Lesbiradas is the only public Lesbian rights organization in Guatemala. It is run out of Guatemala City and currently has five central organizers. Claudia Acevedo is the co-founder and spokeswoman of Lesbiradas and she conducts interviews and even lectures in the states. Lesbiradads is a play on the Spanish words for 'liberated lesbians' -lesbianas liberadas. The organization was originally called Lesberadads, but was changed to Lesbiradas at the request of bisexual women.

Mission

Lesbiradas strives to make lesbians visible in Guatemala, while working towards gaining human rights for lesbians, bisexual women and transgender people. Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... This article is about homosexual women, not inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos A lesbian (lowercase L) is a homosexual woman. ...

Direct Action

Lesbiradads works for government reform that addresses the femicide, rape, torture and mutilation of women in Guatemala, all sexual violence and general violence against women, especially violence and discrimination against lesbians in Guatemala. Femicide or Feminicidio, Femicidio in Spanish stands for female genocide. ...

Education of the public is another key part of the organization. The use of shock, banners and attempts at making themselves visible is part of trying to get their society to recognize and accept the existence of non-hetero sexualities, which is difficult in a country that doesn't discuss sexuality.

The creation of support groups and dialog between lesbians, bisexual women and transgender people is a central focus of Lesbiradas, from which support and referals can be attained for those in need, as well as a friendly community, which is much needed by individuals who have been rejected or abused by their family due to their gender, sexual orientation and or gender identity. Jump to: navigation, search Transgender is generally used as an overarching, general term for a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles; however, compare other definitions below. ... Jump to: navigation, search In a variety of different contexts, gender refers to the masculinity or femininity of words, persons, organisms, or characteristics. ... Jump to: navigation, search Sexual orientation refers to the sex or gender of people who are the focus of a persons amorous or erotic desires, fantasies, and spontaneous feelings, the gender(s) toward which one is primarily oriented. The alternative terms sexual preference and sexual inclination have similar meanings. ... In sociology, gender identity describes the gender with which a person identifies (i. ...

Affiliations

Lesbiradas is affliated with mostly other feminist and women's rights organizations. There have also been links to other mainly male gay rights groups, but it has been difficult, according to Acevedo in a 2005 lecture, to address the unique intersection of gender on LGBT issues in Guatemala. Relations with the Catholic Church has been impossible and links to Indigenous movements has similarly been very difficult. LGBT (or GLBT) is an initialism used as a collective term to refer to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. ... The Roman Catholic Church believes its founding was based on Jesus appointment of Saint Peter as the primary church leader, later Bishop of Rome. ... The word indigenous is an adjective derived from the Latin word indigena, meaning native, belonging to, aboriginal; and has several applications: Indigenous peoples, communities and cultures native or indigenous to a territory; Indigenous (band), the Native American blues-rock band; In biology, indigenous means native to a place or biota...

Links

[1] Interview with Claudia Acevedo in The Gully