Tag: Madrid

• January 11, 2022

  Felipe González: 1982 and 1986: Legal, European and political situation

  Lesbian problems of the transition continued despite reforms.  This included feminists trying to disassociate from them because of their sexuality, women still fearing coming out of the closet or using the word lesbian to self-identify and societal persecution for being a lesbian.  Lesbians also continued to lack role models, with no well-known actresses, politicians or…
• January 9, 2022

  Spanish democratic transition (1975 – 1982)

  The Spanish democratic transition was a watershed moment for Spanish lesbians. For the first time in Spanish history, lesbians in the country could claim their own cultural, social, political and historical identity independent of men, government erasure and the Church and state being the sole arbitrators of female sexuality. This period would not be without…
• January 3, 2022

  Francoist Spain (1938 – 1975)

  Preface: I am in the process of trying to rewrite the preface historical material for the travel guides, and split it into a separate book. At that point, I want to then go back and do a much better job at doing the travel guide part and history of some of the specific parts of…
• January 3, 2022

  Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Civil War (1931 – 1939)

  The Second Republic created an opening for Spanish women, with laws changing to give women more rights, including the right to run for political office, to vote and to get a divorce.
• January 2, 2022

  The Spanish Restoration (1874 – 1931)

  The early and mid-Spanish Restoration period largely saw references to homosexuality, both male and female, disappear from public discourse. Homosexuals as a rule were very closeted, using coded language both on the streets and in writing to refer to their romantic and sexual desires.
• January 1, 2022

  Nineteenth century Spain (1810 – 1874)

  As Spain left the Enlightenment period and proceeded into the nineteenth century, a change in cultural attitudes around homosexuality began to take place because of advances in science, philosophy and politics; this resulting in people more generally beginning to advocate for increased human rights across the whole of Spanish society. Despite this, women were often…
• December 30, 2021

  Hapsburg Spain (1516 – 1700)

  Preface: I am in the process of trying to rewrite the preface historical material for the travel guides, and split it into a separate book. At that point, I want to then go back and do a much better job at doing the travel guide part and history of some of the specific parts of…
• December 26, 2021

  2021 Spanish lesbian year in review

  This is a review of 2021 Spanish lesbian history. Likely not complete.  No history ever is.  Lack of completeness has two major reasons.  First, there are a number of stories that likely involved lesbians but lesbians didn’t appear to be mentioned other than as part of larger groups with no specific identity as lesbians.  This…
• December 14, 2021

  Ruta de Círculo Sáfico de Madrid: The Women

  The following is a compilation of some short biographies about members of Círculo Sáfico de Madrid, a group of lesbians in Spain active between about 1910 and 1935 who changed and shape both Spanish culture and political life. There are names that, if you have studied Spanish history, you should definitely be familiar with. There…
• December 14, 2021

  Ruta de Círculo Sáfico de Madrid: History

  Author note: This is one of my favorite bits of lesbian history in Spain. Learning about this group of amazing women felt like opening a door into a secret society from a special time in Spain, a time of hope before the dark days of the dictatorship. This is a brief history of the group.…