The Incorporation of Cultural and Religious Diversity in LGBT Policies: Experiences and Representations of Queer Migrants from Muslim Backgrounds in Catalonia, Spain (original) (raw)
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Religions
This article reflects on the biases in sexual and gender diversity policies in relation to the axis of cultural and religious diversity in Catalonia (Spain), where these policies have experienced an enormous boost since 2014. The paper aims to analyse the articulation between the experiences of queer migrants from Muslim backgrounds living in Catalonia and the LGBT and intercultural policies. Based on interviews both with queer migrants and people involved in developing public policies, we analyse how these two axes intersect. The approach of policies is mainly monofocal and assimilationist, failing to acknowledge the hybridity of queer migrant experiences. However, we also find examples of policy programmes that adopt an intersectional perspective and embrace hybridity by advancing more inclusive LGBT equality policies. The conclusions highlight two axes of tensions that have emerged in the analysis of the policies: the construction of the figure of the queer person from a Muslim b...
Critical Review of International Social and Political …, 2007
Equality policies in Spain have increasingly developed since the creation of the National Women’s Agency (1983). Over a ten-year period Spain has achieved European standards in equality policies in terms of institutions, budget and legitimization. In a short time Spain moved from a dictatorship to European Union membership, which has brought about enormous changes regarding women’s roles and rights. Other relevant changes concern the political organization of the state: the 1978 Constitution sets a model of regional administrative autonomy, neither centralized nor federal, in which each region has developed gender institutions. Gender-equality policies constituted the framework for the development of gay and lesbian policies. Both gender equality and gay and lesbian policies have evolved differently at the national and regional levels, with a trend of inclusiveness, more creative policies and institutions at the regional and local levels. In the meantime, the national debate has concentrated on same-sex marriage, while sexuality is not a topic within gender equality policies. This paper argues that the progressive inclusiveness of lesbians within the equality agenda and the new intersectional perspectives, alongside gay marriage shows an evolution of Spanish citizenship models, largely influenced by the European Union context.
Spain has captured international attention with regards to equality for sexual minorities, recently approving laws that allow same-sex couples to marry under the same conditions as different-sex couples (Law 13/2005) and that allow transgender people to change their name in the register without having to go through compulsory surgery (Law 3/2007). Using intersectionality as a frame- work for my analysis, I explore the limitations of the notion of equality in both legal texts by adding an analysis that includes not only sexuality, but also gender, ethnicity, age, and class. Both laws aimed at satisfying the demands of social movements and were designed to overcome inequality and have a relevant sym- bolic impact. Despite this, it is argued, they were not framed to transform society in depth. Both laws are contributing to reproduce inequality by not taking into account multiple discriminations.
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Sexualities, 2017
Homonationalism offers a conceptual framework that allows us to understand the assimilation of the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights by national exceptionalism in the constitution of a geopolitical colonial differentiation. In light of recent developments, both in terms of national identity and LGBTI legal rights, we carried out a case study on Catalonia through the analytical tool of homonationalism, using different public documents as well as narrative productions. Through this analysis, we identified three rhetorical figures that the homonationalist discourse adopts in the Catalan case: territorial differentiations, political differentiations and ethnic differentiations.
Journal of Homosexuality
Whilst debates on sexual diversity in public space have been extensive, these have tended to focus on large cities as the environments within which to analyse sexual and gender diversity, gradually consolidating an intrinsic relationship between the LGBTQ experience and the big city. This emphasis has led to the LGBTQ experiences of small and medium-sized cities being overlooked, neglecting the complexity of the intersection between the urban and the sex-gender. Grounded on an original ethnographic work, this paper explores the experiences of LGBTQ people living in two medium-sized cities in Spain: Girona and Sabadell, to analyse the interrelationships between these cities and Barcelona as their main LGBTQ-friendly reference; and the perceptions of tolerance and hostility towards LGBTQ expressions in public spheres. The paper reveals that all cities are shaped by sexualized discourses and experiences, and argues that the experiences of LGBTQ people in medium-sized cities needs to be recognised to understand the influence of space in shaping the sexgender experiences.
2010
Although Spain is a modern European democracy, it has yet to come to terms with its multiple identities – whether national, ideological or sexual. Over the last few years, we have witnessed a battery of legal measures and of public and private attitudes which would seem to indicate that all gender or sexual identities have finally been accepted or, at least, respected. A look at different newspapers or other publications, as well as to the views expressed by common people, shows that we are waging a large-scale war over specific and highly ideological terms such as ‘abortion’, ‘homosexuality’, over the meaning of ‘family’, or over the scope of ‘gender violence’. In spite of the fact that the majority of Spanish society wishes to have more freedom, there is still fierce resistance against the recognition of (new) gender and sexual identities. There is an on-going private and public debate, and a bitter media campaign – orchestrated by the Church and the extreme right-wing (parties) –...
Journal of International Women's Studies, 2024
Spain and Catalonia are timely and crucial examples for analyzing homonationalism and queer and trans reproduction with Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). This essay employs Puar's (2013) formulation of "homonationalism" as an ideology that privileges LGBTIQ people while simultaneously discriminating against other types of people. The Catalan independence process provides us with important insights into the relationship and interdependence between queer and trans reproduction and the state or nation. Queer and trans people's reproduction is dependent on the laws of the state, the state depends on the reproduction of its population, and most Western EU-states want to appear as LGBTIQ-friendly. A selection of eight in-depth interviews will be analyzed with the following questions in mind: Are there any differences between Spain and Catalonia concerning access to queer and trans reproduction? Do comments regarding queer and trans reproduction employ racializing or homonationalist ideologies? Is queer and trans reproduction an issue in the Catalan independence process? How do queer and trans people based in Catalonia navigate their reproductive challenges in relation to Spain and Catalonia? These interviews formed part of an EU-funded project on queer and trans reproduction in Europe. In this article, we highlight both the struggles for queer and trans reproduction as well as the complicity of some queer and trans people's reproduction with homonationalist strategies, and whether and how Spain and Catalonia deploy these homonationalist tools.
LOVE AND THE STATE: GAY MARRIAGE IN SPAIN
On 30 June 2005, the Spanish Parliament approved Law 13/2005, which amends the Civil Code to permit same-sex marriage. This formal equality measure put Spain in the spotlight of the international media. It is the culmination of a series of developments spanning from the last years of the Franco regime (which ended in 1975), through the enactment of anti-discrimination measures in 1995, to the recent fight for kinship recognition. It also follows a recent shift, from 1998 to 2005, towards the enactment of same-sex partnership laws at regional level, the approval of same-sex marriage and finally, the approval of a ‘gender identity law’ (2007). This legislative note assesses the context in which the new law on same-sex marriage has been enacted. I argue that although same-sex marriage has been represented by many activists and politicians in Spain as a gender neutral contract, it has the potential for differential impacts on lesbians and gay men, and further research and debates are needed in this area.
Nevada Press, 2020
Tis collaboration between the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the Master in Feminist's and Gender Studies of the University of the Basque Country is the first English monograph on LGBTQI+ issues in relation to the Basque case. It addresses the existing void surrounding historical, legal, and political issues concerning this important topic, but it also tackles social and cultural aspects as well as problems and challenges of the LGBTQI+ collective in the Basque Country today. Tis book explores legislative issues, the mission of social movements and of their followers, and a historical perspective on lesbianism and homosexuality in the European context. Additionally, an attempt to understand bodies beyond binary categories has been made, and an examination of the cultural expressions through a literary analysis. It is a snapshot, combining the perspectives of the academic researchers and the one of actual activists. It is, in essence, an invitation to continue to discuss, research, and write about matters concerning LGBTQI+.