Homosexuality In Latino Cultures

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Homosexuality in Latino Cultures Some cultures deny accepting relationships between people of the same sex. Religious people say that it is against nature. The early Iberian conceptualization: of sodomy to the “second Spanish scholasticism” with Aquinas ruling supreme. Man was understood as a collaborator with God in the creation of a new human being, in the sense that the man created a new being from nothing, just as God created Adam from mud. The understanding of sodomy or homosexuality was based on the violation of this collaboration, since it was not possible to procreate with two men interacting (Nesvig, 2001). Michelle Vovelle defines this territory as both ideology and mentality. In this model ideology represents the more formalized discussions that bear on a particular subject. Mentalities are less definable, more fluid, and derive from collective representations. Mentality concerning homosexuality includes popular attitudes, social customs, response to Church teachings, reaction to law, as well as beliefs, customs, and concerns of homosexual and bisexual men (Nesvig, 2001) The long-cherised assumptions of patriarchy and male-dominated sexuality have guided the historiography of homosexuality in Latin America. Two theoretical models inform this classification. First, the honor-shame paradigm of Latin America and Mediterranean society suggests that sexuality is a key component of the system of honor and shame. The second model on which numerous scholars rely for theoretical guidance is the infamous hijos de la chingada mythology proffered by a Mexican writer, Octavio Paz. Nearly half a century has passed since he penned the much-debated essays that comprise El Laberinto de la Soledad, suggesting mentalities and universal characteristics of mexicanismo (Nesvig, 2001). Octavio Paz, in his book El laberinto de la Soledad contends that homosexuality in

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