Erzulie's Skirt & Empire

A Speech/Reading presented for Last Sunday
Austin, TX
February 18, 2007

What is empire?

In her 2003 speech on Confronting Empire, Arundhati Roy states:

Quote: When we speak of confronting "Empire," we need to identify what "Empire" means. Does it mean the U.S. Government (and its European satellites), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and multinational corporations? Or is it something more than that? In many countries, Empire has sprouted other subsidiary heads, some dangerous byproducts — nationalism, religious bigotry, fascism and, of course terrorism. All these march arm in arm with the project of corporate globalization. End quote

If we are to consider how we as U.S. Citizens participate in the construction of Empire and how we confront our own participation and perpetuation of empire, we must begin by asking ourselves some fundamental questions around what we are certain we know: what we have assumed are truths guaranteed and embedded in our social contracts.

I am not a historian, and I am not a political scientist. I am a novelist, a poet, an organizer engaged in questions around the dismantling of oppressive institutions and transformative modes of thinking within U.S. society. I am engaged in these questions because of the very nature of empire: what we decide here affects the rest of the world. An appropriate metaphor would be the waterfall that begins as the wet, spongy ground of a spring and soaks up through the sand as a creek, to become a river and to then plunge off of a cliff into unknown depths, sweeping logs and branches and anything else in its path down with it. We as a nation enacting empire are both the spring and the waterfall. And I have witnessed the sweeping waters of U.S.Dominican Republic. empire tumbling violently across the landscape of the land of my birth: the

Picture this: A hot tropical sun radiating heat across white sand. Turquoise blue sea water lapping at your toes. The sound of the wind in the palm trees as the sweet scent of sand and ocean permeate your skin and every cell of your body. You have just eaten fresh fish and fried plantain served to you on a styrofoam plate. You look out over the sea, happy that you decided to visit the Dominican Republic on your vacation. The people are so nice, the food is so good and the rum, oh the rum. A dark woman, you assume she is Dominican, approaches you and offers to braid your hair for only $20.00. As you rub suntan lotion onto your shoulders, you decide, sure – why not. It would be fun to have braids for a little bit. It would be almost...exotic.

Now picture this: On a hot, sunny day in November 1999 a group of women, myself included, sat on the beach wiggling our toes in the white sands, looking out over turquoise blue waters. But we were not there to enjoy the sun. Just that morning, word had reached us that the President, Leonel Fernandez, had deported several hundred Haitians and dark-skinned Dominicans from the Dominican Republic over to Haiti. His reasons: securing the homeland and ensuring that the Haitians did not interrupt the economic health of the nation. That same day, a boat carrying 85 people, we will assume they were all Dominican, though that boat could have also included Haitians and Cubans and people from any other island in the region, capsized in the open waters of the Mona Channel as they attempted to make their way to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that has served as a port of entry for many on their way to the land of opportunity. We were trying to figure out what to do, how to respond to the loss of life, liberty and dignity among our fellow human beings whose only crime was to try and secure a living out of sand, water and scorched earth.

Read from Erzulie’s Skirt, excerpt pages 166 & 167

In the past few years especially we have become acquainted with sweat shop labor and its ramifications. Through the protests of the anti-globalization movements, including the first march in Seattle in 2000 and down to the neat label at the bottom of American Apparel advertisements stating: “Made sweatshop-free in L.A.” we as a movement have reached a higher consciousness about sweat shop labor and its implications for people and communities around the world. What we have failed to realize is that foreign economic policies designed in the United States, including NAFTA and the recently enacted Caribbean & Central American version, CAFTA, continue to create a two-tiered system of economic participation – between countries of consumption and countries of production. The Dominican Republic, a land and a nation at the heart of Western history – for being the first place in the hemisphere where colonization was enacted, as well as its institutions, including slavery, large scale cash crop plantations and gold mining – is a nation bound by the economic policies of the United States. In order to maintain its sovereignty as a nation, its leadership participates in economic and social policies that keep it in line with its friendly neighbor to the North. In 1999, this included the deportation of hundreds of people from the land of their birth. In 2003, this included the commissioning of 150 Dominican soldiers to fight in Iraq beside U.S. forces. In 2004, this included cuts in subsidies to Dominican rice agriculturalists and cattle ranchers – foods that were then replaced with imports from the United States. In 2005, the U.S. coast guard reported the highest number of immigrants arriving by boat from the Dominican Republic in recent history.

What, then, are our remedies? I don’t profess to have answers to this question. I will, however, offer two points of reflection.

The first point I will ask you to consider is the legacy of binary thought that we have been socialized into under the U.S. social contract. The either/or paradigm under which we function has limited us to essential concepts and language of black/white, male/female, us/them. The consequences of this paradigm are manifold and specifically affect those who transgress these boundaries of essential identity. We have historic examples in the ways in which white and black women were punished during struggles for abolition and suffrage, and forced to separate their efforts often through violent acts. Today, we see the effects of either/or thinking exemplified through the number of hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals. We also see this paradigm enacted in the framing of the Palestinian/Israeli struggle, and in the justification of pre-emptive war.

We as social movements and individuals hoping and working towards a better society, must undo our own participation in either/or paradigms. We must reconceptualize the multiple complexities of our society, and our political frameworks (including the bipartisan framework) as spaces for both/and approaches to decision-making.

Secondly, and finally, we must examine our sense of certainty. If there is one major shift in our society as a whole following 9/11 it is that we became less certain of many things. This, I believe, is a positive outcome of a very traumatic situation. Certainty, and I cite Karen Armstrong in this point, is a key element of fundamentalism. And in discussing fundamentalism, I am not speaking of those who have been framed as the enemies of the U.S. Remembering my recent call to intersectional thinking, rather than either/or thinking, I would ask us to consider how we as a secular society have become certain about the separation of church and state, while simultaneously witnessing the melding together of these two institutions into a force that is forming a discrete political agenda that dictates not only how foreign aid reaches other countries, but how we as a people are to think of ourselves in that process. As long as we are certain that our democracy is unquestionable, or that the assumed truths guaranteed and embedded in our social contracts are unshakeable, we will fail to grasp how we U.S. citizens continue to participate in the development of policies that strip the rights and livelihoods of millions of people around the world, including our own.

I will conclude with a final reading from my novel, Erzulie’s Skirt

Read from Erzulie’s Skirt, excerpt pages 79-81

Sources:

Roy, Arundhati
Confronting Empire, delivered at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on January 27, 2003

Armstrong, Karen
The Spiral Staircase: My Climb out of Darkness, Anchor Books, NY: 2004.

Statistics on the Dominican Republic gleaned from El Listin Diario & El Diario Libre, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Country Report (Dominican Republic, Chapters IX & X) OEA/Ser.L/V/II.104, Doc. 49 rev. 1, 7 October 1999

Reflections on Creating Change--from Lisa

I learned a great deal about busting binaries work through Creating Change this year. Most importantly, I learned that the deepest form of binary busting is working across issues and communities in the most intersectional way possible. Prior to this experience, I had not quite articulated binary busting work in that way. Yet it is now clear to me that busting binaries has to result in something deeply radical beyond the act of challenging either/or thinking and practice. It must result in a deeper understanding of the overlaps and contradictions—in essence the messy places--- as they relate to issues and identities. Binary busting makes doing intersectional work both possible and urgently necessary.

I also learned more about how to concretely organize in this way. I realized that one thing that we sorely underestimate in our movements is relationship and community building. Having completely honest and accountable relationships with community is key to gaining invited access to those messy, contradictory and hard places where issues and identities overlap. In order to understand the intersections and overlaps it requires one to “hang out” in those vulnerable and hard places with folks for as long as it takes to move the work to a deeper place. Each step of the way requires transparency, openness and a strong commitment to supporting people in “go there” on there own time—not yours!

In the end, I gained tremendous clarity about how busting binaries/intersectional work demands flexibility in ways that one may not initially anticipate. To do this work in the most accountable way it’s important to develop a collective vision—yet be flexible around the ways in which that vision is achieved. Whether one is working within a specific community in an intersectional way or across communities in an intersectional way flexibility is key to getting as deep into the nuances and contradictions as possible. It is my experience that organizers often underestimate the importance of flexibility and therefore the nuances are overlooked. It’s this lack of attention to nuance and overlap that divides communities, fuels anger and mistrust and segments our movements.

This experience certainly gave me the opportunity to deepen my understanding of how this work is done—and it has further strengthened my resolve that binary busting work (as a framework for doing intersectional work) is exactly where we must move our movements.

Creating Change 2006, Kansas City, MO - from Ana

Some of the fundamental questions I ask myself in attending a conference often have to do with the approach and the framing of the work. What was amazing to me this year was how `intersectionality’ served as a framework for many of the institutes and workshops at this year’s Creating Change.

Here is a definition of intersectionality: “the Ontario Human Rights Commission offers a very simple definition of the phenomenon [of intersectionality] as `…multiple forms of discrimination occurring simultaneously’” from the Peel District School Board School paper: Manifesting Encouraging & Respectful Environments & the Future We Want – Issue Paper on the isms.

The People of Color Institute on the first day asked us to focus on privilege, language & generational experiences. What I discovered in this space is that it’s still hard for us as people of color to talk about carrying/walking with privilege. The idea that that is possible and also necessary to examine is still difficult for folks. Wow. I think one of the fundamental aspects of being a bridge person is that we’re constantly having to negotiate privilege and oppression within multiple frames, and it can feel really unsafe to unpack that. And yet, there are many, many points of connection between different kinds of experiences of privilege that would allow for the formation of bridges between people. For example, connections between the privilege because of U.S. citizenship and the privilege arising out of wealth. Something else that struck me is how shaped we are by our generation. I don’t mean the generation arising out of our individual ages, but out of our movement generation. I was in the group that has been in the movement 10-20 years. We were all struggling with questions of sustainability, and looking at the driving force for this work. There came a moment where we had to look at the question of “how does one frame work for liberation in the midst of responding to crises?”

It was wonderful to be at the conference together with Lisa. And to watch how the work around busting binaries is affecting how we talk about movement building, and organizational development, intersectionality and capacity building. Very exciting.

Submission Guidelines: email attachment only to ikerlee@unm. edu; Chicago
manual style w/limited endnotes; full guidelines at www.femtap.com

In the recent past we have seen an increase in violence against
communities of color and LGBTQ communities, some televised and others
completely ignored by mainstream media. We have also witnessed a
conservative backlash against models that embrace intersectional
analysis and a critical look at privilege from all sectors. Yet, we
believe feminist models are uniquely capable of addressing increasing
inequities, particularly those models that argue that we must put the
most oppressed women at the center of our analysis (see Smith 2006,
Brenner 1998, Anzaldua 1984, etc.). As such, FemTAP is accepting
submissions that critically engage models, methods, theories, and
practices of feminist social justice that highlight race, gender, class,
and sexuality as co-equal.

All essays should include intersectional analysis including the critical
interrogation of whiteness, heterosexuality, and/or class privilege
where applicable. We are particularly interested in grounded studies
and ethnographic essays but accept essays from a feminist
perspective across disciplines.

Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. A feminist response to un/natural disasters: Katrina, mining on
indigenous lands, environmental degradation and environmental racism, etc.

2. Reproductive justice in communities of color, working class and LBT
communities of all colors - we are particularly interested in responses
to sterilization projects that target poor women, incarcerated women,
etc., holistic projects that seek to deal with multiple-intersecting issues,

any feminist organizing around transgendered and same-sex

parenting rights or reproductive justice, and scientific examinations

of the impact of use and/or research on NRTs for women of color,

working class women of all colors, and LBT women of all colors.

3. Rural feminisms: rural vs. urban queer organizing, rural women's
organizing as specific and generalizable, rural feminists' responses to
poverty, etc.

4. Alternative spaces: women of color and LBT women of all colors
resource centers, women of color and/or LBT women of all colors
grassroots organizing, LBT women of all colors and/or women of color
organizations or retreat-conferences as alternative feminist visions,
artist collectives, etc.

5. Historical essays - examination of "unknown" or unwritten histories
of women of color, LBT women of all colors, and/or poor women's organizing.

6. Models and methods: successful cross-cultural and/or cross-class
feminist organization models, successful trans-feminist organizing,
successful rural-urban organizing, etc.

7. Confronting current issues impacting women of color, LBT women of all
colors, and/or poor women of all colors - urban renewal, funding
collectives, food collectives, welfare reform programs, parenting
students organizations, police and/or court watch programs, housing
safety and security programs, programs confronting the rise in hate
crimes, etc.

8. Academia - the impact feminists of color, working class feminists of
all colors, LBT feminists of all colors on policy, curriculum, and
organizing (please note the summer edition is on pedagogy so pedagogy
essays will be given the least importance in review ranking for this
edition but will *still* be considered; if we believe your essay would
be more appropriate for the summer edition we will advise you.)

9. DEFINING FEMINIST SOCIAL JUSTICE - theoretical essays that examine
what is or can be meant by "feminist social justice," praxis essays that
examine the meaning of "feminist social justice" and the means by which
to actualize it in feminist practice.

We accept essays from graduate students, PhDs, and community scholars.
For full guidelines, review policies, etc. see appropriate links on
website.

Editorial Board:
Erika Feigenbaum, PhD (Feminist philosophy)
Ime Kerlee, PhD (Women's Studies)
Annette Rodriguez (American Studies)

Questions contact: ikerlee@unm. edu (answers will come from entire board;
most questions answered on website: www.femtap.com

Dr. Ime Kerlee, Women Studies Program
1 University of New Mexico/MSC06 3900
Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
Phone: (505) 277-3467 office: MVH 2136
E-mail: ikerlee@unm. edu

A. Lynn Bolles, Anthropologist
Professor of Women's Studies
2101 Woods Hall
University of Maryland College Park

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, Most Merciful

True Muslims Must Never Deny the European Holocaust

By Ibrahim Ramey

History will recall the tragedy of the genocide that slaughtered some
six million European Jews between the rise of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi
Party in 1933 and the culmination of the Second World War in Europe in May,
1945.

The evidence of this crime, and the horrible magnitude of this killing,
is irrefutable.  From sources as varied as Nazi war records, film
documentation, and most importantly, the testimony of survivors and
witnesses, we know that the mass murder of European Jews was, indeed,
the single greatest crime of genocide in the twentieth century.

Yet the world now witnesses yet another wave of historical revisionism
and Holocaust denial, this time emerging not from European Anti-Semites,
but from none other than the President of Iran.  Indeed, this head of state
has taken the unprecedented act of hosting an international conference of
anti-Semites, Holocaust deniers, and even white racists like former
Klan leader David Duke, to gather in Tehran to deny the magnitude, if not
the very existence, of this barbaric act.

As a Muslim of African decent in the United States, whose ancestors
were victimized by the enormous crime of slavery, I object.  And I believe
that all Muslims, like other human beings who value compassion and truth,
must vigorously object to this gathering as well.

Like many in the global Muslim community, I regard the occupation of
Palestinian land and the policies of the State of Israel as issues of
extreme importance.  I am certainly among those who believe that the
occupation of Palestinian territory and the denial of full human rights
to Palestinians, and even to Arab people regarded as Israeli citizens, is
deplorable.

But I find it to be morally unconscionable to attempt to build
political arguments and political movements on a platform of racial hatred and
the denial of the suffering of the human beings who were victimized by the
viciousness of Hitler's genocidal rampage through Europe.

President Ahmedinejad should recognize that the issue of the
Palestinian people must not, and cannot, be transmogrified into the ugly and
spiritually bankrupt context of racial hatred. The cause of freedom must never
drink from the well of hatred and racism.

And indeed, as the Holy Qur'an compels Muslims to demand justice for
the oppressed, we are also called to witness against ourselves when we are
in error.

And in this case, the President of Iran most certainly is.
      ********************************

The writer is the Director of the Human and Civil Rights Division of
the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation

Dear Friends and Colleagues

It has been an exciting summer for bustingbinaries.com.

Both of us are deeply engaged in bustingbinaries writing and organizing projects,and, this summer has opened up multiple opportunities for us to do this work and identify other binary busters along the way.

Before we tell you about upcoming projects, we want to highlight the new additions to our site over the past several months. The exciting submissions that we have added cover some very important issues from queer families to immigration rights. We also have added several submissions on the controversy surrounding World Pride which was to be held in Israel/Palestine this past August.

We thank Carmen Vazquez for submitting a piece entitled "Family" and Dulani for submitting a piece entitled "Border". Both of these pieces can be found on our Featured Writers page of the bustingbinaries blog.

We also thank Kerry Lobel and Julie Dorf for submitting their piece "Why We Can No Longer Look the Other Way" and Al-Fatiha Foundation for their brilliant open letter about World Pride.
Please spend some time with these important writings--it's well worth it.

We are also pleased to announce the publication of Erzulie’s Skirt, Ana Lara's debut novel. It will be available to the public on October 1st and is being published by the fabulous bustingbinaries website this fall for Ana's upcoming appearances. Most importantly, get a copy of the book!

Lastly, both of us have spent the summer working on bustingbinaries projects. Ana was in the Dominican Republic working on her second novel as well as a curricula for bustingbinaries.com. Look for that curricula on the site later this Fall. Lisa has been deeply engaged in developing deeper anti-oppression organizing work in the LGBT rights community—much of which is going to be reflected in some new content being rolled out at Creating Change, the premier national LGBT rights conference.

Don’t forget that our blog http://www.bustingbinaries.blogspot.com/ is always there for you to register your opinions, feedback and thoughts.

In solidarity,

Ana and Lisa

Open Letter to the LGBTIQ Community and WorldPride Participants

Open Letter to the LGBTIQ Community and WorldPride Participants

As LGBTIQ Muslims and allies, the Al-Fatiha Foundation is torn, but united in our boycott of WorldPride in Jerusalem. As a religious organization, Al-Fatiha embraces the great symbolism that WorldPride in Jerusalem represents: the bringing together of LGBTIQ people in a city regarded as holy by Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Yet, this WorldPride will not be a bringing together of people; Palestinians and the vast majority of Muslims will continue to be denied access to the city of Jerusalem. Al-Fatiha cannot, in good faith, support participation in WorldPride held in a segregated Jerusalem, under an Israeli apartheid system.

There is no pride in a system of apartheid institutionalized by the Israeli government and enforced by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) against Palestinian civilians. Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza are routinely denied freedom of movement and unrestricted access to Jerusalem. Palestinians must carry identity cards to go anywhere, and if granted, special permits to enter or exit Jerusalem. Every day, Palestinians must endure numerous checkpoints which restrict and often prohibit their travel for work, for education, and for healthcare. The escalating violence targeting civilians in Palestine/Israel precludes freedom of movement for everyone, regardless of sexuality, religion or ethnicity.

There is no pride in collective punishment of millions of people, in wholesale denial of food, water, adequate shelter, right to property, freedom of movement, access to health care and hospitals, access to education, right to earn a living, right to integrity and liberty. These are basic human rights. And, these are human rights that are systematically violated by policies and practices of the Israeli government and the IDF on a daily basis throughout Palestine.

The recent Israeli bombing of a water treatment plant and the sole power plant that supplies electricity to sixty-five percent of Gaza Strip's 1.4 million inhabitants is just one example of collective punishment experienced by all Palestinians--regardless of religion, political or ideological persuasion, sexual _expression or identity. To date, thousands of Palestinians are still without access to clean water and electricity during the hottest summer months.

In addition, the recent systematic violence by Israel targeting civilian lives in Lebanon and the deliberate annihilation of Lebanese infrastructure of water and electric power plants, airports, seaports, highways, schools and hospitals further widens the scope of collective punishment of millions of innocent civilians.

As an organization, and as a community that spans all continents of the globe, Al-Fatiha stands for justice, peace and self-determination for all people. We believe that all people have the inherent right to liberty, and to freedom of sexual and religious _expression. We equally believe that all people have inviolable human rights, regardless of ethnicity, culture, or nationality.

The Al-Fatiha Foundation stands in solidarity with the many individuals and organizations, such as ASWAT and Helem, which are actively working for nonviolent, peaceful solutions to the violations of human rights in Palestine/Israel, and now Lebanon. We envision a time when all people, regardless of faith, sexuality, gender, ethnicity, culture, or nationality, may celebrate a true WorldPride in a united Jerusalem.

In Struggle and Solidarity,

Al-Fatiha Board of Directors
http://www.al-fatiha.org/

Why We Can No Longer Look the Other Way

Why We Can No Longer Look the Other Way
By Kerry Lobel and Julie Dorf

It might seem rather myopic, even self-centered, to focus on an LGBTQ rights demonstration in Israel during times like these. For now, Jerusalem WorldPride is still on after much debate. Its organizers are even more determined to sound a message of peace and tolerance in the midst of growing chaos in the region, but they can't do it alone.

As foreigners, it's hard to imagine that business goes on as usual in Jerusalem. We see unending images of complete destruction in Southern Lebanon, and attacks on Northern Israel. Since the Israeli siege in Gaza earlier this summer, many activists, understandably, have found it difficult to call for a focus on LGBTQ issues in the heart of an occupied country at war knowing that Palestinians in Gaza do without water and electricity under the 100 degree summer heat and that the Israeli army bombs not only Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, but roads, power lines, and innocent families, displacing more than 600,000 people.

However, with international attention now on this part of the globe, WorldPride can and must be seen as part of a wider social justice agenda. Together, we must seize this opportunity to show the interconnectedness of all movements for liberation.

In the two weeks prior to the Hezbollah capture of two Israeli soldiers, WorldPride Jerusalem organizers and LGBTQ leaders from around the world mounted a sustained and necessary response to anti-LGBTQ attacks and death threats by right wing religious leaders, particularly from the ultra- Orthodox Jewish community. These are the same leaders who support the settler movement, and who oppose the creation of a Palestinian state.

Calls by extremists for the world's largest anti-gay demonstration, combined with violence in the region, has led Jerusalem authorities to deny WorldPride organizers the permit needed to march. The connection between anti-LGBTQ and anti-Palestinian attacks has been made for us, and these attacks are escalating on both fronts.

With the escalating violence in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, it is time for LGBTQ leaders to help WorldPride organizers make real their pledge to use this critical moment and world stage to show solidarity with Palestinians and Israeli peace and justice activists by calling for an end to the occupation, at the same time as calling for the end to religious intolerance. Together, we can work for a just resolution to this decades-long conflict.

The WorldPride Jerusalem 2006 website reads:

The reality that surrounds us is one of violent conflict and decades-long occupation. While painful enough, it is becoming even more painful as a result of the separation wall being built up over the last 2 years, which physically divides Jerusalem and leaves many Jerusalemites behind the wall, denying access to most of Jerusalem for Palestinians, including members from our LGBTQ community.

Our commitment &is to challenge the hostile environment around us and stand behind our principles. The separation wall hurts everyone in our community. Within the official program of the Jerusalem WorldPride events this August, we want to express our solidarity with our community's members who will not be able to be part of World Pride&"

As the WorldPride Jerusalem 2006 organizers wrote, "Holding WorldPride in Jerusalem the city at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a significant opportunity for our diverse community to raise a different voice, a voice for progressive moral values, inclusion, and pluralism."

If WorldPride organizers can speak out against the occupation, our LGBTQ leaders from around the world can do no less. As an LGBTQ movement, we have the responsibility to promote our own deeply held values of human equality and civil rights and to speak out against injustice wherever and however we find it.

For those of us spending WorldPride week at home, we can take action to bring peace to Israel and Palestine, and now Lebanon. Kerry Lobel will be standing with Women in Black in the Bay Area to call for an end to the occupation. For more information about an action near you, contact www.bayareawomeninblack.org.

For those who are attending Jerusalem WorldPride, please join Julie Dorf, WorldPride U.S. co-chair, who will stand along with WorldPride Organizers in solidarity with Palestinians on Monday, August 7th at a Solidarity Rally at the Jerusalem Separation Wall at 17:00. More information about the Rally location can be found at www.worldpride.net.

With our every action, we can bring peace. Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel said, "On three things the world stands: on justice, on truth, and on peace." (Zechariah 8:16)

Kerry Lobel is the former Executive Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and is a consultant to national and international LGBT and feminist organizations. She can be reached at kerrylobel@thechangegroup.org

Julie Dorf is the founder of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and is Chair of the advisory committee to Human Rights Watch's LGBT Rights Program.