The achievement of same-sex marriage in Spain in 2005 cannot be understood without acknowledging recent transformations in the institution of the family and the role played by women in Spanish society. Spanish families have experienced considerable changes due to women’s greater incorporation into the paid labour force. Traditional gender values imposed during the Franco regime – exhorting girls to aim to be good mothers and wives whilst giving boys a more rounded education – have given way to arguably more egalitarian family relationships (Talavera Ferna´ ndez, 2001, p. 10). Over time, women are becoming more economically independent, and possess increasing control over maternity and birth control.

The concept of the ‘family’ is crucial for understanding not only Spanish history, but also the framework of our rights and struggles. The Spanish state relies on the family as a social and economic institution in which the social, economic and legal protection of families is fixed. But the Constitution does not define family in terms of marriage; instead family is vaguely defined (Art. 39), and it is broader than heterosexual marriage (Art. 32). According to the Centre for Sociological Research (C.I.S.) survey of 2004, ‘family’ is the institution that Spanish citizens value the most, over others like employment, politics, leisure, friends, money or religion.

Therefore, it is not surprising that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (L.G.B.T.) rights are constructed by activists and policymakers within this framework. The struggle is not to promote individual civil rights but, rather, to obtain recognition of L.G.B.T. families and relationships by the state. Most of the debates about marriage and partnerships have been linked to adoption and the ‘capabilities’ of L.G.B.T. people as parents. Against this, the Catholic Church and the Conservative Party (P.P.) have promoted the idea of traditional family as the true source of citizenship, portraying L.G.B.T. rights – along with divorce and feminist struggles – as a source of instability, an attempt to break Spanish society…