LGBT history in Switzerland
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Pre-modern history
With the Christianization of Switzerland from the 3rd century AD,
In the German-speaking cantons of the Confederation, homosexuality was considered a "Gallic" sin. Men who were convicted of sodomy often admitted to have taken to French-or Italian-speaking countries to practise their homosexual behaviour. Conversely, abroad the Swiss were often reviled and, insulted as a people who had sex with cows, as a play on their rural origins[citation needed]. (Note: in modern Germa, "Sodomie" refers to bestiality, whereas in contrast, in the Middle Ages the term was used to refer to very different practises which were seen as "unnatural" at that time, mainly anal intercourse, so care must be taken in translation.) At the time of the Reformation, Catholics were often referred to as homosexuals, while those in favour of the Reformation were insulted in turn as "Kuhgeiger" ("cowfuckers").
As in other parts of Europe, most homosexual acts performed in the Confederation were pederastic (inter-generational). In court, it was more important what age the participants were rather than who had penetrated, in contrast to cities in southern Europe. Children and young people could escape a punishment. In 1416 in Basel, the Dominican Heinrich von Rheinfelden was protected from prosecution by the Grand Council by his order, despite evidence of homosexual acts.
The number of people who were sentenced to death for sodomy was very dependent on the will of the holder of the judiciary to uncover and prosecute such offenses. Thus, during the term of office of Hans Conrad Heidegger (1649–1721) as the provincial governor of
19th century
Helvetic
In the Helvetic (1798–1803), marked by the values of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, homosexuality was not prosecuted. With the end of the Helvetic Republic, homosexuality was made an official offence in most Cantons, and penalised with up to several years imprisonment.
"Liberal champion"
The history of LGBT emancipation began in 1836, with the publication of a book by
In the 1880s and 1890s, Jakob Rudolf Forster from
20th century
From the beginning of the 20th century, increasing numbers of cantons no longer treated sodomy as an official offence, and pursued charges only on request. For a conviction, the offence had to be proved through witness statements, leading to a drastic decline in the number of convictions. The usage of the term sodomy also changed.
1930s: The scene arises
In the 1930s, dance clubs were created in Basel and Zürich. When the
1940s: Exemption from punishment and retreat
In 1942, during the
Due to the barbarism in Europe and the new freedom in Switzerland, Zurich rose in importance as a European gay capital.
With the decriminalization of homosexuality, the combative tone of the magazine Human Rights began to soften. In 1942, the new editor Karl Meier renamed the magazine «Der Kreis/Le Cercle» (The Circle), and turned it into a culture magazine, now only targeted to gay men. His Der Kreis (The Circle) club organised parties several times a year. Both the bi-monthly magazine and the parties were known throughout Europe.
Karl Meier believed that it would take years for society to call for legal recognition of LGBT people, and that LGBT people could only achieve this by living in an adjusted and normal fashion. The Circle was the first magazine to feature edifying texts in German, French and English, and artistic photos of men. Members and subscribers referred to each other using pseudonyms rather than their real names.
Nevertheless, the Der Kreis club, being one of the first LGBT
1960s: The end of the Ice Age
In 1960, the Der Kreis club was wound up. This occurred after a series of murders of gay men brought the attention of the Zürich press, who published their address. Major events were no longer possible, and the climate was more liberal in some European countries, causing subscribers to fall away. The last issue of Der Kreis appeared at the end of 1967, whereupon young men from sources close to Der Kreis immediately founded the new Journal Club 68, which was renamed hey ab in 1970. The topic of homosexuality was first mentioned by Swiss Television, under the theme of "youth protection", in programmes broadcast in January and February 1967. The Swiss Organization of Homophiles (SOH) was founded in this environment in 1970. The SOH was the first gay umbrella organization, and was regarded as rather conservative, and "adjusted". Above all, it could not reach left-wing gays and gay students. The period of history between the founding of the Freundschafts-Banner in 1932 and the SOH is known as the first LGBT movement.
1970s: Second, radical LGBT movement
Since the 1970s, a second gay and lesbian civil rights movement has formed, which has led to many forms of discrimination against LGBT people being abolished (for example, equalising the age of consent,
In the early 1970s, the first news about the Stonewall riots by American LGBT people against police brutality filtered through to Europe. This particularly inspired and mobilised young, left-wing LGBT people. In 1970, Rosa von Praunheim showed his film «Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation, in der er lebt» (It's not the Homosexual who is perverse, but the situation in which he lives) at the universities of Zürich, Basel and Bern. Following the screenings, the LGBT groups in Zürich (HAZ), Basel (initially called HAB, then HABS) and Bern (HAB) were established. Politically, the HA groups were close to the Marxist–Leninist PO-groups.
In 1973 in Zürich, men in the leather subculture joined together to form the group Loge70. In 1974, the HA groups founded their first national governing body, the Homosexuellen Arbeitsgruppen Schweiz (HACH) (Homosexual Working Groups of Switzerland). There were a variety of groups and offerings on the commercial scene. The social climate changed significantly in favour of LGBT people. Large employers made rules stating that employees can no longer be dismissed because of their homosexuality. However, the police still maintained their register of LGBT people.
In 1975, gays marched with a banner on the 1 May (May Day) rally in Basel, the first time LGBT people had drawn attention to their concerns to the wider public. Part of the political left was very irritated by the participation of homosexuals.
24 June 1978: The first Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Switzerland
The ‘Homosexuellen Arbeitsgruppen Schweiz’’ (HACH) (‘’Gay Working Groups of Switzerland’’), the ‘’Schweizer Organisation der Homophilen’’ (SOH) (Swiss Organization of Homophiles) and the ‘’Homosexuelle Frauengruppe’’ (HFG) (Gay Women's Group) organized the first ‘’Christopher-Street-Liberation-Memorial Day’’ (CSD) in Switzerland at the Zürich Platzspitz to commemorate the Stonewall riots. Christopher Street Day is the name for LGBT Pride parades in Germany and Switzerland (they are called Rainbow Parades in Austria). It started by collecting 5,500 signatures to call for the total abolition of the police register of homosexuals. This was accompanied by calls for the abolition of the register in the press, which together forced the destruction of the files.
From 1979 to 1982, annual national CSD LGBT pride rallies were organised. They were marked by a massive police presence due to fears of possible riots caused by the youth unrest at the time, but there was no rioting. In 1979, the ‘’Nationale Schwulendemo’’ (‘’National Gay Demo’’) was held in Bern. In 1980, Basel held ‘’Gay 80’’, followed by CSDs in Lausanne (1981) and Zurich (1982).
For the time, the demonstrators used radical, almost revolutionary slogans. In addition to specific demands such as lifting the gay registry and the elimination of discrimination in the criminal justice system, the demonstrators demanded an end to heteronormativity and consciously defined themselves as anti-bourgeois. Some wanted to fight against any State discrimination, not just against LGBT people. Unlike today, the demonstrations had an almost exclusively political character, and were followed in the evenings not by partying but by political discussion.
1982: The AIDS crisis
In 1982, the first news of
To meet this challenge, the Schwulen Medizinmänner (Gay Medicine Men) group was founded in 1984 (renamed Medi Gay in 1997), and led the first information sessions on HIV and AIDS in the same year, together with HAZ, SOH, and the University Hospital of Zurich.
In 1985, ‘’Loge 70’’, all ‘’HA’’ groups, ‘’SOH’’, and the Federal Health Office (BAG) founded ‘’Aids-Hilfe Schweiz’’ (AHS) (AIDS-Help Switzerland). In 1986, the AHS published an AIDS information brochure, which was distributed to all households in Switzerland. The AHS prevention campaign is the most successful prevention campaign in Switzerland.
CSDs resumed in Zurich in 1986, and in Bern in 1987. The 1987 Bern demonstration was more a protest against the withdrawal of a permit by the city authorities for a gay camp, than a gay pride parade.
In 1988, the culture Kaserne in Basel, there was an exhibition of Men's Stories about Gay Life in Basel, 1930–1980. The population began to perceive LGBT people outside of the subject of AIDS again. The show was such a success that a profit was generated, with which the Stonewall Foundation was founded, which funds the CSD-Stonewall-Award (see below).
In 1989, a Christopher Street Day was held in Zürich with a cultural program to mark the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
Despite the suffering that HIV and AIDS brought to many people, it also brought a broad understanding of alternative ways of life in Switzerland. Authorities and the gay rights movement worked successfully hand in hand.
1990s
Pride festivals
CSDs have again been held annually in Zürich since the 25-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1994, now with a cultural program. In the 1990s, CSDs were increasingly perceived by the general public in a positive light, and accompanied by positive coverage in the Swiss media. Thus, the attitude of the public to the concerns of gays and lesbians has changed for the positive, ultimately resulting in a gradual increase in equality. This is far more important in Switzerland, with its semi-direct democracy, than in the Federal Republic of Germany with its parliamentary democracy.
Since 1997, the CSD-Stonewall-Award has been awarded annually at the Zürich CSD for outstanding achievement for LGBT rights. Due to the growing numbers of visitors and participants in the CSD in Zurich, it has become an increasingly important festival and a major tourist attraction for the city. After
Since 1997, in addition to the CSD in Zurich there have been occasional Gay Prides in western Switzerland. It is held in a different part of French-speaking Switzerland every time, following the example of the LGBT demonstrations in the 1980s, which were held in a different part of German-speaking Switzerland every year.
In 2018 for the first time a pride parade was held in Ticino. This year the parade in Lugano acted as both the national and the French-speaking parade.[3]
Other events
In 1999,
2000s
Pride festivals
The Gay Pride 2001 in Sion caused a sensation in particular, as the Valais Bishop Norbert Brunner condemned the relocation as a "teuflisches Spiel" ("devilish/satanic/diabolical/fiendish game"), triggering unimagined media coverage.
In 2003 in Basel, a "Dreiländer-CSD" (three-country CSD) was held (Germany - France - Switzerland) together with the Alsace Mulhouse and the Baden Freiburg. The idea, however, fizzled out.
In 2005, a CSDs was held in Lucerne (a Swiss German-speaking venue, as a gift to the West Switzerland vote for the Partnership Act 2005), and there was also a national demonstration. Zurich is the only Swiss city that holds an annual CSD.
Other events
Claude Janiak was elected as the first openly gay Speaker of the National Council in 2005. He was then elected to the Council of States in 2007, becoming the first openly gay member of that body.
Doris Stump, first elected to the National Council in 2003, was the first lesbian member of the Parliament.
In June 2022 a straw trans woman was burned in effigy in the town of Bassersdorf. [4]
Registered partnership and marriage in Switzerland
Since 1 January 2007 Switzerland has allowed
On 26 September 2021, a clear majority of the Swiss electorate voted in favour of marriage for all. From 1 July 2022, same-sex couples can now marry or convert their registered partnership into a marriage. With this decision, no new registered partnerships can be entered into after 1 July 2022.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Bachofen, Johann Jakob (1861). Das Mutterrecht. Verlag von Krais & Hoffmann.
- ^ "Where is it illegal to be gay?". BBC News. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ "Swiss canton of Ticino holds its first Gay Pride event". 3 June 2018.
- ^ "Swiss town burns trans woman efegy". 13 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "Die "Ehe für alle" tritt am 1. Juli 2022 in Kraft".