How do Members of the LGBT Gay and Lesbian Community Fare in Spain?

Spain has seen some major changes across the last decade or so, but how do members of the LGBT community do in Spain as residents and tourists?

Gay and Lesbians are fully excepted in Spain

Going on a trip across Europe would have been vastly different even as early as 1975 when compared to today. While the change is obvious in formerly communist Eastern European nations there are also many other countries that have shifted dramatically in the past 35 years. Few countries have seen more dramatic social and political upheavals than Spain.

Spain was still gripped by the fascist regime of General Franco back in 1975. It was a country ruled by political oppression, institutionalised torture, severe religion with Catholicism in Spain, and a distrust of liberal attitudes. The social landscape was vastly different just a few thousand kilometres away in the Netherlands. The Netherlands had relaxed laws and a far more liberal outlook on life that created an almost cultural utopia that was far different from what Spain was seeing with the restrictive General Franco.

30 years later and everything has changed dramatically. It has been a long and arduous journey since the death of Franco in 1975 but now Spain has become one of the most liberal countries in Europe. They were the third nation to legalise gay marriage in 2005, behind only the Netherlands and Belgium. They became the seventh country worldwide to do so.

Even though Spain still has a religious backbone that threatens to undermine the progress Spain has made socially and politically, the Spanish people have still made commendable progress.

The public approval for gay marriage stands at over 65% in Spain, which is great for a country that is so traditionally macho and patriarchal like Spain. In Spain the stereotypical image of the “hombre” – a bushy moustache, blue-collar sensibilities, and a gruff demeanour – is still there but homosexuality has become quite accepted across all of Spain. Discretion is still the best option in some places, especially away from the resorts and larger cities in Spain, but you could still say the same about any country in the Western world.

The more cosmopolitan areas of Spain are home to the most gay-friendly destinations you can find in the world, especially in Barcelona, Sitges, and the resort of Torremolinos found in Costa Del Sol. Málaga and Torremolinos are home to the Campo del Golf nudist beach and the appropriately named Gay Village, two of the largest gay beach areas in Spain and in all of Europe.

Torremolinos is also host to a number of bars that cater almost exclusively to their homosexual clientele, including the Parthenon discoteca that sits at the heart of Torremolinos. The La Nogalera strip is a famous destination for homosexual tourists thanks to the gay bars and clubs that welcome thousands of tourists each weekend throughout the whole year. Homosexuals are welcome in practically every resort across Costa del Sol including Fuengirola, Estepona and Puerto Banus.