Sixteen Point Platform and Program

Our straight sisters and brothers must recognize and support that we, third world gay women and men, are equal in every way within the revolutionary ranks.

We each organize our people about different issues; but our struggles are the same against oppression, and we will defeat it together — Once we understand these struggles, and gain a love for our sisters and brothers involved in these struggles, we must learn how best to become involved in them.

The struggles of the peoples of the world are our fight as well; their victories are our victories and our victories are theirs. Our freedom will come only with their freedom.
Together, not alone, we must explore how we view ourselves, and analyze the assumptions behind our self-identity — We can then begin to crack the barriers of our varying illnesses, our passivity, sexual chauvinism, in essence, our inability to unabashedly love each other, to live, fight, and if necessary, die for the people of the earth.

As we begin to understand our place in the international revolution, and join with others in this understanding, we must develop the skills necessary to destroy the forces of repression and exploitation, so as to make it possible for a new woman and man to evolve in a society based on communal love.

While we understand that in the United States our main enemy is the socio-economic-political system of capitalism and the people who make profits off our sufferings, fights and divisions, we also recognize that we must struggle against any totalitarian, authoritarian, sex-controlled, repressive, irrational, reactionary, fascist government or government machine.

What We Want, What We Believe:

1. We want the right of self-determination for all third world and gay people, as well as control of the destinies of our communities.
   We believe that third world and gay people cannot be free until we are able to determine our own destinies. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

2. We want the right of self-determination over the use of our bodies: The right to be gay, anytime, anyplace; The right to free physiological change and modification of sex on demand; The right to free dress and adornment.
   We believe that these are human rights which must be defended with our bodies being put on the line. The system as it now exists denies these basic human rights by implementing forced heterosexuality. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

3. We want liberation for all women: We want free and safe birth control information and devices on demand. We want free 24 hour child care centers controlled by those who need and use them. We want a redefinition of education and motivation (especially for third world women) towards broader educational opportunities without limitations because of sex. We want truthful teaching of women’s history. We want an end to hiring practices which make women and national minorities a readily available source of cheap labor confined to mind-rotting jobs under the worst conditions.
   We believe that the struggles of all oppressed groups under any form of government which does not meet the true needs of its people will eventually result in the overthrow of that government. The struggle for liberation of women is a struggle to be waged by all peoples. We must also struggle within ourselves and within our various movements to end this oldest form of oppression and its foundation — male chauvinism. We cannot develop a truly liberating form of socialism unless we fight these tendencies. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

4. We want full protection of the law and social sanction for all human sexual self-expression and pleasure between consenting persons, including youth. We believe that present Iaws are oppressive to third world people, gay people, and the masses. Such laws expose the inequalities of capitalism, which can only exist in a state where there are oppressed people or groups. This must end. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

5. We want the abolition of the institution of the bourgeois nuclear family.
   We believe that the bourgeois nuclear family perpetuates the false, categories of homosexuality and heterosexuality by creating sex roles, sex definitions and sexual exploitation. The bourgeois nuclear family as the basic unit of capitalism creates oppressive roles of homosexuality and heterosexuality. All oppressions originate within the nuclear family structure. Homosexuality is a threat to this family structure and therefore to capitalism. The mother is an instrument of reproduction and teaches the necessary values of capitalist society, i.e., racism, sexism, etc. from infancy on. The father physically enforces (upon the mother and children) the behavior necessary in a capitalist system, intelligence and competitiveness in young boys and passivity in young girls. Further, it is every child’s right to develop in a non-sexist, non-racist, non-possessive atmosphere which is the responsibility of all people, including gays, to create. Therefore, the system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

6. We want a free non-compulsory education system that teaches us our true identity and history, and presents the entire range of human sexuality without advocating any one form or style; that sex roles and determination of skills according to sex be eliminated from the school system; that language be modified so that no gender takes priority; and that gay people must share the responsibilities of education.
   We believe that we have been taught to compete with our sisters and brothers for power, and from that competitive attitude grows sexism, racism, male and national chauvinism and distrust of our sisters and brothers. As we begin to understand these things within ourselves, we attempt to free ourselves of them and are moved toward a revolutionary consciousness. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

7. We want guaranteed full equal employment for third world and gay people at all levels of production.
   We believe that any system of government is responsible for giving every woman and man a guaranteed income or employment, regardless of sex or sexual preference. Being interested only in profits, capitalism cannot meet the needs of the people. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

8. We want decent and free housing, fit shelter for human beings.
   We believe that free shelter is a basic need and right which must not be denied on any grounds. Landlords are capitalists, and, like all capitalists, are motivated only by the accumulation of profits, as opposed to the welfare of the people. Therefore, the system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

9. We want to abolish the existing judicial system. We want all third world and gay people when brought to trial, to be tried by a people’s court with a jury of their peers. A peer is a person from similar social, economic, geographical, racial, historical, environmental, and sexual background. We believe that the function of the judicial system under capitalism is to uphold the ruling class and keep the masses under control. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

10. We want the reparation for and release of all third world, gay and all political prisoners from jails and mental institutions.
    We believe that these people should be released because they have not received a fair and impartial trial. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

11. We want the abolition of capital punishment, all forms of institutional punishment, and the penal system.
    We want the establishment of psychiatric institutions for the humane treatment and rehabilitation of criminal persons as decided by the people’s court. We want the establishment of a sufficient number of free and non-compulsory clinics for the treatment of sexual disturbances, as defined by the individual. We believe that the system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

12. We want an immediate end to the fascist police force.
    We believe that the only way this can be accomplished is by putting the defense of the people in the hands of the people. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

13. We want all third world and gay men to be exempt from compulsory military service, in the imperialist army. We want an end to military oppression both at home and abroad.
    We believe that the only true army for oppressed people is the people’s army and third world, gay people, and women should have full participation in the People’s Revolutionary Army. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

14. We want an end to all institutional religions because they aid in genocide by teaching superstition and hatred of third world people, homosexuals and women. We want a guarantee of freedom to express natural spirituality.
    We believe that institutionalized religions are an instrument of capitalism, therefore an enemy of the People. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

15. We demand immediate non-discriminatory open admission/membership for radical homosexuals into all left-wing revolutionary groups and organizations and the right to caucus.
    We believe that so-called comrades who call themselves “revolutionaries” have failed to deal with their sexist attitudes. Instead they cling to male supremacy and therefore to the conditioned role of oppressors. Men still fight for the privileged position of man-on-the-top. Women quickly fall in line behind-their-men. By their counterrevolutionary struggle to maintain and to force heterosexuality and the nuclear family, they perpetuate decadent remnants of capitalism. To gain their anti-homosexual stance, they have used the weapons of the oppressor, thereby becoming the agent of the oppressor.
    It is up to men to realistically define masculinity, because it is they who, throughout their lives, have struggled to gain the unrealistic roles of “men.” Men have always tried to reach this precarious position by climbing on the backs of women and homosexuals. “Masculinity” has been defined by capitalist society as the amount of possessions (including women) a man collects, and the amount of physical power gained over other men. Third world men have been denied even these false standards of “masculinity.” Anti-homosexuality fosters sexual repressions, male-supremacy, weakness in revolutionary drive, and results in an inaccurate non-objective political perspective. Therefore, we believe that all left-wing revolutionary groups and organizations must immediately establish non-discriminatory, open admission/membership policies. The system must be changed. Socialism is the answer.

16. We want a new society — a revolutionary socialist society. We want liberation of humanity, free food, free shelter, free clothing, free transportation, free healthcare, free utilities, free education, free art for all. We want a society where the needs of the people come first. We believe that all people should share the labor and products of society, according to each one’s needs and abilities, regardless of race, sex, ange, or sexual preferences. We believe the land, technology, and the means of production belong to the people, and must be shared by the people collectively for the liberation of all.