Beatriz Gimeno Reinoso (born 9 May 1962, Madrid) [1] is a Spanish politician and LGBT rights activist. Since June 2015, she has been a representative for Podemos in the tenth legislative term of the Assembly of Madrid [2] and is responsible for the area of policy of Podemos concerning equality in Madrid. [3] She was the President of the FELGT (National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, and Transsexuals) between 2003 and 2007, during the period in which same-sex marriage was approved in Spain and Madrid was chosen as the holder of Europride 2007. [4]
Beatriz Gimeno studied Semitic languages. In 1985 she moved with her family to Sevilla, and in 1988 started to attend the meetings of a feminist group, the first group of many that she would go on to participate in. [1] In 1990, she fell in love with a fellow participant of these groups. Upon returning to Madrid she joined COGAM (Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals Collective Organisation), and in 1995 started to focus on working with the FELGTB (National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals). [1] She held the position of Secretary General within FELGTB until she assumed the presidency in 2002, replacing Pedro Zerolo. [1] She left the position on 6 March 2007 in order to be a member of culture within the FELGTB, promoting LGBT studies in the culture and the university; her successor as head of FELGTB was Antonio Poveda. [5] Beatriz Gimeno works within diverse mediums of communication, among them the daily digital newspaper El Plural.
In the autonomous elections of Madrid in 2015, was the fourth member in the list of Podemos, becoming a member of the Assembly of Madrid. [6] In February 2017, she led the Anti-capitalists along with Miguel Urbán for the primaries elections for Podemos. [7]
Gimeno has indicated that there exists a 'gay machismo' within the homosexual movement, owed to the idea that women within the movement would be 'doubly discriminated' due to the fact that they are both lesbians and women. [8] She published diverse, specialised works on the theme of lesbian feminism and positioned herself on numerous occasions in opposition to the legalisation of prostitution, denouncing the commodification of the female body under neoliberalism. [9] [10]
During the deliberation of the law to approve same-sex marriage in Spain, Gimeno, in her position as President of the FELGTB, lashed out against the stance of the People's Party (Spain) as well as the Catholic Church, who strongly opposed the proposed regulation of same-sex partnerships. The FELGTB called for a large march, that coincided with the Pride Parade, to celebrate the new law. [11]
After a decade-long relationship with fellow FELGTB activist Boti García Rodrigo, they got married in December 2005. The wedding – officiated by Inés Sabanés with the participation of Pedro Zerolo of the PSOE and Luis Asua of the PP – was attended by 110 guests, among them was the general coordinator of IU, Gaspar Llamazares, the Minister of International Cooperation, Leire Pajín, the Public Defender of the Basque Country, Iñigo Lamarca, the writer Almudena Grandes and the poet Luis García Montero [12] Gimeno has a child who was born in the 80s. [1]
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Spain have undergone several significant changes over the last decades to become ranked among the highest in the world.
Pedro González Zerolo was a Spanish-Venezuelan lawyer, politician and a town councillor of the city of Madrid, and a member of the Federal Executive Committee of the PSOE where he held the position of Secretary for Social Movements and Relations with NGOs. He was also a trustee of the Fundacion IDEAS, Spain's Socialist Party's think tank.
Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals Collective Organization, COGAM is a Spanish non-governmental association stated as a public utility and non-profit organization in Boletín Oficial del Estado which works actively for the rights of lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals. It is located in the surroundings of Chueca quarter in Madrid.
The Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Trans, Bisexuales, Intersexuales y más is the main LGBT organisation in Spain. FELGTBI+is characterised by demanding LGBT rights, at times through controversial campaigns. Its current chairman is Uge Sangil.
Íñigo Errejón Galván is a Spanish political scientist and politician, serving as member of the 14th Congress of Deputies.
The 2019 Madrilenian regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 2019, to elect the 11th Assembly of the Community of Madrid. All 132 seats in the Assembly were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in eleven other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 2019 European Parliament election.
Madrid Pride, popularly known in Spanish as the Orgullo Gay de Madrid or La Noche de Patos and its acronym MADO, is the annual LGBT pride festival hosted at Chueca neighbourhood in the centre of Madrid, during the weekend immediately after June 28, International Day of LGBT Pride.
Más Madrid is a progressive regional political party in Spain. Its primary strength is located in the city of Madrid. It advocates for participatory democracy and promotes green politics, having cooperated with like-minded parties such as the Greens Equo and European Green Party members. Sitting on the left wing of the political spectrum, it is the farthest left party represented alongside Unidas Podemos.
Lorena Ruiz-Huerta García de Viedma is a Spanish lawyer and politician. She was a member of the 10th Assembly of Madrid in the Podemos parliamentary group.
Clara Irma Serra Sánchez is a Spanish politician and feminist author. She was a member of the Assembly of Madrid between 2015 and 2019, during the 10th and 11th terms of the regional legislature.
Jacinto Morano González is a Spanish labour lawyer and politician. He has served as member of the 10th Assembly of Madrid in the Podemos Parliamentary Group, as well as Senator.
Lesbians in Francoist Spain had to contend with a culture where a fascist state met with a form of conservative Roman Catholicism to impose very rigid, traditional gender roles. In the immediate post-Civil War period, the new regime was not concerned with homosexuals in general, but instead were focused on changing laws to enforce restrictive gender norms like repealing divorce. While original laws banning homosexuality were on the books and enforced using a 1933 law, they were changed in 1954 and 1970. Unlike male homosexuality, lesbians were less clearly addressed by these laws and were much less frequently prosecuted for the crime of homosexuality. Lesbians from that period are hard to identify because they were not identified as such, and often identified as prostitutes instead.
Daniel's, opened in late 1975, was one of the first lesbian bars in Spain and one of the first LGBT bars in Barcelona. Opened by María del Carmen Tobar, it originally was a bar and billiards room but expanded to have a dance hall. The bar attracted women from a wide variety of backgrounds including non-lesbian women. In the early years of the Spanish democratic transition the bar was accepted because its owner was well connected in the local government through Daniela her band-mate. The police still occasionally raided the bar, however, during its early years. Tobar played an active role in making Daniel's the center of lesbian life in Barcelona, sponsoring sports teams and a theater group. The bar also sold feminist literature, including the magazine call Red de Amazonas. The bar later closed, but would be remembered in books and exhibits for its importance in the lesbian history of Spain.
Lesbians during the socialist government of Felipe González experienced several legal and cultural developments that resulted in more rights and community awareness.
Lesbians during the conservative government of José María Aznar in Spain, experienced and participated in a variety of political and cultural happenings.
Lesbians during the socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Spain achieved several legal and cultural milestones, including the right to marry and adopt children.
Eduardo Fernández Rubiño is a Spanish activist, politician, member of the Assembly of Madrid and former member of the Senate of Spain.
José María Marco Tobarra is a Spanish essayist and liberal-conservative opinion journalist.
Carmen García de Merlo is a Spanish lawyer, nurse and civil servant of Madrid City Council. In 2018, she became President of COGAM Lesbian, Gay, Transsexual and Bisexual Collective of Madrid, being the first transgender woman to preside over the organization.