Lesbians in the Spanish democratic transition period (1975 - 1982) experienced an increase in civil rights compared to Francoist rule, including the 1978 repeal of a national law criminalizing homosexuality.
Background
Lesbians came into this period after having been erased or ignored by the Franco regime. Officially, lesbianism did not exist in Francoist Spain. Their history during this earlier period was largely not written and their cultural contributions during the Francoist period were not recognized. In some cases, histories of homosexuality in the earlier period and during this period do not include lesbians because they treat them as if lesbians did not exist as homosexuals and gay men were the only homosexuals. Women, including subgroups of women like lesbians, came into the transition period as a marginalized group. They had been subjected to police harassment in the Franco period. Globally in this period, lesbians found themselves feeling doubly displaced; they often found the gay and trans liberation movement deeply misogynistic and patriarchal while at the same time feeling like the feminism was ignoring them and their needs as women. This situation led to the growth of lesbian feminism and lesbian separatist movements.
Mujeres Lesbianas written by Victoria Sau and later edited by Anabel Gonzales published in 1979 was the only domestic history of lesbianism written in the transition period.
Lesbian political and legal situation
An independent history of lesbianism as a political movement in Spain does not begin until 1975, as lesbian voices had been intentionally silenced prior to this. This late emergence meant that lesbians had to largely independently political define themselves both inside the established feminist movement and the gay and transgender movement at a time when Spanish society as a whole and these movements specifically were undergoing major stresses as a result of the death of Franco. Despite this, lesbianism as a political movement still maintained a low profile, with a limited voice as part of broader discussions. Politically, lesbians in the immediate post-Franco Spain were often nothing more than supporters of their more vocal and visible male counterparts because of greater past gay male visibility and continuing patriarchy. Some radical feminists in this period would chose lesbianism as a form of exerting control over their sexuality that had been repressed by the Franco regime. There were arguments at the time over the way to be both a feminist and a lesbian. The lesbian political movement at the time largely concluded that lesbian sexuality "did not have to be soft or aggressive, nor follow any feminist or feminine pattern."
The Women's Area of the Fundación Triángulo de Madrid has explained the invisibility of lesbians in this and other periods as, "A gay man has always been able to move to another place, seeking to live his identity in freedom. While a lesbian woman stayed near her house. There are always parents, brothers or children to take care of and those who do not disappoint ". Rocio Jimenez explained this further, saying, "And that's how lesbians have developed since invisibility, at the expense of that scarlet letter that a man has never had to deal with." According to Mexican feminist Gloria Careaga, feminism often "moves away from aspects such as sexuality and intimate life to focus on the social and the political." Rocío González of Fundación Triángulo said that feminists feared the "contagion of stigma" and disassociated themselves from lesbians.
Spanish lesbians in this period tend to be involved in party politics with Izquierda Unida (IU) or PSOE. Lesbians were likely to be involved in these parties less because the parties supported lesbian rights, but more because they otherwise tended to align with their general political views. As time progressed, these parties tended to align more closely with lesbian political goals.