the interviewee used, so that my transcription of the interview would be as close as possible to the story the interviewee told. All of the
transcriptions do justice to the statements of the interviewees, although some sentences were adapted for clarity. I transcribed all the interviews manually and spent time carefully
uncovering and analysing the interviews by using discourse analysis and narrative analysis. The codes I used to analyse the interviews are related to the topic list (see Chapter 2.3). I used approximately a hundred codes to code the interviews and literature, for instance codes about different cultural approaches of sexual orientation, the self and personal life, performance and sexual freedom and the asylum procedure. I included the codes in Appendix 2.
2.5 Dilemma’s
Although I had met most women before, I did not know if they were openly lesbian or not. Therefore I would keep my appearance neutral and feminine, especially when I visited azc’s or other reception locations; instead of my Converse All Star Pride sneakers I would wear black heels, or black and pink slip-on shoes. I always wore skinny jeans, and a neutral top; no hearts, rainbows, unicorns or other reference to LGBT, gender identity or sexual orientations. Another dilemma was that I did not want to cross any boundaries; the women had undergone traumatic experiences and while I wanted to know their life history, I did not want them to feel depressed after the interview because it brought up bad memories. I think I sensed their boundaries and only let them tell what they wanted to share.
The biggest dilemma that occurred was an interviewee who told me she fell in love with me. I solved this problem by pointing out that I had met her for professional purposes, and that I was willing to help her during the asylum procedure, for example by writing a
recommendation letter for her, but nothing more. She and another interviewee asked me to write a recommendation letter for the IND, which I did.
2.6 Questions
In Chapter 2 I have discussed the research methodology, and as described in the introduction, I will look at theories about performance and performativity, intersectionality and ethnosexual boundaries in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4 I will discuss the situation for LGBT persons in
different countries and regions in the world, and in Chapter 5 and 6 I will discuss the data I obtained in my interviews and answer the research questions. In Chapter 5 I will answer the following questions;
How do the non-European lesbians and non-Europeans define homosexuality/sexual acts with someone of the same sex?
Is the performance of sexual orientation related to ideas inhabitants of a place have about homosexuality, ethnicity and gender?
In Chapter 6 I will answer the remaining questions;
How does the performance of sexual orientation evolve over time, and when and why do the lesbian refugees decide to change their performance?
How are non-European lesbians influenced by the different views on homosexuality in their home country and in the Netherlands?
I will end with Chapter 7, the conclusion, in which I answer the research question; How do non-European lesbian refugees perform their sexual orientation in different circumstances and countries?
3. Theories
In this chapter I will I will describe the concepts of performance, intersectionality and ethnosexual boundaries. I will describe performance by using the works of sociologist
Goffman (1971), philosopher and gender theorist Butler (1988; 1999), sociologists West and Zimmerman (1987) and sex researcher Van Anders (2013). Goffman’s The Presentation of
Self in Everyday Life (1971) was the first book in which face-to-face interactions are studied. Doing Gender of West and Zimmerman (1987) elaborated on the performance of gender in
interactions. Butler challenges conventional ideas of gender and developed a theory of gender performativity. I will use her book Gender Trouble (1999) and article Performative Acts and
Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory (1999) to describe
performance. Van Anders (2013) developed a new framework for understanding diverse partnered sexualities, the Sexual Configurations Theory. Together these authors will give a good insight in gender and sexuality performance.
To describe intersectionality I will again use Van Anders (2013), and it is impossible to describe intersectionality without using Crenshaw (1989). I also used Theorizing
Intersectionality and Sexuality by Taylor, Hines & Casey (Eds.) (2010).
3.1 Performance
The roots of gender and sexuality performances lies in Goffman’s analysis of how people present in daily life (1959). We acquire information of people by reading and interpreting someone’s behaviour, appearance and manners, and based on that information we decide if someone falls in the category man, woman, straight, homosexual, etc. He states that the subject is coherent, and that gender and sexuality are a repetition of acts, performances, and that identities, including gender and sexual identities, are always something that are done, rather than innate. We see the differences between men and women as natural, but they are in fact produced by society; there is no aspect of the self that is not influenced by the social world. If you are a male and behave and look like what according to society is seen as male, then you are rewarded with the freedom to be who you are. If you don’t do this, you get sanctioned by society, and people will see you as an outsider. This not only goes for gender performance, but also for the performance of sexuality. If you do not behave and appear like what according to society is seen as normal and accepted, you are seen and treated as an outsider. We read and interpret the behaviour, appearance and manners of other persons, but we also adapt our own behaviour, appearance and manners to the situation we are in; If you
are a lesbian, masculine woman in a traditional African society, it is most likely that you will change your behaviour, appearance and speech to fit in the gender role and the expectations society has of you, based on culture, gender and sexuality. Society is organized in such a way that when you have certain characteristics, you expect to be treated in a correspondingly appropriate way by society. For example; if you are a member of the Royal Family, you expect to be treated in a very different way than people who are not a member of this group. The same applies for gender and sexuality. Men are treated different than women, and heterosexuals are in certain circumstances treated differently than non-heterosexuals (Goffman, 1959).
How your gender is perceived depends on interaction; how you behave, your manners and appearance, and which gender the persons you interact with connect with the way you interact: if they see you as male or female (West and Zimmerman, 1987).
Judith Butler is best known for her theory on performativity. According to Butler (1988) gender and sexuality only exist because it is constituted through our acts. This can be
explained with the concept of performative speech acts of language philosopher John Austin. An example that makes this clear is the concept of marriage. By uttering the words: “I now pronounce you husband and wife” a couple gets married. This sentence performs the act of marriage, and changes your civil status. The concepts of gender and sexuality also are
performed. However, they are not only created by linguistic utterances. They are created by a repetition of stylized acts. This means that gender is instituted by doing these stylized acts; behaviour, manners and appearance. Most persons repeat the script that has been performed by many others before, but some people chose to perform their gender differently. For example the androgynous/agender model and gender activist Rain Dove; by changing her mannerisms and appearance, she passes as both female and male (Dolce Vita, 2015).
According to Butler, gender and sexual identities are not expressions of inner nature, but are performed, because gender and sex are both cultural constructions. The appearance of being a gender is an effect of performative acts; the genders woman and man are constituted through the practice of performance, and are influenced by social norms (Butler, 1999). Because gender is performative Butler sees it as an illusion, it only exists when we perform it. That we attribute certain behaviour, manners and appearance to a gender category is rather a social construct which can vary between cultures and time periods than that it is a natural fact. Just as man and woman are seen as the normal and natural gender categories, the attraction to the opposite gender is also seen as natural, and therefore homosexuality is seen as unnatural.
Although the normality of a certain sexual orientation is also a cultural and social construct, just as gender. Gender is a performance, but it always take place within a restricted cultural space, and it plays within the confines of existing directives (Butler, 1988). Van Anders (2013) does, like Butler (1999) state that gender is a socialization and sex is biology to which social meaning is added, but she does also say that gender and sex cannot easily be
disentangled. For example; are you a man because you have a penis, because you identify male, or because you are identified as male by others? (Van Anders, 2013).
West and Zimmerman (1987) claim that it is possible to be placed in a certain sex category based on your reproductive organs, and to claim membership in the other category. This is possible by displaying the behaviour, manners, and appearance which is associated with the sex/gender category you want to claim membership of, or by creating new differences
between men and women. They mention that we adapt our gender and sexuality performance to the situation you are in. For example, if you are a homosexual man in Uganda, you will most likely perform masculine and give people the impression that you are heterosexual, because this is safer for you. If this same man is in a gay bar in the Netherlands, he will most probably perform his gender and sexuality the way he wants to, because the situation he is in is safe and permits this. West and Zimmerman mention that if lesbian and gay persons want to pass as heterosexuals, they will have to perform their gender very well; there is a greater chance of being seen as homosexual if you do not perform your gender very well, due to the idea that lesbians are not feminine, and gays are more feminine and not masculine. By doing gender and sexuality performances appropriately, we reproduce the existing social and institutional ideas that are based on the different sex gender and sexuality categories as for example stereotypes or the binary division of the world; everything is either for males or females or you have to register yourself as male or female, for example on your identity document. If we want to change or reconceptualise gender and sexuality categories, it relies on the cooperation between society, institutions and individuals (West and Zimmerman, 1987).
The most recent theory about sexual orientation and performance is the Sexual Configurations Theory of feminist and psychologist Van Anders (2013). Sexual orientation is often linked to gender, and the associated gender roles. Often sexual identity and sexual orientation are seen as fixed, but in the case of homosexuality, some groups say it is something you chose to be. The Sexual Configurations Theory addresses the complexities of sexuality and sexual
orientation and the possibility of change. It agrees with Butler that sexualities are not fixed. There is no ‘true’ reason why a homosexual man could not feel attracted to a woman (Van Anders, 2013).
The Sexual Configurations Theory is more inclusive than for example the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid, which is a system to describe someone’s sexual proclivities but only focusses on the sex binaries. The Sexual Configurations Theory looks at sameness instead of otherness: it does not make the division bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, but looks at who you are attracted to; are you attracted to the opposite sex, or to femininity, intelligence or other characteristics? Sexual orientation seems to be organized by gender or sex, but this theory looks at the other important features, which also define sexual orientation, such as; partner number, eroticism and nurturance, solitary and partnered sexualities, sexual orientations such as BDSM (bondage, dominance, sadism, masochism) and status. Every individual’s sexual orientation exists of these characteristics, which can all vary. Preferences can change over time, and therefore the performance of ones gender and sexuality can also change over time; some people will feel themselves a hundred percent woman, and are attracted to nonbinary persons and do not enjoy solo sex, and other persons will have other preferences. This implies that sexual orientation is much more broader than just the different categories; there is a lot of variation within heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality and being transgender. The Sexual Configurations Theory lets us thinks outside the box. (Van Anders, 2013).
It is interesting that all the women I interviewed disagreed with Butler and Van Anders; they truly felt that they are born lesbian, that this is their inner nature. They see their sexual orientation as natural sexual identity which is fixed but agreed that the performance of their gender and sexuality changed during their lives. They expressed that the performance of their gender and sexuality is indeed related to society but that this did not change their gender and sexual identity; it changed their performance. This means that the performance of gender and sexuality can be different in different locations and cultures, depending on the opinions on homosexuality and gender roles.
3.2 Intersectionality
Intersectionality is the way different aspects of humanity and different forms of
discrimination are interwoven with each other. This contains aspects such as class, sexual orientation, religion, culture, education level, ethnicity and gender (Dean, 2010).
Your position in society is determined by your gender and the associated gender roles, ethnicity, age, skin colour, sexuality and social class. Intersectionality makes visible how these different grounds of discrimination intersect and influence each other (Weston, 2010). One of the first persons who introduced the idea of intersectionality was Sojourner Truth in 1851 in the United States of America. She asked for attention for the situation of black women, because black women live another reality than white women; they live at a different intersection, and face other problems than white women. Kimberlé Crenshaw, an Afro-American woman and professor at the University of California, introduced the term
intersectionality in society and academia. She states that the abovementioned aspects are in interaction and have influence on someone’s position in society. The norms in society are often invisible, and we are not always aware of these norms and the resulting power relations; the norm seems to be normal. If we think of ethnicity, we first think of the immigrant, not of the Dutchman. When we discuss sexual diversity we first think of lesbian, gay, asexual or bisexual, and not of heterosexuality. Therefore intersectionality is important; it makes us look at other realities, and how we can change this thinking in norms (Crenshaw, 1989). I believe this is an important analytical approach to use in my research, because in the Netherlands we think about homosexuality in a certain way, and we relate certain characteristics to sexuality. We impose these norms to lesbian refugees, while their reality can be very different from ours. I think it is important to look at the intersection of sexual orientation, gender and ethnicity because it can have an influence on the way people perform their sexual orientation and gender and how they inform each other. It is to be expected that the lesbian refugees are treated differently in the Netherlands than in their home country because the intersections have different meanings in these places. Take for example Eshe: the intersection of ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion was dangerous in Uganda because according to her
surroundings you cannot be lesbian, religious and African at the same time; it is sinful. In the Netherlands homosexuality and religion are at odds, but the intersection of sexual orientation and ethnicity is not as big as problem in the Netherlands as in Uganda. In Uganda she was discriminated on basis of her sexual orientation, while in the Netherlands she is more likely to be discriminated based on her skin colour (Weston, 2010; Eshe, April 17th 2018).
Intersectionality is also important in the Sexual Configurations Theory of Sari M. van Anders (2013). She says that the social location where the intersecting axes meet is important, and that social oppression is based on this. Intersectionality is important for the Sexual
detached from other identity categories. Homosexuality can be experienced very differently by persons, depending on ethnicity, religion, culture and place (Van Anders, 2013).
3.3 Ethnosexual boundaries
Intersectionality has also to do with ethnosexual boundaries. At every intersection, people have other ideas about natural sexual desires and sexual activities. Therefore there exist different hegemonic sexualities in the world that define with whom, where, and what kind of sexual activities are approved. This explains why there is differently thought about different sexual orientations, such as homosexuality and bisexuality, and different forms of relations, such as monogamy and polygamy, in different locations in the world. Because of these
different views, different groups will always see the other groups as ‘the Other,’ which means they are seen as inferior to their own ‘normal’ ways of being sexual; they are seen as
perverted, dangerous, sick, oversexed or criminal. In this way the ethnosexual boundaries are formed; who are insiders, and who are outsiders, who have juridical rights, and who have not (Nagel, 2003)? Stereotypes generalize members of particular group; homosexual males are said to be feminine and Muslim males are said to be terrorists. Often these differences are unimportant, but together with ethnosexual boundaries they can sustain segregation and decide who has or does not have rights, who are insiders and who are outsiders (Nagel, 2003). Take the example of homonationalism that was introduced by politician Pim Fortuyn
(Duyvendak, Mepschen & Tonkens, 2010). Fortuyn stated that he did not want to do gay emancipation all over again, which indicates that sexual diversity is an important part of Dutch culture which needs to be defended against Islamic influences. Putting the gay community against the racial-sexual others; Muslims, and facilitating segregation based on these ideas of difference (Bracke, 2012; Erel et al, 2010).
4. Context
Before we can answer the research questions on basis of the data, we have to know the background of the non-European lesbian refugees, so we can place their life histories in context. The women I have interviewed come from different parts of the world; Jamaica, Uganda, the Middle East and East Africa. In the following sections we will discuss the life conditions for LGBT+ persons in these states and areas. Before we head to the sections on national and regional context, I will give information about the juridical and social rights LGBT persons have and do not have worldwide, and will discuss how the differences in the acceptation of homosexuality were formed.
4.1 Worldwide
There are 124 nation states in the world where same-sex sexual acts are not punishable, because there have never been laws that prohibit these acts, or because they have been removed from the Penal Code. Although same-sex sexual acts are not punishable by law, this does not mean that persons who perform those acts are not judged by society; equality by law does not necessarily mean that homosexuality, bisexuality and being transgender is accepted by society. There are 71 nation states where same-sex sexual acts are illegal and penalties are imposed and carried out on persons who perform same-sex sexual acts. In 29 of these 71 states, same-sex actions only are punishable if they are performed by males. There are eight nation states were the death penalty for same-sex sexual acts is carried out, and in 19 nation states there are laws that threaten the freedom of expression which is related to sexual
orientation. These laws are called Propaganda laws or Morality Laws and are among others in force in Russia, Qatar, Indonesia and Egypt. In most nation states there are non-governmental organisations (ngo’s) which fight alongside the state for the improvement of the situation and rights for LGBT persons. In 25 nation states there are obstacles for the formation and
registration of these ngo’s, which does not mean that they do not exist in these states, only that they are not formally known. There are 17 nation states where the age of consent is different for heterosexual sexual acts and same-sex sexual acts (Carroll & Mendos, 2017). In about half of the 71 nation states were homosexuality is criminalized, these laws were introduced while they were colonized by the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom introduced these laws together with Christianity because they wanted to impose European morality on the colonized states: they needed education in sexual mores. After the states gained independence, most of them kept the sodomy laws in practice. Another interesting law
that was put into practice by the United Kingdom in Sudan is the 1899 Sudanese Penal Code which served to civilize Sudanese people. The code listed different types of vagabonds, one of them is the catamite, which is a male person that dresses in woman’s clothes and/or practices sodomy as a profession. With the introduction of this code, the clothing one is wearing became the sign of criminal behaviour (Human Rights Watch, 2008). In Africa, of which many countries were once colonized by the United Kingdom, homosexuality and same-sex sexual acts are often called un-African. Nigerian gay rights activist Bisi Alimi explains that homosexual behaviour and same-sex sexual acts always have been part of African culture (Alimi, 2015). An important part of culture is language; the word for homosexual, adofuro, in Yoruba is as old as the culture itself, and it describes the same-sex sexual act of having anal sex. In Hausa, yan dauda is used to describe effeminate males, which is used to describe identity; you have to have the appearance and behaviour of a yan daudu to be called one. These words are neutral words, they are not used to insult someone. The Buganda Kingdom, which is nowadays part of Uganda, even had an openly gay king; King Mwanga II, who ruled without being judged on basis of his sexual orientation. This changed with the arrival of Christianity in Africa, which led to changing views on homosexuality (Alimi, 2015). We see that in the regions where Western influences were strong, people believe that homosexuality is a Western import, although the colonialists did not introduce same-sex sexual acts, but only the intolerance of these acts and systems to suppress it. In the beginning this suppression did not work, because same-sex sexual acts still happened, but secretly (Murray & Roscoe, 1998). Colonial court documents tell us that same-sex sexual acts were performed in traditional
society. In one document for example it is stated that the native man admitted the offence of sodomy, but that he did not know it was a crime, for him it was a custom (Epprecht, 1998). When the generations of the colonialization had died, it has been forgotten that same-sex sexual acts were a part of African culture and homosexuality became stigmatized (Murray & Roscoe, 1998). There is not much known about female same-sex sexual acts before the colonization, as will be explained in Chapter 4.3.
This is the situation for LGBT persons worldwide, but how exactly can states create good living conditions for LGBT persons and destigmatize homosexuality?
As described in the 12th edition of State Sponsored Homophobia, written by researchers Aengus Carroll and Lucas Ramón Mendos (2017) and published by ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) states create good living conditions
for LGBT persons and destigmatize homosexuality if they meet the following juridical criteria:
- Legality of same-sex sexual acts; no juridical and/or social persecution - The absence of morality laws that target the freedom to express your sexual
orientation
- The possibility to form and register NGO’s or movements related to LGBT
- Anti-discrimination laws which protect against the discrimination on basis of gender identity and sexual orientation
- Prohibition of discrimination in employment based on gender identity and sexual orientation
- Hate crimes or violence based on sexual orientation is seen as an aggravating circumstance
- Ban on conversion therapies
- Partnership and marriage for same-sex couples
- Second parent adoption and joint adoption for same-sex couples (Carroll & Mendos, 2017).
In addition to the above discussed laws, there are states who have more legislation,
specifically mentioning sexual orientation. In the Netherlands, men who have sex with men can only donate blood if they have not performed same-sex sexual acts in the last twelve months. In a lot of states, men who have sex with men cannot donate blood at all (Sanquin, 2017). All European member states are asked to introduce anti-discrimination laws, which protect against the discrimination on basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, to ensure that LGBT persons have the same rights as heterosexual persons. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has asked their member states the same question, but as we have seen, there are unfortunately a lot of states that do not criminalise acts of violence based on gender identity and/or sexual orientation, let alone that they have anti-discrimination laws for LGBT persons (Carroll & Mendos, 2017). The Council of State of the Netherlands acknowledged in 1981 that sexual orientation can be a reason to apply for asylum. The European Union
acknowledged this in 2004 and added in 2011 gender identity to their directive (Jansen, 2018).
Aside from the juridical acceptation of LGBT persons, the social acceptance is a very
important part; without the social acceptance, LGBT persons cannot live their life in freedom and the way they want.
Of course there are people who accept homosexuality in every nation state, but in general the situation for LGBT persons in the regions and nation states discussed in section 4.2 to 4.5 is not safe or good. First I will describe the situation in the nation states; Jamaica and Uganda, then I will continue with the regions; the Middle East and East Africa.
4.2 Jamaica
In Jamaica, same-sex sexual acts are only punishable if they are performed by males, as stated by the Offence Against the Person Act, which was implemented in 1864. This law is still in practice today and is called the Buggery Law. Sections 76-79 of the Offence Against the Person Act prohibit the unnatural and abominable ‘’crime of buggery, committed either with mankind or with an animal’’ (Offences Against the Person Act, 1868, p. 26). With the ‘unnatural and abominable crime of buggery’ is meant anal sex, which is seen as unnatural because only vaginal penetration between man and woman is seen as natural; with as objective the reproduction. The Buggery Law applies also for the attempt to perform same-sex same-sexual acts. At that time there were different penalties for these different crimes. For the attempt to perform same-sex sexual acts you can be imprisoned for no more than seven years, with or without forced labour. If you were caught in the act, you could be imprisoned for no more than ten years and forced labour (Offences Against the Person act, 1868). In 2009 a new Sexual Offences Act was introduced. The Offence Against the Person Act is part of this new act: new is that persons who violate these laws must be registered as sex offenders. The punishments for same-sex sexual acts performed by men is eight to fourteen years
imprisonment. It is commonly known that LGBT persons, and specifically gay men, face torture, degrading treatment and the fear that people discover their sexual orientation.
Although same-sex sexual acts between women are not illegal, because there is believed they cannot have anal sex, society does not accept it. Just as homosexual men, bisexual and lesbian women also fear discrimination and violence. Jamaica is part of the Organisation of American States (OAS), and joined the resolutions adopted by the OAS in 2008, which concerns human rights, sexual diversity and gender identity. However, since 2013 Jamaica has placed
footnotes to every resolution, which limits the influence of the resolutions in the country. Society shares this political standpoint; 91% of Jamaicans believe that the buggery laws should not be abolished, in fact, conversion therapy is promoted by society and politicians. Homosexuality is not included in the national human right institution. Of course there are also persons who do not have a problem with homosexuality. When the Minister of Education
declared that school bullying based on sexual orientation was not accepted, the head of the Teachers’ Association said that teachers could not help LGBT-students, because same-sex acts are punishable (Carroll & Mendos, 2017).
4.3 Uganda
The Penal Code of 1950, which was implemented by the United Kingdom, criminalizes so called unnatural offences, which are; having sexual intercourse with animals, and having anal intercourse: both giving and receiving. Persons who are caught while having this kind of intercourse, could at that time be punished with imprisonment for life, while persons who are attempting to commit these offences could be punished with imprisonment up to seven years. The Penal Code has not been changed positively since Uganda is independent of the United Kingdom. Nowadays, persons that are caught performing same-sex sexual acts can receive up to seven years imprisonment; both men and women (Carroll & Mendos, 2017).
On January 30 2015 president Museveni signed the Non-Governmental Organizations Act, which regulates non-governmental organizations in Uganda. This law restricts the freedom of ngo’s, and makes it difficult for ngo’s which fight for the rights of LGBT persons to continue their work (Lavers, 2016). This law comes two years after the Anti-Homosexuality act which was signed in December 2013, and imposes life imprisonment on people who perform same-sex same-sexual acts. This law also had consequences for persons who support LGBT movements or persons. However, the law was annulled in 2014 by the Constitutional Court. At first glance, this seems a positive development, but unfortunately the government wants to pass a new law, that makes it possible to condemn lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender to longer prison sentences (Morgan, 2017). There is no anti-discrimination law which protects LGBT persons, in fact, there is a strong anti-LGBT rhetoric in society, led by the state and religious institutions, which resulted in a lot of arrests of LGBT persons in the last couple of years. Because of the living conditions of LGBT persons in Uganda, many decide to flee (Carroll & Mendos, 2017). President Museveni campaigns against homosexuality, and says it is un-African; it has been transferred to Africa by Western countries (Human Rights Watch, 2008). There is not much known about female same-sex sexual acts before the colonialization. Female same-sex relationships and/or sexual acts are poorly documented in Africa. It can be said that it is most likely that female same-sex sexual acts have existed for ages in Africa because many African men worked away from home for a long time. It is known that Female same-sex sexual acts did occur at the Zande, which is an Islamic-influenced folk which live in
Sudan, Congo and the Central African Republic. They used to perform female same-sex sexual acts in polygamous homes because they did not have the change to share the bed with the husband very often. It is known that until the 1930’s it was a common practise, which was highly disapproved by the Zande men (Murray & Roscoe, 1998).
4.4 Middle East
In Jordan and Bahrain, same-sex sexual activity is not criminalized, however, this does not mean that it is socially accepted to be LGBT. In Iran and Iraq, homosexuality and the
expression of homosexuality is illegal. In Iran it is punishable by death, while in Iraq penalties differ from one month to two years in prison, to death sentence. The influence of religion is big in this region. In Bahrain, every group that does undermine the social order and is against morality is considered illegal, and in both Jordan and Bahrain ngo’s or groups that fight for the rights of LGBT persons do not have the right of existence. Sexual diversity is not included in the national human right institutions of the countries in the region. In Bahrain the consent age for same-sex sexual acts differs from the consent age for heterosexual sexual acts. (Carroll & Mendos, 2017). In Iraq, cleric and politician Muqtada al-Sadr said in 2016 that homosexuality and cross-dressing is not acceptable, but that these persons, who according to al-Sadr suffer from psychological problems have the right to live. This statement does not sound too positive, but if you compare it with the attacks on LGBT persons and men of whom is suspected that they are gay or transgender by Islamic State, this call to end the violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity is positive (Human Rights Watch, 2016). Nevertheless, gay men run a great risk in Islamic State-controlled territories. Islamic State killed at least seventeen men in Iraq and Syria between June 2014 and March 2015 because they did not behave decent, and performed or were accused of same-sex sexual acts (Reid, 2015a).
4.5 East Africa
Although in this region sexual orientation is included in most national human rights institutions, LGBT persons have been arrested, mostly homosexual men. The
LGBT-movement in the region has grown in the last couple of years, but besides the call for equality, the opposition has become stronger, and their acts more violent (Carroll & Mendos, 2017). In Zimbabwe for example, homosexuality is illegal for men, because in their view5 it is against nature. Any male person who performs anal intercourse, or performs other same-sex sexual
acts is guilty of sodomy, and can get from one month to two years imprisonment (Criminal Law Act, 2006). We see that here the intersection of gender and sexual acts is important; same-sex sexual acts are not illegal for women (Dean, 201). For the fight for equality it is necessary to create more visibility, but the visibility of LGBT persons is also dangerous, because these persons risk discrimination, violence and stigmatization. In East Africa there are states that were colonized by the United Kingdom, and were sodomy laws were
introduced to teach the states European morality. These laws are nowadays still in practice, and the views on homosexuality have not changed much. Ex-president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has said that homosexuality is un-African, and out of respect for their culture all Zimbabweans should fight this Western practice, because persons performing same-sex sexual acts are worse than pigs, and deserve no human rights at all. The presidents of Kenya, and Zambia share this view. Where there are persons against homosexuality, there are also persons who are in favour of homosexuality, or human rights in general. Ex-president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, told other African leaders that homosexuality is not
un-African or strange, but just another type of sexuality which also exists in Africa. Despite these words, many Africans still consider homosexuality as un-African and unnatural (Human Rights Watch, 2008). In many countries, such as Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia, politicians create an intolerant atmosphere, do not guarantee basic human rights anymore. Verbal attacks often leads to physical attacks; LGBT persons in this region are discriminated and assaulted, even by the police, neighbours, and their own family (Human Rights Watch, 2003). In April 2015, the Kenya High Court had a case about the registration of a ngo concerned with LGBT rights. The NGO Coordination Board had refused to register this ngo because it promotes prohibited acts; sodomy. The High Court decided that human rights are more important than moral and religious believes, and that the ngo should be registered; the Penal Code does not criminalize being homosexual, only the performance of same-sex sexual acts (Reid, 2015b).
4.6 The Netherlands
The current Penal Code of the Netherlands is based on the Napoleonic Penal Code of 1810, which came into operation when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed to France in 1811. It did not contain a provision on sodomy (Carroll & Mendos, 2017). COC is the biggest and most important LGBT organisation in the Netherlands, and the oldest in the world; the
organisation exists since 1946. They fought and fight with a lot of success for equal rights for LGBT persons. Since 1971 the legal age to perform sexual acts with another person are equal
for same-sex couples and male + female couples: now it is sixteen years, before it was sixteen years for male + female couples and twenty-one years for same-sex couples. In 1973 COC became recognized as ngo (COC NL, n.d.). As in every society, LGBT persons had to fight for their rights and to be accepted. In June 1982, LGBT persons organized a protest in
Amersfoort against homophobia and to demand equal rights. They were assaulted, and a wave of indignation swept the country; the government integrated revolutionary policy aimed at gaining acceptance for LGBT persons (Felten, 2018). Since 1998 it is possible for same-sex couples to enter registered partnership. In 2001 the Netherlands was the first state to give same-sex couples the possibility to marry, and they are also able to adopt children, as a couple, or by themselves. The age of consent is equal for heterosexual sexual acts and same-sex same-sexual acts. LGBT persons in the Netherlands are protected from discrimination at work, incitement to discrimination and violence, and hate crimes (Carroll & Mendos, 2017). Recently, education about sexual orientation and gender identity has become mandatory at senior secondary vocational education (MBO) (COC NL, 2018a), which means all students until the age of eighteen receive education about sexual orientation and gender identity. By providing information about sexual orientation and gender identity, COC hopes to improve the social acceptation of LGBT persons (COC NL, 2012). This approach seems to work; between 2006 and 2017 the acceptation of homosexuality and bisexuality grew from 53% to 74% in the Netherlands, and the acceptation of transgender persons grew from 45% in 2012 to 57% in 2017 (Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, 2018). The Netherlands meet all the juridical criteria which are described in section 3.1., but there is room for improvement. The
Netherlands fell out of the top 10 of European countries where LGBTI rights are arranged well; anti-discrimination protections in employment law should be extended, by including gender identity and sex characteristics, and hate crime laws that explicitly cover all bias-motivated crimes should be introduced. Looking on the bright side, the Netherlands fell out of the top 10, but this also means that the situation for LGBT persons in other countries is
getting better (COC NL, 2018b). However, there is still some work to do on social
acceptation. In general, Dutch people are accepting homosexuality, but they still have some problems with intimacy between same-sex couples in the public. Biennial research of the Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau has shown that views on homosexuality, intimacy between same-sex couples in public and rights for LGBT persons keep on rising. In 2017, 74% of the Dutch population think positively about homosexuality, and 6% thinks negatively about homosexuality. Mostly men, religious persons and persons with a non-Western migration background think negatively about homosexuality, but we should keep in mind that although
these groups have on average a more negative opinion about homosexuality, the majority of these groups do not have a negative opinion about homosexuality either (Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, 2018). There exists a difference in the opinion about male same-sex sexual acts and female same-sex sexual acts; in 2017 9% of the Dutch population thinks sex between two women is disgusting, and 68% thinks it is not, while 21% thinks sex between men is
disgusting, and 53% thinks it is not. This shows that same-sex sexual acts are valuated
differently for men and women (Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, 2018). Bisexual women and lesbian women are more accepted in society than transgender persons, bisexual and gay men (Pew Research Center, 2013a). These differences in acceptation of male same-sex couples and female same-sex couples could have to do with implicit prejudices. The explicit position of someone on homosexuality is connected to the social norm and the opinion of people in your surrounding on this subject. The implicit prejudices are the association you have with homosexuality formed by personal experience or representation in the media; gay males are often portrayed as highly sexual beings, partying in very little clothing at Pride parades and not suitable for family life, while lesbian females are often portrayed as caring and suitable for family life. Another factor that might play a role is the deviation from the standard and the different expectations of men and women; two males performing sexual acts is not seen as masculine, while two feminine looking females performing sexual acts is perceived as hot and sexual (Samuel, 2018).
In the above mentioned percentages we see that intersections are very important; if you are at the intersection of religious and non-Western, you are more likely to have a negative view on homosexuality than if you are at the intersection of non-religious and non-Western (Weston, 2010).
4.7 Conclusion
In the circumstances described above, we see that the lesbian refugees I spoke to were
suppressed in their home countries, juridical and socially, which made their life circumstances unsafe and sometimes even life threatening. The life circumstances for LGBT persons are a lot better, both socially and juridical, in the Netherlands. However, the lesbian refugees cannot experience all the freedoms in the Netherlands from the moment the arrive; during their asylum procedure they live in asylum seeker centres and are not integrated in Dutch society, and they have to prove their sexual orientation in an interview with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) to obtain a residence permit (IND, n.d.) and to be accepted
as a non-Dutch LGBT person. In the next Chapter we will discuss what influences the ideas inhabitants of a place have about homosexuality, gender and ethnicity have on the
5. Relation between the performance of sexual orientation and
location
I will discuss the data per state or region, to see if the views on sexual orientation differ per state or region, and if the performance of sexual orientation is related to ideas inhabitants of a place have about homosexuality. I will start with the countries; Jamaica and Uganda, and end with the regions; the Middle East and East Africa. I will end with a conclusion.
5.1 Jamaica
As discussed in Chapter 4, homosexuality is not a crime for women in Jamaica, but this does not mean it is socially accepted; because of the homophobia Jamaica is not safe for lesbian women either (Carroll & Mendos, 2017). Yvonne told me that the homophobia is a result of the buggery law and religion; most Jamaicans live by the Bible. In Jamaica, if a guy called you out and you don’t respond the way he expect you to respond, the first word that comes
out of their mouth is ‘You are a lesbian or sodomite.’ Yvonne worked with Jamaica Forum
for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-Flag) which is an underground organisation, of which you cannot tell people where it is located or that you work there, for your own safety. Part of her job was to identify gay men who were murdered, and had been stoned or put on fire. Although Jamaican society is not accepting homosexuality, Yvonne’s family accepts her the way she is. They are open minded and believe that it is more important that you are happy than that you fulfil society’s standards. Yvonne has been married with a man, and has four children. When she realized that this relationship did not make her happy, and it was best for her health and liberty that she would date women, she personally told her family that she is lesbian. Yvonne did not ask them to accept her, she only wanted them to know that she
respects herself, and it was important for her that her family would respect her and the woman she is in a relationship with. The situation became difficult when Yvonne starred in a
television commercial about HIV/Aids. Before this television commercial her sexual
orientation was not publically known. It became known that she is lesbian, and her neighbour told her some people wanted to burn down her house. At this point she fled to the
Netherlands. Through her work as human rights advocate she knew that the Netherlands is the best place for LGBT-persons, because the law protects them. When she and her, at the time, girlfriend arrived at Schiphol airport they asked for asylum. They had to stay in the detention centre, which felt like prison, for nine days and then they were transported to an azc. They lived three months in the azc, and a worker told them that they had to act like sisters, because
