Beyond marriage: LGBT families in Spain. José Ignacio Pichardo Galán, Universidad Autónoma de...

Beyond marriage: LGBT families in Spain.

José Ignacio Pichardo Galán, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

[email protected]

Conference on LGBT families in Europe4-6 March 2008 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

mailto:[email protected]

Changes

• From Franco’s dictatorship:– Catholic conceptions of family.– Persecution of homosexualiy.

• To the newly democratic Spain’s 1978 Constitution:– Tolerance and openness to sexuality (heterosexuality).– End of 1970s: legalization of homosexuality.– 1980s: fall in LGBT activism.– AIDS epidemic: discrimination and visibility.– From 1995: LGBT movement boomed.

1.Changes 2.Specificity or queer families in Spain3.Norms in practice: getting married or not4.Challenges and future

Changes• Adoption Law (1987):

– any single person, heterosexual or not, is allowed to adopt a child individually.

– unmarried different-sex couples are allowed to adopt jointly.

– Spain is the 2nd country in the world for international adoptions: multiracial families.


Changes• Adoption Law (1987).

• Law on Assisted Reproductive Techniques (1988):– any woman, married or not, heterosexual or

homosexual, can use ART.


Changes• 10% of the women who use these

techniques are not married.

• Percentage of lesbians?

• 20% foreigners (Portugal, Italy, France, Morocco and United Kingdom).

• Surrogate motherhood is not allowed.



• Law on Assisted Reproductive Techniques, (1988).

• Regional laws for registered partnership (1998-2005):– same-sex couples can register themselves.


Changes




• Regional laws for registered partnership (1998-2005):– same-sex couples can register themselves.– in some regions, they can adopt jointly (without

marrying).



• Law on Assisted Reproductive Techniques (1988).

• Regional laws for registered partnership (1998-2005).

• Same-sex marriage (2005):





• Same-sex marriage (2005):– social consensus (3% in 1973 / 66% in 2004),


Changes

Do you think homosexual couples should have the right to marry?

No answer,

0.6

I don't know, 6.7

No, 26.5

Yes, 66.2

CIS, June 2004





• Same-sex marriage (2005):– social consensus (3% in 1973 / 66% in 2004),– Conservative and Catholic Church resistances,


Changes

Arguments against gay-marriage:• It is unnatural• The best interest of children

• Not having appropriate gender models• Confused• Can get bullied

• Homosexuals are prone to: promiscuity, drugs, sexual abuse, mental instability, higher rates of HIV-AIDS

• No society recognizes same-sex marriage• Threatens the economic system (social security will bankrupt)• A virus on society• Not recognized outside the country• Why being experimental?


Changes

Madrid, 18th June 2005, anti-gay marriage demonstration:

“FAMILY DOES MATTER”





• Same-sex marriage (2005):– social consensus (3% in 1973 / 66% in 2004),– Conservative and Catholic Church resistances,– overcoming resistances.


ChangesDemocracy / Spanish ConstitutionInternational influence:

European resolutions and declarations.LGBT and Human Rights movement

Reason vs religionCitizens defines “marriage”:

A majority of Spaniards voted for same-sex marriage.

Gay and lesbian activist in political partiesPolitical opportunityVisibility:

Social acceptance

“Love” as a symbolLGBT movement presented as united for “gay marriage”Citizenship: no equal but separate rights.Children living in LGBT families:

Andalusia and Madrid Study (2002): no significant differences


Changes

Madrid Gay Pride Demonstration Attendance

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

1,000,000

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004





• Same-sex marriage (2005).

• Gender Identity Law (2007):– 2006 New Law on ART was revised to

automatically recognize filiation rights for married lesbian couples.


Queers and families

• Not a discourse about “chosen families”.

• Friends are friends, not family, although they can be “as family”: they are important anyway.

• What’s a family?– Partners, sometimes family, sometimes not.– More than two to be family (children).

• Having children in LGBT’s life horizons.


Queers and families

Paternity among Spanish LGBs (N=263)


Queers and families

• Schools as a mayor preocupation for LGBTs with children.

• Law on Education (2006):– Respect for sexual and familiar diversity has to

be taught at school.

• Education for Human Rights and Citizenship:– Fight against homophobia and recognition of

diverse forms of families.


• Students conceptions of family (N=4,643):

• 85% students wouldn’t find relevant the fact that a classmate lives in an LGBT family and/or they would support him/her.

• 2,8% would not talk to him/her, and 2,6% would bully him/her

Queers and families

A couple of man and woman with their children (nuclear heterosexual) 89,6%

A single mother with her children (monoparental) 73,4%

A divorced man with children married with a woman with children (step family) 65,9%

A couple of two women and their children that live together without getting married (homoparental)

55,8%

A child living with his foster father (non biological paternity) 54,1%

A couple of man and woman without children (heterosexual de facto couple) 53,9%

A couple of two married men without children (homosexual couple) 40,1%

A person with no couple that lives alone (unipersonal) 10,5%


Queers and families

• Not a detachment between the groups they create and biological families.

• Recognition from and integration with their biological families:– as a homosexual person,– of their partner (if they have one),– of their offspring if they have any (or their

partner’s).

• Ritual moments.• Important for the biological family to keep

their relation with the homosexual member.


Queers and families

• Discourses about “new families”.

• Reproduction for recognition.

• Breaking the link of heterosexuality-filiation-alliance-intercourse.

• “Life experiments”.


Norms in practice

• 2001 - Census: – 10,474 homosexual couples (0.11%).

• 2005 - Spanish National Statistic Institute: – 1,275 homosexual couples got married (0.61%)

• 2006 - Spanish National Statistic Institute:– 4,574 homosexual couples got married (2.16%)

• By Dec 2007 - Spanish LGBT Federation:– 150 same-sex joint adoption, – 42 divorces.

UK: 31.344 in

scriptio

ns

in the fir

st year!


UAM

Ojo, comentar aquí que Inglaterra tiene 60 millones de habitantes...

Norms in practice

• Who is getting married?– people in long-term relationships with common

possessions, – couples in which one member is ill or about to

die,– couples with offspring (in order to adopt the

other partner’s son/daughter),– couples in which one of the partners needs to

solve their immigration situation.– some couples refer to a “romantic activism” to

get married. Social recognition.

*

*

*

*


Norms in practice


Marriages in 2006

Norms in practice

Same-sex marriages 2006

Woman + woman30%

Man + man70%


Norms in practice

• Homophobia:– Absence or members of the family during the

wedding.– Not taking days off / Not saying it at work.

• Reasons not to marry:– Public outing.– International adoption.– Homosexuality illegal in home country.– Not sharing marriage values.


Challenges and future• Not legal equality:

– Filiation rights recognized but only automatically if married and using ART in clinics.

– Unmarried, unregistered same-sex couples cannot adopt jointly.

• Public policies: – No budget and many resistances.

• Homophobic judges.


Challenges and future• Judge Calamita:

– Prevented a woman to adopt her spouse biological daughter (ART).

– Took away custody of her daughter from a mother because of being lesbian.

– Fined and suspended.

• Fear from LGBT parents


Challenges and future• Not legal equality:

– Filiation rights recognized but only automatically if married and using ART in clinics.

– Unmarried, unregistered same-sex couples cannot adopt jointly.

• Public policies: – No budget and many resistances.

• Homophobic judges.

• Conservative party (Rajoy):– Abolish same-sex marriage.


Challenges and future

“I won’t allow the conservative candidate to deny rights to any single family”


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