making histories of bolivian sexual and gender diversity legible in the twenty-first century

​with David Aruquipa Pérez

​In the mid-1990s, David Aruquipa Pérez attended the opening of a new gay bar in La Paz, Bolivia. But before the festivities could begin, police raided the bar with the excuse that there had been reports of drug use. Aruquipa knew that many Bolivians saw non-heteronormative individuals as representatives of a seedy subculture, awash in drugs, defying all religious and community norms, and wholly unlike anyone in their families or circles of friends. After this incident Aruquipa decided, “we cannot continue to be victims of this kind of repression,” and began his life as an activist. He and other Bolivian activists have focused their efforts on bringing visibility to sexual and gender diversity in Bolivia, hoping this visibility will lead to increased social acceptance and political representation.
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Please read the full blog on Notches: Remarks on the History of Sexuality