Timeline of LGBT Rights and Social Acceptance
In today’s modern society, Spain has some of the most liberal attitudes in the world towards homosexuality, transsexuality, and bisexuality. But this was not always the case. Due to the drastic government changes of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as the strong opinions and influence of the Spanish Catholic Church, life for the LGBT community has been a series ups and downs, gradually moving closer towards complete equality and acceptance through one small victory at a time.
The Second Republic (1931-1939)
This new government was created in 1931, after King Alfonso XIII exiled himself, due to his immense unpopularity with the Spanish people. The first leader of the Second Republic was Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, who began by creating a new constitution for Spain, which went into effect on December 9, 1931. This new constitution, which established “freedom of speech, freedom of association, extended voting privileges to women, allowed divorce, and stripped Spanish nobility of special legal status,”[25] showed just how liberal the new republic truly was. And, in addition to taking away power away from the Spanish nobility, the Second Republic also sought to take away power from the Spanish Catholic Church and reduce its legal influence. And for awhile, it succeeded. Therefore, the period between 1931 and 1939 was a time of freedom of expression for many, including the LGBT community. In 1933, a study of homosexuality in Spain was published; the first study portraying the LGBT community in a positive manner. This study suggested the possibility of a correlation between homosexuality and creativity, and with all of the talent of this era who claimed to be either homosexual or bisexual, it is unsurprising as to why this conclusion was drawn. Among all the great LGBT artists, writers, and performers of this time period, some of the more famous ones include poets Federico García Lorca and Pedro Salinas, and painter Salvador Dalí.[4]
The Franco Period (1939-1975)
Unfortunately, the efforts of the Second Republic were quickly undone once Francisco Franco came to power in 1939, after he and his army defeated the republic and its supporters in the Spanish Civil War. Franco shared the more traditional values and beliefs of the Catholic Church, and he sought to return Spain to the nation it was before the Second Republic. Divorce, abortion, and many of the other liberal laws established under the Second Republic were repealed under the dictatorship of Franco. Catholicism was also made the official religion of the nation once more, and the power of the Catholic Church was restored. This was bad news for the LGBT community, who again had to either hide their sexuality, or face the harsh consequences.
1954: From the time Franco came to power in 1939, until his death nearly 40 years later, homosexuality in Spain was viewed as something offensive and dangerous, but the reform of the Vagrancy Act in 1954 officially made homosexuality a criminal offense. Spanish Citizens seen engaging in, or suspected of engaging in homosexual activity were sent to prison, where they suffered from physical and mental abuse, and overall unfair treatment.[9]
1971: With the passing of the Law of Dangerousness and Social Rehabilitation, homosexuality shifted from being a criminal offense, to a mental illness that needed to be treated.[13] Of those who were detained during this time period, some people were still sent to prison, others were sent to “correction camps”, but either way, the main focus was now rehabilitation. “The laws were in place not to punish people, but to reform them and change their behavior.”[5] However, this “rehabilitation” involved acts that today would be considered unethical, such as electric shock therapy, and forced viewings of heterosexual pornography to reinforce “normal” sexual behavior. Thousands of gay men were sentenced to these camps, which consisted of physical and psychological torture, for months, or even years. Lesbians managed to avoid these correctional camps, but “once again, [it was] at the cost of their invisibility.”[13] Their freedom was only maintained by their ability to fade into obscurity.
1975: This year is remembered as the year of Francisco Franco’s death, and the end of his oppressive rule. However, members of Franco’s regime, as well as many of his supporters, still remained, and so it would be several more years before Franco’s laws against homosexuality were repealed. The prisons and rehabilitation centers continued to hold homosexual men prisoner, and new sentences continued to be made. And even for those who were released, life was still a struggle, as homosexuality was still criminalized, and therefore, it was nearly impossible for them to find work.
The Post Franco Period: The Transition to Democracy (1975-1980)
On November 22, 1975, Prince Juan Carlos took an oath to become Spain’s new king. At first, the country believed that he would follow in Franco’s footsteps, but in 1976, he appointed Adolfo Suarez Gonzalez as the new prime minister, and once Suarez took office, Spain finally began to see the reforms it had been hoping for. Labor strikes were once again legalized, and in 1977, the first free elections were held. In 1978, the new constitution went into effect, officially declaring Spain a constitutional monarchy, and allowing religion in Spain once again, in addition to many other individual freedoms. As for the prisoners, gradually, those were wrongly imprisoned under Franco’s rule were released. Unfortunately, homosexuals in Spain were some of the last to have their charges dropped and to be set free.
1977: Despite homosexuality not being officially decriminalized yet, the LGBT community was feeling braver with the nation’s new government. In June of 1977, the first gay pride demonstration was held in Barcelona. However, it was said to have been “violently repressed by the police."[1]
1979: Homosexuality was officially decriminalized in Spain. People could no longer be imprisoned for being gay, and those who had been previously arrested for being gay were finally released. But the social stigma against the LGBT community still remained, as well as the emotional scars from the repression of the Franco period. “Perhaps as many as 5,000 of them were imprisoned in sexual reeducation centers under Franco's regime. Countless more were beaten, tortured, or forced into mental institutions where they received electroshock treatments.”[10] Making homosexuality legal was a step in the right direction, for the LGBT community, but they still had a long way to go on the road to social and political equality.
The 1980s and 1990s
1980s: It was during this decade that the LGBT community began settling into the Chueca neighborhood of Madrid. “Over the years, Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders made of this neighborhood (one of the most depressed areas of the city), not only their place for leisure and work, but also their home, in full coexistence with other neighbors and visitors. Together they transformed Chueca into one of the areas with greatest freedom, tolerance and diversity in Madrid, setting standards for many other cities in the world.”[24] Chueca is now one of most gay friendly cities in Spain, and it is the home to many of the nation’s gay pride events.
1992: The FEGL, The State Federation of Gays and Lesbians, was constituted in April of this year. The name would later be changed to FELGTB, in order to include the bisexual and transsexual/transgender populations.[23]
1996: This year marked the prohibition of employment discrimination in Spain based on sexual orientation. Other more general anti-discrimination laws also were passed in 1996, making any type of discrimination based on sexuality illegal.[8]
1997: Floats participated for the first time in the Madrid Pride Parade. There were only a few that year, but it was an important step towards making the parade a more fun, lighthearted event that more people would want to be a part of.[24]
The 2000s to Today
2001: Sentences for homosexuality served during the Franco period were finally removed from police records of Spanish citizens.[16]
2004: In December of 2004, it was announced that homosexuals, and any other group who had been wrongfully persecuted under Franco’s rule, would receive financial compensation.[10] This was also the year when José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero of the Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE) was elected the new prime minister. One of his campaign promises was to make Spain a nation of marital equality, a goal which became a reality in the following year.
2005: 2005 was an important year for the LGBT community because on June 30, the Spanish parliament voted to legalize gay marriage, and Spain became the fourth country in the world to do so, following in the footsteps of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada. It was by no means a unanimous decision, and there was significant opposition from the Spanish Catholic Church, but through Zapatero’s efforts to frame gay marriage as an already existing human right, rather than a threat to the institution of marriage and family, the vote resulted in favor of legalizing gay marriage. The vote was 187 to 147, excluding the four parliament members who did not vote on the bill. After the vote, Zapatero was quoted saying, "We are not the first, but I am sure we will not be the last," he told the chamber. "After us will come many countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality." Include along with the right to marry, homosexual couples also gained equal inheritance rights, as well as the right to adopt children.[28] The law went into effect on July 3, 2005, and the first gay couple to be officially married in Spain was a couple living in Madrid. The two men had been a couple for 30 years before tying the knot on July 11, 2005.[6]
2007: In March of 2007, a new law was passed in Spain that allowed transgender people to change their name and gender on paper, without having to go through the sex change surgery. However, a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, as well as two years of medical treatment, was required before the name change could be legally made.[14] Also in 2007, Madrid hosted that year’s Europride, and with nearly two and a half million attendees, it became known as the largest and most successful Europride yet.[22]
2012: In 2012, Spain's Constitutional Court turned down a challenge to Spain's gay marriage laws.[12] This was an immense relief to the LGBT community, who feared that the gay marriage laws might be repealed after the conservative Popular Party victory in the elections of 2011. However, despite the support of the Catholic Church, the marriage laws remained completely in tact.
2014: Although anti-discrimination laws for homosexuals have been in effect since the 1990s, the autonomous community of Catalonia has recently taken the precautions against sexual discrimination one step further. In October of this year, Catalonia passed a law that allows its citizens who commit hate crimes against the LGBT community to be punished with fines of up to €14000 ($17211). Many members of the Popular Party (PP) say that this law is unfair, arguing that those accused will be labeled as guilty until proven innocent. “However, The Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) says Catalonia has now set a worldwide precedent in the fight against homophobia.” And with the majority of all the hate crimes in Spain in the last year being against the LGBT community, (452 cases reported in 2013) this new law is arguably necessary. However, whether any or all of the other autonomous regions in Spain will follow Catalonia’s example remains to be seen.[3] Another important event for this year was Andalusia’s new legislation, which has furthered the rights of the transgender/transsexual community. Under this new law, transsexuals will be allowed to freely, and legally, determine their own gender without a medical diagnosis. Or, as said by the President of the Sylvia Rivera Transgender Association of Andalusia, “This law will allow us to bring transsexuals’ rights in line with those of the rest of the population, bringing them ever closer to complete equality.”[15]
*2017: Though it is still a couple of years away, it has already been determined that Madrid will host the annual World Pride event in 2017. The planning for what is projected to be a huge, spectacular event is already in progress.[24]
The Second Republic (1931-1939)
This new government was created in 1931, after King Alfonso XIII exiled himself, due to his immense unpopularity with the Spanish people. The first leader of the Second Republic was Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, who began by creating a new constitution for Spain, which went into effect on December 9, 1931. This new constitution, which established “freedom of speech, freedom of association, extended voting privileges to women, allowed divorce, and stripped Spanish nobility of special legal status,”[25] showed just how liberal the new republic truly was. And, in addition to taking away power away from the Spanish nobility, the Second Republic also sought to take away power from the Spanish Catholic Church and reduce its legal influence. And for awhile, it succeeded. Therefore, the period between 1931 and 1939 was a time of freedom of expression for many, including the LGBT community. In 1933, a study of homosexuality in Spain was published; the first study portraying the LGBT community in a positive manner. This study suggested the possibility of a correlation between homosexuality and creativity, and with all of the talent of this era who claimed to be either homosexual or bisexual, it is unsurprising as to why this conclusion was drawn. Among all the great LGBT artists, writers, and performers of this time period, some of the more famous ones include poets Federico García Lorca and Pedro Salinas, and painter Salvador Dalí.[4]
The Franco Period (1939-1975)
Unfortunately, the efforts of the Second Republic were quickly undone once Francisco Franco came to power in 1939, after he and his army defeated the republic and its supporters in the Spanish Civil War. Franco shared the more traditional values and beliefs of the Catholic Church, and he sought to return Spain to the nation it was before the Second Republic. Divorce, abortion, and many of the other liberal laws established under the Second Republic were repealed under the dictatorship of Franco. Catholicism was also made the official religion of the nation once more, and the power of the Catholic Church was restored. This was bad news for the LGBT community, who again had to either hide their sexuality, or face the harsh consequences.
1954: From the time Franco came to power in 1939, until his death nearly 40 years later, homosexuality in Spain was viewed as something offensive and dangerous, but the reform of the Vagrancy Act in 1954 officially made homosexuality a criminal offense. Spanish Citizens seen engaging in, or suspected of engaging in homosexual activity were sent to prison, where they suffered from physical and mental abuse, and overall unfair treatment.[9]
1971: With the passing of the Law of Dangerousness and Social Rehabilitation, homosexuality shifted from being a criminal offense, to a mental illness that needed to be treated.[13] Of those who were detained during this time period, some people were still sent to prison, others were sent to “correction camps”, but either way, the main focus was now rehabilitation. “The laws were in place not to punish people, but to reform them and change their behavior.”[5] However, this “rehabilitation” involved acts that today would be considered unethical, such as electric shock therapy, and forced viewings of heterosexual pornography to reinforce “normal” sexual behavior. Thousands of gay men were sentenced to these camps, which consisted of physical and psychological torture, for months, or even years. Lesbians managed to avoid these correctional camps, but “once again, [it was] at the cost of their invisibility.”[13] Their freedom was only maintained by their ability to fade into obscurity.
1975: This year is remembered as the year of Francisco Franco’s death, and the end of his oppressive rule. However, members of Franco’s regime, as well as many of his supporters, still remained, and so it would be several more years before Franco’s laws against homosexuality were repealed. The prisons and rehabilitation centers continued to hold homosexual men prisoner, and new sentences continued to be made. And even for those who were released, life was still a struggle, as homosexuality was still criminalized, and therefore, it was nearly impossible for them to find work.
The Post Franco Period: The Transition to Democracy (1975-1980)
On November 22, 1975, Prince Juan Carlos took an oath to become Spain’s new king. At first, the country believed that he would follow in Franco’s footsteps, but in 1976, he appointed Adolfo Suarez Gonzalez as the new prime minister, and once Suarez took office, Spain finally began to see the reforms it had been hoping for. Labor strikes were once again legalized, and in 1977, the first free elections were held. In 1978, the new constitution went into effect, officially declaring Spain a constitutional monarchy, and allowing religion in Spain once again, in addition to many other individual freedoms. As for the prisoners, gradually, those were wrongly imprisoned under Franco’s rule were released. Unfortunately, homosexuals in Spain were some of the last to have their charges dropped and to be set free.
1977: Despite homosexuality not being officially decriminalized yet, the LGBT community was feeling braver with the nation’s new government. In June of 1977, the first gay pride demonstration was held in Barcelona. However, it was said to have been “violently repressed by the police."[1]
1979: Homosexuality was officially decriminalized in Spain. People could no longer be imprisoned for being gay, and those who had been previously arrested for being gay were finally released. But the social stigma against the LGBT community still remained, as well as the emotional scars from the repression of the Franco period. “Perhaps as many as 5,000 of them were imprisoned in sexual reeducation centers under Franco's regime. Countless more were beaten, tortured, or forced into mental institutions where they received electroshock treatments.”[10] Making homosexuality legal was a step in the right direction, for the LGBT community, but they still had a long way to go on the road to social and political equality.
The 1980s and 1990s
1980s: It was during this decade that the LGBT community began settling into the Chueca neighborhood of Madrid. “Over the years, Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders made of this neighborhood (one of the most depressed areas of the city), not only their place for leisure and work, but also their home, in full coexistence with other neighbors and visitors. Together they transformed Chueca into one of the areas with greatest freedom, tolerance and diversity in Madrid, setting standards for many other cities in the world.”[24] Chueca is now one of most gay friendly cities in Spain, and it is the home to many of the nation’s gay pride events.
1992: The FEGL, The State Federation of Gays and Lesbians, was constituted in April of this year. The name would later be changed to FELGTB, in order to include the bisexual and transsexual/transgender populations.[23]
1996: This year marked the prohibition of employment discrimination in Spain based on sexual orientation. Other more general anti-discrimination laws also were passed in 1996, making any type of discrimination based on sexuality illegal.[8]
1997: Floats participated for the first time in the Madrid Pride Parade. There were only a few that year, but it was an important step towards making the parade a more fun, lighthearted event that more people would want to be a part of.[24]
The 2000s to Today
2001: Sentences for homosexuality served during the Franco period were finally removed from police records of Spanish citizens.[16]
2004: In December of 2004, it was announced that homosexuals, and any other group who had been wrongfully persecuted under Franco’s rule, would receive financial compensation.[10] This was also the year when José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero of the Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE) was elected the new prime minister. One of his campaign promises was to make Spain a nation of marital equality, a goal which became a reality in the following year.
2005: 2005 was an important year for the LGBT community because on June 30, the Spanish parliament voted to legalize gay marriage, and Spain became the fourth country in the world to do so, following in the footsteps of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada. It was by no means a unanimous decision, and there was significant opposition from the Spanish Catholic Church, but through Zapatero’s efforts to frame gay marriage as an already existing human right, rather than a threat to the institution of marriage and family, the vote resulted in favor of legalizing gay marriage. The vote was 187 to 147, excluding the four parliament members who did not vote on the bill. After the vote, Zapatero was quoted saying, "We are not the first, but I am sure we will not be the last," he told the chamber. "After us will come many countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality." Include along with the right to marry, homosexual couples also gained equal inheritance rights, as well as the right to adopt children.[28] The law went into effect on July 3, 2005, and the first gay couple to be officially married in Spain was a couple living in Madrid. The two men had been a couple for 30 years before tying the knot on July 11, 2005.[6]
2007: In March of 2007, a new law was passed in Spain that allowed transgender people to change their name and gender on paper, without having to go through the sex change surgery. However, a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, as well as two years of medical treatment, was required before the name change could be legally made.[14] Also in 2007, Madrid hosted that year’s Europride, and with nearly two and a half million attendees, it became known as the largest and most successful Europride yet.[22]
2012: In 2012, Spain's Constitutional Court turned down a challenge to Spain's gay marriage laws.[12] This was an immense relief to the LGBT community, who feared that the gay marriage laws might be repealed after the conservative Popular Party victory in the elections of 2011. However, despite the support of the Catholic Church, the marriage laws remained completely in tact.
2014: Although anti-discrimination laws for homosexuals have been in effect since the 1990s, the autonomous community of Catalonia has recently taken the precautions against sexual discrimination one step further. In October of this year, Catalonia passed a law that allows its citizens who commit hate crimes against the LGBT community to be punished with fines of up to €14000 ($17211). Many members of the Popular Party (PP) say that this law is unfair, arguing that those accused will be labeled as guilty until proven innocent. “However, The Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) says Catalonia has now set a worldwide precedent in the fight against homophobia.” And with the majority of all the hate crimes in Spain in the last year being against the LGBT community, (452 cases reported in 2013) this new law is arguably necessary. However, whether any or all of the other autonomous regions in Spain will follow Catalonia’s example remains to be seen.[3] Another important event for this year was Andalusia’s new legislation, which has furthered the rights of the transgender/transsexual community. Under this new law, transsexuals will be allowed to freely, and legally, determine their own gender without a medical diagnosis. Or, as said by the President of the Sylvia Rivera Transgender Association of Andalusia, “This law will allow us to bring transsexuals’ rights in line with those of the rest of the population, bringing them ever closer to complete equality.”[15]
*2017: Though it is still a couple of years away, it has already been determined that Madrid will host the annual World Pride event in 2017. The planning for what is projected to be a huge, spectacular event is already in progress.[24]