ABSTRACT
Democratization in 1980s Argentina was intrinsically related to the human rights movement that made the right to life and physical integrity the foundations of democratic citizenship. But after military rule, many Argentines also reimagined the nation as a fight for social inclusion and sexual freedom. Gay men organized as the Argentine Homosexual Community and a new group of straight feminists mobilized as the Argentine Feminist Organization. These groups disputed and recast definitions of citizenship and nation that had been anchored exclusively in formal politics, electoral practices, and narratives of unity and solidarity. They pressed for a more ample definition of nation to include sexual rights. This chapter shows that by opening a public debate on critical issues like sexual discrimination, sexual identities, motherhood, and pleasure, feminists and gay activists redirected the discussion about freedom to sexual citizenship. By doing so, they redefined notions of national belonging.
