Why don't totalitarian regimes like the LGBT community? Or why don't Putin (and those like him) like gay people?

Not interfering in a person's personal life is, perhaps, a principle that is propagated by almost all regimes and states. However, is it really observed? No.

It is interesting to note that the rights of the LGBT community can serve as a kind of indicator for assessing society, its level of commitment to democratic values and the degree of development as a whole. In this article, we will look at the reasons why totalitarian regimes are hostile to the LGBT community, as well as the main factors behind them.

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Not interfering in a person's personal life is, perhaps, a principle that is propagated by almost all regimes and states. However, is it really observed? No. It is interesting to note that the rights of the LGBT community can serve as a kind of indicator for assessing society, its level of commitment to democratic values and the degree of development as a whole. In this article, we will look at the reasons why totalitarian regimes are hostile to the LGBT community, as well as the main factors behind them.

I outlined the topic "Why do totalitarian regimes not like LGBT people?", but I have one question, who do they love in general? If we talk about how these regimes are built, then they are always built on the fact that they are looking for some enemies, looking for those who disagree with them, so I would say that LGBT is a particular version of discrimination for any totalitarian regime. 

But speaking seriously, any totalitarian regime today, on the one hand, is well studied, there are a large number of scientific works and so on, but in most cases we cannot get into the heads of people who make decisions in these regimes, because quite often these are some closed formations. Therefore, all that we will talk about is most likely some kind of reasoning on the topic, although I would like to hope that it is close to the truth. 

What are their arguments? 

This is not normal. The assessment of the "normality" of relations depends on what we understand by this term. If we consider "normal" only that which corresponds to the majority, then this is the wrong approach. Any relationship that does not harm others can be considered normal. However, in totalitarian societies, such relationships are often recognized as abnormal. The vast majority of people are heterosexual, which can be explained by the statistical distribution of sexual activity. In this case, non-traditional relationships can be considered unusual. But even in this case, this is not a reason for discrimination.

Demography. When people talk about discrimination against the LGBT community, demographic security and other indicators are often mentioned. However, studies do not confirm a correlation between the level of loyalty to the LGBT community and the birth rate in different countries. This confirms the fact that the creation of ideological myths, including the demonization of the LGBT community, is used by the state to strengthen its power. As Goebbels said: "The more terrible the lie, the easier it is to believe it." 

Totalitarian regimes seek to suppress the individuality of society by any means. The more developed and broad-minded people are, the less they are influenced by the propaganda and ideology of the state. People in the LGBT community are often forced to fight for their rights and their identity, which makes them an opposition group in the eyes of a totalitarian state. Totalitarian regimes also use the tactics of creating a common enemy to consolidate their power and mobilize public support. The LGBT community, as a rule, becomes a convenient object for this purpose. For example, Hitler and Stalin used the LGBT community for mass repression and strengthening their position in society. Thus, the creation of a common enemy becomes a "convenient" way for a totalitarian state to unite society and maintain its power.

Black and white thinking, this is explained by simple ideological concepts, which makes the world black and white in the eyes of most people.  Such ideologies easily name what is good and what is bad. Moreover, they are based on the simplest picture of the world.  As a result, homosexual people are often isolated and rejected, as many are unable to understand and accept their needs and characteristics. For example, some countries, including our neighbors, offer treatment for homosexuality, although the scientific community claims that this has no scientific basis. Most experts believe that homosexuality is a natural diversity of human sexuality and is not a threat to society.

To hold on to power. Totalitarian regimes seek to control sexual life, which was explored, in particular, in the work of Igor Kon in the late 80s and early 90s during the campaign to decriminalize homosexual relations in the Soviet Union. He came to the conclusion that the task of a totalitarian society is primarily to retain power through total control. As Machiavelli said, "The regime is the effective that holds power the longest." Totalitarian regimes adhere to this principle, seeking to control society in all its aspects, including sexual orientation and gender identity, which makes the individual absolutely vulnerable to power.

The stability of a totalitarian regime is also maintained through the construction of an ideology, which is usually based on religious beliefs or the creation of enemies. Religion often condemns homosexuality, and this principle is also embedded in the ideology of the state, even if it is not religious. 

In addition, totalitarian regimes tend to personalize their attacks on the LGBT community, which may be due to the emotional complexes and biases of those who make such decisions. Most likely, we are talking about the personal characteristics of the country's leaders.  This leads to a violation of the principles of legal correctness and humiliation of various communities, similar to what happened in Nazi Germany with the LGBT community and people with mental disorders. 

To maintain power, such regimes rely on paramilitaries that are toxically masculine and archaic. Military culture is often based on traditional values that may be rejected or rejected by the LGBT community due to stereotypes and bias. Toxic masculinity can lead to violence and discrimination against LGBT people. This can manifest itself in both physical violence and psychological violence, including threats, intimidation and humiliation. After all, it is close in a flock of baboons, where the main topic is who and how dominates. And the LGBT topic is most often the object of attacks, because toxic masculinity often implies strict adherence to stereotypes about how a "real man" should look and behave.  Those who do not conform to traditional gender roles or openly act as LGBT can become targets of discrimination and violence from other baboons (crossed out) maxkulin people.

After all, people have to survive in situations where their rights are violated. And, unfortunately, such strategies of behavior are accepted in the world, when something is forbidden in society. But the first is secrecy. We are saying that if something is banned, it does not mean that this phenomenon does not exist. And in the Soviet Union, we know that there were homosexuals, and there were people of different orientations, and they had their own environment, so we are talking about the fact that, most likely, it will become more secretive. Secondly, the strategy is social support. Strange as it may seem, the state is planting a time bomb in itself. As a rule, those communities that are forced to defend their communities become more politically active in the future. For example, look at how much the women's movement is about them, how it changed the political dynamics in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. And how the LGBT agenda is changing modern society.  In a totalitarian society, it is clear that LGBT people will be the first opponents of the regime. The third is emigration. This, unfortunately, is also a strategy.

Thus, it is important to understand what motivates the state when adopting such laws. Understanding motives allows you to stop being afraid and make more conscious decisions. Historical experience shows that states that persecute LGBT people either change their legislation or are doomed to extinction.

So, why do LGBTQ+ people become the first targets during crises?

When the economy, politics or just the usual reality begins to burst at the seams, most people grasp at stability, at least some stability. And authoritarian regimes are seizing on the good old strategy: "Find the enemy and point the finger." And most often, this "enemy" turns out to be LGBTQ+.

Why, when everything is going to hell, is the first thing someone does is to ban gay pride parades, imprison transgender people and rewrite laws to fit "traditional values"? There is not one answer, but let's analyze the main mechanisms.

Scapegoat mechanics

LGBTQ+ is a convenient target. Why? Because: they visible, but their Minority; They Miscellaneous – it means that it is easy to sell as a "threat" to the norm; They Vulnerable, which means that they cannot immediately give a symmetrical answer; About them There are many myths, and it's easy to heat up these myths to the point of hysteria.

Authoritarian systems feed on conflict. If it is not there, it will be created. And what is easier than directing the rage of the frightened masses at those who simply do not live as they are dictated?

History knows thousands of examples where the authorities, losing legitimacy, are looking for the "guilty". And LGBTQ+ people are an ideal candidate: they are visible, but not massive, "not like everyone else", and even poorly protected legally and socially.

"Traditional Values" as a Political Weapon

In any turbulence, people begin to instinctively look for "support" – something that inspires a sense of stability. And here comes a performance called: "Return to traditions". Nothing works as well as the rhetoric of "traditional values." It evokes nostalgia, envelops you in the fog of the "sacred past" and passes off regression as salvation.

In this production:

• a family is a man, a woman and three children;
• sex is strictly binary and is assigned at birth;
• gays are a threat, and feminists are agents of the West.

Thus, the authoritarian regime inspires: "Look, we're protecting you from moral decay!" Against the backdrop of economic collapse and political anarchy, this is presented as an act of saving the nation.

Political Technologies of Fear

Demagogy is also a technology. And in it, LGBTQ+ play the role of an ideal stimulus:

• Gays are portrayed as a threat to children – the pedophile rhetoric of "they want to take over schools and turn your sons into girls" works frighteningly effectively.
• Gays are described as agents of an external enemy – they say, all these rainbows came from the West, and we are for spirituality.
• And, of course, they are blamed for the decline of morality – after all, how else to explain that the economy is collapsing, if not by gay parades?

The regime needs you not to think why you have nothing to pay for utilities. You need to think about how to stop the "enemies of the nation".

Body Control = Mind Control

Repression against LGBTQ+ people is always about Body Control: who you sleep with, what you believe, how you look, how you identify. And control over the body is the first step to total control in general. If the state can tell you whom to love, tomorrow it will tell you what to read, what to believe in, and who to vote for. If you vote, of course, you can still vote.

Belarus (again)
Bills on the "prevention of immoral behavior" have been discussed since 2021. Propaganda describes LGBT people as "mentally ill" people who need to be "treated" – all this sounds like a Soviet textbook on psychiatry from the 70s.

Repression as a training ground

Everything is simple here: if you swallowed the repression against LGBTQ+, then you can move on. Very often, the repression against LGBTQ+ people is not the end, but the Rehearsal. If society swallowed the ban on gay propaganda, tomorrow it will swallow the ban on independent media. And then the laws against "foreign agents" are not far away.

How are the boundaries of the permissible tested? First, through the most vulnerable. Because no one will come out to protect them. Or it will come out, but it's too late.

Historical parallels: from Hitler to Putin

Nothing new under the sun. A little unexpected, but an important point: in Uganda, in Russia, and in the United States, there is an anti-LGBT policy is actively fueled by religious organizations and is supported by radical right-wing movements.

• In the Third Reich, homosexuals were imprisoned in concentration camps under "paragraph 175".
• In the USSR, they were treated with electric shocks and blackmailed with KGB dossiers.
• In modern Russia, "propaganda" is banned and LGBTQ+ people are recognized as extremists.

This is not just a repetition. These are Pattern. And it turns on every time the government loses support – but does not want to lose power.

Otherness is a mirror of the regime

When society is free, LGBTQ+ people live openly.
When freedom dies, they are the first to be hit.
Because it is easier to hit those who stand out than those in power.

When a regime starts with LGBTQ+, it's not about morality. This is not about "family values". This is about Power, Fear, and Control.

If you see how the hunt for "otherness" begins, remember:
This is not about LGBTQ+. This is about all.
About the freedom to be yourself. About the right to think, speak, feel.

And if you were silent when they came for them,
You're already in line.