From Hispania to millennials

Lesbians have always been in Spain; their history, the history of women with exclusive sexual and romantic attraction to other women, of women who had sex with other women, is as old as Spain itself and likely pre-dates the first references to them in Roman Spanish sources. In its earliest documented periods, the history of lesbianism in Spain often mirrors that of Southern and Western Europe more broadly, making it appear not very unique because lack of sources and because of the political hegemony of the Roman Empire on thinking of the day. This book follows this complicated history from the Roman period down to the early covid-19 pandemic period, organizing the history of Spanish lesbians by broad historical periods and then more closely examined the post democratic transition period by looking at lesbian history in specific national governments, further subdivided by theme as lesbian visibility and historical documentation becomes much more accessible. In these later periods, it examines the inclusion of lesbians in the homosexual rights movement, in the LGTB movement, in Orgullo celebrations and inside the broader feminist movement. The book looks at the legal situation for lesbians and their interactions with the legal system from the Inquisition to trying to claim maternity leave as the non-pregnant mother. It also follows the etymology of various words related to lesbianism from the 1200s to the 2010s. Also examined is the literary production history by lesbian writers from Wallada bint al-Mustakfi to Santa Teresa to Carolina Coronado, along with Elena Fortún, Victorina Duran, Rosa Chacel, Gloria Fuertes and more modern lesbian writers in the post-Franco era. The second edition has loads of new information scattered throughout, including information about the Inquisition, evolution of language around female homosexuality, lesbians' who were cigarette factory girls, experiences during the Franco period and regarding the feminist movement and some of those internal conflicts.