Thoughts on Gay, Lesbian and Bi Issues for PCVs and Staff Overseas

As a gay overseas Peace Corps staff member, the issues facing lesbian, gay and bisexual Peace Corps Volunteers are especially important to me—not that Peace Corps doesn’t have great straight staff members who are knowledgeable and quite skilled in providing essential preparation and support of gay and lesbian PCVs—it does. As in any volunteer concern though, training and support cannot erase some of the challenges we face or have faced abroad. In writing this for the LGB RPCV community, I hope it provides some interesting thoughts (and represents many of your thoughts as well). Maybe it will be interesting to any friends you have who are considering volunteering with Peace Corps or just traveling abroad for an extended period of time. If so, please pass it on.

In this commentary, I reflect on the aspect that for many volunteers, the Peace Corps experience may be an eye-opening time in one’s life, when many either realize their own gay identity or move further on a path toward that point. I am one in that group of people. While the whole experience gave me an environment in which I reflected more, and in which I eventually came out, the real catalyst was almost 10 years ago when one of my oldest "straight" friends came to visit me in Senegal where I was a PCV. He floored me with his announcement that he was gay! That moment started my own self-reflection on my previous presumption—with doubts—that I was straight.

Following my Close-of-Service, I contracted for Pre-Service Training assignments in Peace Corps in various countries for several years, and am now the Program and Training Officer in Poland. While I can point to a lot of support that I received, it took me about 3-4 more years after my friend’s visit to "come out" and admit the truth to myself and to anyone else. Dealing with these thoughts overseas was an especially big hurdle for me. I kept a lot inside and was not aware what real support I most likely could have tapped.

Meanwhile, as Peace Corps moves into the millennium, I am happy to see some of the recent strides the organization has made in realizing and responding to the needs of gay, lesbian and bi applicants and PCVs. I do believe Peace Corps is doing a good job of equipping itself to better understand, respect and support gay, lesbian and bi PCVs who face unusual challenges in a world that often remains more often hostile to them, than not.

Most of the challenges are ones we may hear about in the US, just magnified, due to the fact that Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) are generally living among cultures that are relatively more conservative and repressive in regard to homosexuality, than America. Not to understate it though, in many cases PCVs may find that they will go their entire service without expressing their identity to anyone else except (and this is also a "maybe") to some PCVs and/staff members.

One of the most common challenges that we hear is that PCVs who were quite open about their orientation in the US, suddenly feel pressure to hide it with most or all of their Host Country National (HCN) friends and colleagues and even other Americans. To paraphrase one volunteer: He told me that it had taken years for him to achieve such a fulfilling sense of self-acceptance and the confidence to be open with friends, colleagues and family. The experience of coming to such a conservative country not only gave him little or no chance of meeting other gays, but also made him feel that he had to regress to the feelings that had gone along with being completely in the closet in his teens.

Some volunteers are fearful that friends or colleagues may "guess" that they might be gay or lesbian and worry about repercussions. However, in most cases it seems that homosexuality is so not talked about or not thought about in many societies where we work, that the suspicion rarely comes up. Certain behaviors or just the fact that someone is single at a later age, which might raise the question in an American’s mind, usually doesn’t do so for people in more conservative cultures, where homosexuality is not an issue for discussion. (In fact, many PCVs say that in spite of feeling as if their orientation should be obvious, they are still probed with questions about marriage, receive suggestions for dates with members of the opposite sex, etc.)

If the subject of homosexuality does surface, however, volunteers may endure hearing very strong homophobic sentiment. For most PCVs it is virtually impossible to separate private and professional life. They are very visible in their communities and depending on the local customs, knowledge that a PCV is gay can greatly affect both personal and professional relationships. In some cultures it can mean a considerable safety risk. So far I have not met a gay or lesbian PCV who was completely "out," though I’m sure some have managed it. Those I know of have only come out to other Americans and to only a few close friends or colleagues.

And of course, a common challenge is that the limitations on dating and intimacy are often much greater for gay and lesbian volunteers. This can also be a problem for straight volunteers, in places where open or presumed male-female relationships are expected to be discreet. Cultural norms and lack of complete privacy in volunteers’ living arrangements can mean a big adjustment for PCVs.

I’ve talked with several former PCVs who have said their period of PC service was a catalyst that either brought them "out" or further along in their steps to coming out. There are several logical reasons I’ve heard or thought of for this:

For gay and lesbian staff, many of the issues facing volunteers remain true. Since staff usually live in larger capital cities, it may be easier to be "out" somewhat, than for PCVs in the countryside. They may also have better opportunity to meet other gays and lesbians and feel some sense of "community." Since Peace Corps offices are more "Americanized," staff can find it easier to be out at work (though not always by any means), than volunteers who are working in purely local settings. However, the cultural taboos effect staffs’ lives as well and being very open in public can be very difficult and risky.

Peace Corps is very supportive of both its staff and volunteers who are gay, lesbian and bisexual. It was one of the first US government agencies to incorporate sexual orientation in its policies of nondiscrimination. It is complex of course though, when we are in the position of integrating American values with those values (sometimes laws) of countries much more conservative than ours. In advising volunteers, we must respect their rights and values, while at the same time, give them guidance that considers their safety and their ability to succeed in the cultural environment where they serve.

In Poland, we advise volunteers to be discreet and to avoid certain dangerous situations. Other than that, we just suggest that if they consider coming out, they use their best judgment and take time to allow relationships to develop so that they are sure whom they can trust with disclosure about their orientation. (Especially in a foreign culture, with limited understanding of norms and language, it is difficult to predict where confessions will go, or how they will be perceived.) Those who eventually "come out" to trusted friends or colleagues in this country have generally found the response to be relatively accepting. It’s sort of a "You are my friend, I know you...so what," reaction. Of course that may not be the case at all for volunteers in other parts of the world.

Diversity in general is a very important issue in Peace Corps, whether we’re addressing sexual orientation, religion, gender, socio-economics, ethnicity, etc. It is an important consideration for our post staffs who are working in multi-cultural settings. Also, groups of volunteers are brought together, usually with an array of backgrounds and lifestyles, often much more varied than any individual’s circle of friends back home. In training volunteers, we start with American diversity issues as a basis for talking about the ultimate American-Host Country diversity issues. Peace Corps provides staff with activity and session ideas for use in diversity training of PCVs. Part of our Overseas Staff Development training (also provided to HCN staff) in Washington is devoted to instruction on providing support with diversity issues, including gay, lesbian and bi concerns. There are also materials and videos, some specific to LGB issues, for use in doing staff diversity training in the host country. Peace Corps also put together and offers a very positive and helpful packet of information and advice for gay volunteer applicants.

Peace Corps overseas posts are expected to have a system in place for addressing LGB issues by the staff with the volunteer community. Some have identified a "staff liaison," some identify the post’s Medical Officer, who also provides counseling support on most all non-work issues, while some find that most questions can be addressed informally by the volunteer’s immediate overall work supervisor in the office. Our staff here, both American and Pole, are generally good at handling most questions raised by PCVs. In Poland we let the volunteer groups know early on after arrival, with whom they could speak with LGB questions.

In some countries, volunteers have established their own support networks among themselves. In Poland, there have been meetings of LGB volunteer-trainees when they are altogether for initial Training. We encourage that any formal LGB meetings be open to "gay, lesbian, bi and friends." By doing this we hope that support and awareness will be developed among straight PCVs as well, but also we recognize that some PCVs may be at a less "out" stage, and would otherwise be reluctant to attend a meeting that would "out" them, just in their attending. There had been an on-going PCV support group in Poland in the past, but I understand that over time, this dissolved with many PCVs not feeling as great a need to come together from all over the country with various alternative supports emerging in this country. There are some other HC support groups in Poland, mostly in the largest cities, and one expat-Polish support group in Warsaw.

In summary, it is very difficult to explain to many Americans, especially those who have not traveled (or lived in a small mid-west town in the US), the challenges for volunteers who are gay or lesbian. They are trying to establish and maintain lives in a foreign culture, not just traveling through briefly. It usually takes some time for PCVs to adjust to the challenges, and for staff to explain and prepare PCVs for what they might expect. For some, service in Peace Corps can be a powerful awakening to a gay self-awareness, though maybe only internally. A few may have the opportunity to share their lives more openly with close friends and colleagues and help enlighten others. For many others it means struggling with a strong desire to openly be themselves and able to express their culture fully, while trying to discern and evaluate the potential ramifications of coming out in a place they do not know. For many, coming out could mean an immediate and devastating rupture in all personal and professional relationships at their site. They know they may not be able to have another opportunity to compensate for that loss and continue to have a successful PC Service. And that is an ominous risk when someone is thousands of miles from family and friends for support.