Gay people in general, and men in particular, are viewed as weak and fragile. They are considered to lack moral integrity and the instinct to procreate.

 

Mainstream Peruvian society cannot comprehend the notion of happy, successful gay people. Why? Because society perceives homosexuality as being inherently flawed. These beliefs are passed through generations, along with the inevitable propagation of the chauvinistic mentality among the population.

 

As a seemingly inevitable result, gays and lesbians prefer to hide their sexual preferences from the eyes of the public, thereby avoiding the risks to their honor and safety that come with demonstrations, public affections or political defiance. They live in a world of discretion and secrecy.

 

Ironically, there are men who have sex with other men and do not identify themselves as being gay. In Lima, sexual identity varies according to the label a person adopts, not according to their same-sex behavior. In their minds, these men, whom by most standards are behaving “gay,” feel they are normal guys, exercising their male prerogative to act on their sexual urges by performing acceptable “active” male roles. They consider themselves to be confident heterosexual men because they only perform the “macho” or “dominant” role during sex. To these men it is taking on the “passive” sexual role, since it is associated with adopting a feminine behavior, which is perceived to reduce or remove masculinity. These men cannot conceive of homosexuality as human nature. They are unable to understand that being gay does not imply that one stops being a man to suddenly conduct himself as a woman.

This misconstruing of male-male sexual intimacy demonstrates the levels of denial some of these men go through in order to conserve their “normal” lives. These men lead double lives and most are married and have families. They comply with the norms of society to please relatives, friends and prevent the battle within themselves between their religious beliefs and their sexual orientation. The idea of “coming out” terrifies them. To reconcile and embrace their homosexuality is a task that most would rather not face.

 

The Film “No se lo digas a nadie”, Don't Tell Anyone, is a groundbreaking, honest and hard-hitting tale of the troubles that accompany a Peruvian man's search for sexual identity in a country intolerant of open homosexuality. Based on the controversial novel by Peruvian writer Jaime Baiyly, Don't Tell Anyone is a powerful and unique portrait of the dichotomous world of homosexuality that exists in Peru and many parts of Latin America.

 

 

The homosexual rights movement in Peru has been slow to take hold. Even though the Lima Homosexual Movement (Movimiento Homosexual de Lima, MHOL) was founded in 1983 it was not until 2002 that Peru’s first gay pride parade was held. And even then the few hundred marchers that braved Lima’s hostile atmosphere wore masks to hide their identities and carried signs saying, “we want to be visible, but intolerance suppresses us.” They expressed fears of losing their jobs and otherwise being discriminated against. Though there are no longer any laws explicitly prohibiting sexual activity between civilians of the same sex in Peru, authorities frequently invoke vague laws aiming to uphold “public morality” as a tool to repress sexual “deviance.” Penalties range from 20 days to 20 years in jail for “dishonorable acts of carnal knowledge against the order of nature.”

 

More alarming than the potential jail time were the actions taking by the government of President Alberto Fujimori. Between 1996 and 2000 a mass sterilization program aimed at poor indigenous women, men and homosexual men was carried out. A quota system rewarded public health physicians with promotions in return for persuading members of these groups to agree to irreversible sterilization. More than 215,000 indigenous women were sterilized. Another 15,000 vasectomies were performed on poor indigenous men. According to gay rights groups, homosexual men were particularly targeted. When seeking treatment for other conditions, they were offered alcohol or other incentives to have a vasectomy. Some claim to be told, “This will make you more feminine and sexy.”

 

The accounts of discrimination and violence are many. One can only assume that for every documented account there are many more which occur and go unreported to prevent the victim any further trauma.

 

Peruvian-born fashion photographer Mario Testino, who wore flashy clothes as an adolescent in Lima, says he could not safely walk the streets of the capital city. “Either my mother lent me her driver, or I spent my allowance on taxis. I couldn’t walk on the street because people threw eggs or shouted at me. In Peru, if you do anything even slightly feminine you’re considered a faggot.”

 

In 1997, the US Immigration and Naturalization Service granted asylum to a male-to-female transsexual from Peru who had been “taunted, humiliated, and physically attacked by her family, classmates, teachers, and strangers on the street,” and “arrested and detained by the Peruvian police for being a gay man.”

 

The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, in Lima, barred a gay student organization from holding events. The organization, Parenthesis Collective (Colectivo Paréntesis), was formed by two third-year students, Rodrigo Vecco and Bernardo Nieuwland. In addition, the university distributed a pamphlet, “Sexual Identity: Is It Possible to Choose?” which described homosexuality as a curable illness. The pamphlet was prepared at the request of the university’s chancellor, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, Archbishop of Lima.

 

 

There is a surprisingly active gay scene in Lima. There are over 10 clubs and bars, 3 saunas and even 4 gay hotels. Small scenes are also developing outside the capital in cities like Cusco and Arequipa.

 

Despite gays and lesbians attempt to keep their lifestyles very low profile, things are changing. Lima Tours, one of the country's biggest travel agency, has been making a determined effort to attract gay and lesbian tourists, Among other things, it has produced a useful flyer, "Gay Life in Peru," listing bars and discos, gay bathhouses, and other meeting spots.

 

Society in Peru is gradually opening up, and regardless of the pressure, gay people are breaking through in various ways. The Internet has done much to bring visibility to the gay community.

 

Although Lima has become a little more liberal in the last few years, it is still a society where appearances are more important than facts, and individuality, freedom of thought, and self-expression are not always encouraged.