Comrades,
To begin this exposition I will refer to the Glossary of Marxist Terms and define culture:
"The arts, methods and techniques by which humanity satisfies its needs and gives expression to what it experiences and to what it aspires; the sum total of the significant achievements and the accumulation of the knowledge in mankind's past, and conceived of as the only basis for further development. The culture of any epoch reflects the main characteristics of contemporary society, specifically, its mode of production."
It goes without saying that bourgeois cultures differ significantly from proletarian cultures, nevertheles, culture is defined by its materialist conditions as related to the mode of production during each period of development.
It is my position that we can begin to understand the contradictions of homosexuality if we can understand the contradictions posed by the discrimination and subjugation of women in society as well as racial discrimination. Although women nor homosexuals constitute an economic class, both have suffered certain economic privation in the US as well as throughout the world. I believe that if we are going to deal with the question of homosexuality seriously, we must not be rigid or fixed in dogmatic ideas but in fact view homosexuals as a class of people who are denied rights because of their homosexual orientation. To refuse to view the question in this light is to show one's bourgeois chauvinism that reveals the true nature of heterosexuality for what it really is - a materialist condition that promotes the ideology of male supremacy. Such ideology of male supremacy is an anti-Marxist position because the domination and subjugation of others is exploitative and discriminatory even if our psuedo-Marxist doesn't think so.
The historical conditions of pre-class society is refered to as primitive communism and based on this fact, I also propose that the modern homosexual movement brings us to a dialectical feature of development which is the negation of negation. In other words, society develops from primitive communism to the slave system. The next stage is fuedalism. The next stage is capitalism. Each stage arises from the previous one, and negates it. So far we have simply a succession of stages, each following as the negation of the other and constituting a higher stage of development. But what comes next? Communism. Here we see a return to the beginning, but at a higher level of development. In place of primitive communism, based on extremely primitive forces of production, comes communism based on extremely advanced forces of production and containing within itself tremendous new potentialities of development. What has just taken place is is that the old, primitive classless society has become the new and higher classless society, it has been raised to a higher level. But this has happened only because the old classless society was negated by the appearance of classes and the development of class society, and because finally class society, when it had gone through its whole development, is itself negated by the working-class taking power, ending the discrimination, subjugation and exploitation of man by man, and establishing a new classless society on the foundation of all the achievements of the whole previous development. This is the negation of negation, however, this does not take us back to the exact original starting point. It takes us forward to a new starting point, which is the original one raised, through its negation and the negation of the negation, to a higher level. Thus, we see that in the course of development, as a result of a double negation, a later stage does repeat an earlier stage, but repeats it on a higher level of development.
So, let's look at an example of a primitive communist pre-class society. As a case example I have chosen that of the US Native American derogatorily referred to as "indians" by bourgeois terminology.
A look at the Native American culture shows that their society was a hunting and gathering society and it was the gathering of food staples and elementary agriculture, as well as the creation of various products for trade that constituted the essential means of production. This role was the primary role of the women. The bourgeoisie have consistently misunderstood this role as one of subjugation but they could be no farther from the truth. The reality is is that because of this role it was the women who primarily controlled the means of production and under this condition society was based on matriarchy. Women also had the right to divorce their husbands but the matriarchial society of women never meant the subjugation of men. It did mean that women had the leading role in the social division of labor and therefore their leading role in the society.
As opposed to bourgeois European puritan views of sexuality, Native Americans experience sex as more than just a means of production. It is also an activity to be enjoyed and appreciated. Sexual pleasure is considered a gift from the spirit world. As a result there was no inhibition in regard to sexual relations and in some tribes, wives were offered to visitors for their sexual pleasure and was considered as a means of hospitality. Needless to say, with the single room dwellings, children and visitors were exposed to the sight of adults having sex without felings of guilt or embarrassment. Quite a contrast to our puritanical views today which are the product of bourgeois religious ideology.
Unlike the European Americans, gender or sexual divergence did not threaten the Native Americans as the consideration of alternative genders does not come easy to most Americans. Native American's as well as many of the world's cultures recognize more than two genders because the notion that there are many who do not fit precisely into either a male or female role has historically been accepted. Many native cultures have embraced the notion of an opposite gender identity, different from one's anatomical sex without any implied sexual preference. They were viewed by the native tribes as having a "Sacred" or "Holy" status within the society. The bourgeois term used to describe this phenomenon is Berdache which until 1933, if I remember correctly, was the predominant term but then rejected by the Native Americans as being derorgatory and who then embraced their own terminology of "Two Spirit."
Two Spirit was selected by the Native Americans to emphasize the spiritual aspect of the homosexual life. It was selected because it refers to a person that is composed of both the male and female spirit and therefore considered the Two Spirit as a third gender. This acceptance of a third gender by the primitive communist Native Americans is contrasted by the bourgeois concept of gender that rigidly fixes on only two opposite sexes, either one or the other. What we see here is that in this primitive communist society there is a dialectical process of understanding their contradictions where as the bourgeoisie and metaphysical Marxists fail at dialectics and separate the contradictions and isolate them from material conditions resulting in an inability to work out the contradictions.
Two Spirit is not a way in which Native Americans excuse or explain away male or female homosexuality. In the traditional tribal sense, these roles were associated with great respect and spiritual power. Rather than being viewed as an aberration, the Two Spirit was seen as one, which bridged the gap between the temporal and spirit worlds. The spiritual aspect of the Two Spirit was emphasized over the homosexual or gender variant aspect because primacy was placed the the person's character and spirit and not on the sexual aspects and for this reason the Two Spirit was highly valued by the people of the tribe. Given the choice between discarding or honoring a person who did not fit neatly into rigid bourgeois gender compartments, Native Americans chose to find a productive and venerated place for the Two Spirit.
Because the Two Spirit could mix characteristics of both genders, they were viewd as having a special status as if they were blessed by the gods. They were thought to be the "middle gender," and seen as prophets and visionaries having an almost mystic and psychic vision into the future. They were often consulted by tribal elders and chieftians because they were thought to have a kind of "universal knowledge" and special connection to the "Great Spirit." They became healers, surgeons, counselors, therapists, high religious priests, and shamans.
Native Americans believed that the Two Spirit person was lead by way of a spiritual experience into the role. A young boy was never forced into the role but was allowed to explore his own natural inclination and often went through a ceremony to determine their path. This belief was so strongly revered and led to the conviction that no one should resist the spiritual guidance when they were led to follow the path of the Two Spirit. It is important to note that Native Americans do not consider this role as one that is a matter of personal choice. They generally believe that one who follows this path is following his own spiritual guidance and the important feature of this is living a life true to one's spiritual path. In Native American cultures, male children who display feminine characteristics at an early age are valued by the tribe as a sacred trust. It is believed that the Great Spirit has sent this child to them as a go-between for males and females, a bridge between the sexes who understands both sides of the human condition.
According to Anthropologist, Evelyn Blackwood, "The berdache gender is not a deviant role. Nor a mixture of the two genders, nor less a jumping from one gender to its opposite. Nor is it an alternative role behavior for nontraditional individuals who are still considered men and women. Rather it comprises a separate gender within a multiple gender system."
Because of their unique position as neither male nor female, the Two Spirit would act as counselors for marital conflict and were often paid for their service. They also performed the role of matchmaker. When a young man wanted to send gifts and get the attention of a young woman, the Two Spirit would often act as the go between with the girl's family. The reason for the esteemed place of the Two Spirit in Native American culture was based on the fact that they exemplified their living within a strong moral code. They, therefore, accepted the duties of the role and tried to exceed the expectations of others in how well they performed.
Based on this fact, the work of the Two Spirit is greatly prized within and without the tribe. The highest compliment any woman of the tribe could be given was to tell her that her work is as good as the Two Spirit's. Because of their superior work quality, the work done by a Two Spirit is highly valued by collectors and tribal members as well. It is believed that some of the spiritual power of the maker was transferred to the product made by the Two Spirit and believe that the exquisite art is itself a manifestation of that power.
As regards the sexual practices of the Two Spirit, there are some characteristics that differ from other same sex relationships. Two Spirit people almost always observe incest taboos that involves not having sex with another Two Spirit. The explanation for this is an emphasis being placed on the gender aspects of the role instead of the sexual aspects, therefore, the Two Spirit seeks a masculine sex partner. It is this principle that is consistent with the Two Spirit marrying a masculine or non-Two Spirited person. In these marriages, the Two Spirit is considered a wife and is valued by the husband not only for the excellently performed domestic duties of the Two Spirit but also for the socially acceptable homosexual relationship.
Whether a Two Spirit marries or not, many adopt children and are known to be excellent parents and teachers. Native Americans as a whole readily accept adoption of children and traditionally share in child rearing among their kin. As a collective, Native Americans also accepted child rearing as a tribal function as well and is called the extended family. Two Spirit people fulfil an important role in terms of child rearing and education as they not only adopt their own children but often care for the children of others and this practice does in fact persist today.
The primitive communistic culture of the Native Americans instutionalized and socially sanctioned homosexual relations by utilizing the role of the Two Spirit. It was only with the arrival of the European bourgeois ideology dominated in the form of government and religion that the tradional role of the Two Spirit was changed in dramatic ways. All that was ever seen and understood of this cultural phenomenon by the bourgeoisie was the homosexual aspect and concomitantly in their refusal to understand the cultural differences, based on their puritanical religious views of morality, the bourgeoisie sought about to remove all traces of the Two Spirit multiple gender system.
Based on their bourgeois religious morality, the bourgeoisie began to overthrow the primitive communist matriarchial culture of the Native American and replace it with their male dominated heterosexual patriarchy that was riddled with gender discrimination and subjugation and thus, exploited the female gender.
If, as Marxist-Leninists, we believe that primitive communism is a part of the process of development in society, we must then also accept the contradictions that determine such development. The advantage a Marxist-Leninist has over bourgeois social scientists, no matter how decent they may be, is that we do not deal with just a jumble of facts and try to find what is common about them. We try to understand the inner relations of a problem. Problems are contradictions. The first task is to find the basis of the contradiction and then assemble the jumbled facts on the proper side of the contradiction. Therefore, with a relatively limited amount of factual information, but with the use of a scientifically dialectial method, we are able to suddenly leap ahead and come to conclusions. The bourgeois social scientists and metaphysical Marxists take this mass of facts and try to come to conclusions by examining the external and subjective relations. Truth is the scientific dialectal relationship of facts. It expresses a process. We must not just grab some commonality, but try to see where the whole process is going.
The above exposition is only a miniscule presentation of facts on pre-class homosexuality within the culture of primitive communism. It does, however, begin to reveal the scientific dialectical process of change and development based on the negation of negation. If primitive communist society found a productive place for all members without stimitazation and discrimination, we must then accept that communist society must be even more advanced.
Fraternally Mark Scott
