Author: Madrid Safíco

• May 21, 2023

  Lesbians and the Inquisition

  

                The Christian Church in Spain had long been interested in the history of homosexual acts, dating back to a Church Council held from 305 to 306 in Elvira, modern day Granada, though the focus was almost exclusively on men. Among other issues, the council discussed the issue of sodomy. It was one of the…
• May 21, 2023

  Lesbians and the [Spanish] Inquisition in Madrid

  

  While ample documentation exists in some Inquisition Tribunals related to lesbians, comparatively little exists in relation to Madrid. The reasons for this are a bit unclear, with María Jesús Torquemada, a professor in the Departamento de Historia del Derecho y las Instituciones at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, offering a few explanations related to her work…
• March 30, 2023

  Spanish communists intersections with lesbians (women + LGTB)

  This is a quick history of Partido Comunista’s intersections with lesbians, and to a lesser extent the broader LGTB movement in Spain since the party’s founding in 1921 by the youth movement inside PSOE.  This was cobbled together from existing material in other pieces, with some quickly written text for additional context.  It is possible…
• March 30, 2023

  Lesbian geographies in Madrid: Pride vs. HIV / AIDS vs. sports

  

                Geography, for lesbians and other members of the collective, has the potential to shape our sexual identities, our sexual practices, our sense of community, our political objectives related to our orientation and sex.  It can mean in some places, it is easier to come out of the closet and be safe while in other…
• March 15, 2023

  History of Pride in Madrid: Socialist government of Pedro Sánchez (2018 – 2023)

  

  A motion of no confidence by PSOE was registered with the Congreso de Diputados on 25 May 2018 after the Audiencia Nacional found Partido Popular profited from illegal kickbacks-for-contracts during the Gürtel case.  Spanish law only allows for such a motion to be put through if an alternative candidate for president is also nominated at…
• March 15, 2023

  History of Pride in Madrid: Conservative government of Mariano Rajoy (2011 – 2018)

  

  Spain held general elections on 20 November 2011, called five months early by President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on 29 July 2011 in response to a deteriorating economic situation. Partido Popular went into the elections leading in the polls, and eventually finishing with 44.6% of the vote, up from 40.1% in the 2008 elections. The…
• March 15, 2023

  History of Pride in Madrid: Socialist government of José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (2004 – 2011)

  

  The 14 March 2004 general elections which saw PSOE¡s José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero come to power in part on the promise of same-sex marriage becoming law appeared to have little immediate impact on Pride that year, with some 500,000 people turned out to march in Pride 2004 on a route that went from Puerta de…
• March 15, 2023

  History of Pride in Madrid: Conservative government of José Maria Aznar (1996 – 2004)

  

  Elections were held on 3 March 1996, with the results ushering in the conservative government of José Maria Aznar. He and Partido Popular would stay in power until March 2004. This change in government did not bring any fundamental changes to Pride in Madrid, with many of the initial trends in the period having already…
• March 15, 2023

  History of Pride in Madrid: Socialist government of Felipe González (1982 – 1996)

  

  Spain held general elections on 28 October 1982, ushering in a government run by PSOE’s Felipe González that lasted until the party was voted out in the 1996 elections. The party’s election following a mainstream modern social democratic campaign is widely considered to be the end of the democratic transition period, ushering in a new…
• March 15, 2023

  History of Pride in Madrid: Spanish democratic transition (1975 – 1982)

  The early Democratic Transition activists faced a series of challenges. Early media discussion in the very immediate post-Franco period still saw homosexuality as a medical or psychological issue. If the media viewed homosexuals as having any rights limited in their reporting as a result of the current laws, it was the basic human rights of…