LGBT rights in micronations
| Part of a series on |
| LGBT topics in micronationalism |
|---|
| Civil rights |
| Treaties |
| Organisations |
| LGBT homelands |
The rights afforded to LGBT[1] people vary as much in micronationalism as in macronationalism, and at times there is significant contention between micronations on account of this, in no small part because the presense or lack of LGBT rights personally affects many prominent leaders of the MicroWiki Sector. Most micronations have effected at least one policy on the matter, and some have even signed onto one or more LGBT rights treaties, the most well-known of these in the MicroWiki Sector being the Denton Protocol and the Augusta Accord. A few micronations have sought to elevate the rights of LGBT people to a supreme position, forming LGBT homelands (an example of queer nationalism); the most well-known instance being the now-defunct Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands. LGBT issues are also represented in micronational organisations, like the Micronational Organisation for Asexual Visibility; and even in micronational companies, like Statistic-Dime, which publishes an LGBT Rights Index.
Although a popular topic and often vigorously fought for or against, micronational laws providing or obstructing LGBT rights do at times run counter to the laws of macronations claiming the same territory, and this can prevent the full realization of a given micronation's policies in this domain. This provides an additional layer of complication on-top of what is already a complex topic. Some micronations existing in such a state of conflict have sought to petition their host macronation(s) in an attempt to change macronational law, some others have existed partially as protest movements and were disbanded following legislative change in their host macronation,[2] and some micronations have even fought intermacronationally for LGBT rights.[3]
The actual rights demanded by people under the LGBT umbrella are broad in scope and vary by identity; this article currently focuses primarily on the rights desired by the two best-known subgroups: non-hetero sexualities (represented by but not limited to the "LGB" in "LGBT") and non-cis gender identities (represented by the "T" in "LGBT"), but there are also other groups (like asexual and intersex people), and these too have their own political concerns. It is important to note that the extents to which these rights are granted or restricted varies, often in complex ways: decriminalization is not the same as legality, nor is legality the same as protection from discrimination; and it is not uncommon for these rights to be contingent rather than universal. Every micronation, being at least nominally sovereign, decides for itself what policies are most appropriate for it, resulting in fairly tremendous variation. Nevertheless, there are a few general camps, most-prominently the Progressive Left (which grants LGBT rights broadly and unconditionally) and the Reactionary Right (which maximally denies LGBT rights).
Same-sex rights in micronations
- Main article: Same-sex rights in micronations
As mentioned in the introduction, micronations vary widely in the rights they afford those who pursue relations with others of the same sex/gender. These are broken-down in detail for a large number of nations in the main article on this topic, linked above.
Below is a list of civil rights issues commonly championed by and for same-sex-attracted people, listed loosely in order of priority:
- An end to forced sterilization and forced transition.
- Ability to legally perform same-sex sexual activity (repeal sodomy laws)
- Legal and religious recognition of same-sex relationships (same-sex marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, etc)
- The right to conceiveⓘ, adopt, and raise children
- Ability to serve in the military without hiding sexual preferences
- Ability to donate blood as a gay or bisexual male
In addition to the above rights, the following legal protections are also often sought by same-sex-attracted people:
- Banning conversion therapy
- Anti-bullying legislation, to protect queer children at school
- Anti-discrimination laws (such as in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations)
- Hate crime laws, which impose additional criminal penalties for prejudice-motivated crimes against same-sex-attracted people
Trans rights in micronations
Micronations also vary widely in the rights they afford those with gender identities that do not match the genders they were recognized as having at birth. These are broken-down in detail for a large number of nations in the main article on this topic, linked above.
Below is a list of civil rights issues commonly championed by and for trans people, listed loosely in order of priority:
- Access to medical interventions, such as hormone replacement therapy and gender affirming surgeries, typically with as little gatekeeping as possible, often including in children
- Legal recognition and accommodation of gender identity
- Access to target-gender facilities, such as bathrooms, prisons, and other gender-segregated spaces
- The ability to remain legally married after changing legal sex, even if the marriage is now homosexual (relevant in jurisdictions where transition is legal but homosexuality is not -- commonly the case in the Middle East, previously the case in the West too)
- The right to adopt and raise children
- Ability to serve in the military
- Inclusion in the LGBT movement
- Ability to play in target-gender sports
In addition to the above rights, the following legal protections are also often sought by trans people:
- Legal requirements that others use one's preferred pronouns, often even if that means using neopronouns.
- Anti-bullying legislation, to protect gender-nonconforming children at school
- Anti-discrimination laws (such as in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations)
- Hate crime laws, which impose additional criminal penalties for prejudice-motivated crimes against trans people
Trans people also often seek the following positive rights:
- Public funding of transition, which for an individual is often prohibitively expensive when surgeries are required
- Public funding of assisted reproductive technologies, which are extraordinarily expensive and often required for trans people seeking to conceive, because transition is inherently damaging for their native reproductive organs
Variation
It may be worth noting that there is some debate within the trans community about these aims.
The smaller side of one debate, often but not necessarily composed of older people, especially trans people who transitioned before the Internet, is "transmedicalist", meaning they view transgender issues as being psychiatric in nature ("Gender Identity Disorder"[4]), a condition whose treatment is medical transition; the implications there being that transmedicalism by definition excludes pretty much anyone but those with medically-diagnosed gender dysphoria from the "T" in "LGBT". People in this camp by definition want to maintain some gatekeeping (though generally less than existed under older standards of care, like Harry Benjamin's), most uphold the gender binary, many want people to assume pronouns (back in the day, asking someone for pronouns meant they failed to pass), most oppose the use of neopronouns, etc.
People in the other camp, often composed of younger trans people who grew up with the Internet and also those who are part of the Progressive Left, generally support trans rights as maximally as possible. People in this group often oppose the gender binary and support changing legal gender/sex without transition or surgeries; and a handful even go so far as to propose that no-one is assigned a gender at birth.
There is often tremendous contention between the two sides, especially from people who would be excluded from a transmedicalist definition of "trans".
Most pro-trans micronations appear to align with the Progressive Left for trans rights, but there are a handful of exceptions that lean more in the transmedicalist direction.
As well, trans people, like cis people, do have different political beliefs from each other, and these can influence what they consider to be rights. Trans people with Libertarian inclinations, for example, may reject the legitimacy of positive rights, meaning they would not support government funding for transition or assisted reproduction.
All this to say that the above list, while widely pursued by the trans community, is not completely universal.
See also
Footnotes and references
- ↑ MicroWiki, like Wikipedia, has standardized on the term "LGBT", as it is simple and universally recognized; but this label, like any label, is incomplete. Please understand this to include the same people included by more-expansive labels, like
LGBTQIAA+. - ↑ Such as the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, which was disbanded following Australia's 2017 referendum legalizing same-sex marriage.
- ↑ One example is the Principality of Urania, a micronation located in the UK, formally objecting, at a Russian embassy, to Chechen purges of LGBT people; and helping LGBT charities to extract those affected.
- ↑ No longer a diagnosis in the latest DSM, but still used in some circles.