Trans Lives in Málaga, Málaga Pride, and the Town of Torremolinos

A selfie taken by Mattie Baird at Málaga Pride 2023. Mattie Baird, July 2023.

Please note: Portions of the English version of this site/newsletter are translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence software (https://www.deepl.com/) Therefore, there may be grammatical errors present.

Dear reader:

Before the content of this issue, I have some news to share with you about how the dissemination of my research findings will work going forward. Perhaps you have noticed that the consistency and frequency in which I have been publishing here has varied over the last few weeks. In Malaga, and especially in Madrid, I have had a schedule full of research-related commitments nearly every day of the week. There are research leads that spontaneously arise throughout each week, and so it has become more difficult to carve out the same day each week to finishing up and publishing an issue. Therefore, from this point forward, I will be publishing when I can. The number of publications will still be equivalent to 1 post per each week spent in Spain by the time that the investigation concludes, but when they are published will vary. In this edition and future editions, you will hear a bit about these leads and the findings to which they have led me.

It is hard to believe, but my work in Málaga has already come to a close. I learned so much in this beautiful city… each day was a gift from the universe, and I met many amazing people who I will always hold closely to my heart - personally and professionally. This issue summarizes some of the common themes identified regarding trans lives in Málaga and Andalusia, Malaga’s Pride events which took place on the 1st of July, and some observations and data about Torremolinos, a town located roughly 20 kilometres west of the City of Málaga. Also included are a few introductory notes to my work in Madrid, the capital of Spain. I will be based out of Madrid until I complete the in-country data collection portion of my investigation in mid-August.

In terms of trans lives in Malaga, there are more people who express their trans identities openly than in Sitges. There is also a lot of diversity in terms of the experience and life of each person who participated in the study in Malaga. Multiple participants feel that the vast majority of the public has a stereotypical and singular view of what it is like to be trans. Many of them have had experiences that have shown them that they are merely trans to the majority of the public... and do not see them as people with unique characteristics like every other human being. Participants with intersectional identities report unique challenges with existing in Malaga. One participant said, "I am a non-binary person, Black, poor, and I am an immigrant. I don't feel comfortable* in any of the community spaces for any identity that I have...in the Black spaces, they see my non-binary identity and they don't see much else. The same thing happens in LGTBIQ+ spaces... as a racialized person in such a racist country, many white LGTBIQ+ people only see me as black." When asked about senses of trans community in Malaga, almost every participant reported that, although there are other trans people, there is no sense of community among them. The only participant who reported feeling a strong sense of community in terms of their trans/queer identity was a trans woman. She is an undergraduate university student, studying Translation and Interpretation. As mentioned in a past issue, there seems to be a large divide between university students depending on their academic specialization. In other words, it is common for their friendships with other students to be almost exclusively with other people in their major. So, an LGBTIQ+ student with a degree like Translation and Interpretation, Philosophy and Letters, or Rights, finds themselves in more LGTBIQ+ community spaces than students with other degrees. In many cases, trans people in Malaga who are older than university students do not have the same senses of community in terms of their trans identity. In short, there are more trans people in Malaga than in Sitges. This makes sense, because Malaga is much larger than Sitges, but it also seems that the culture is different in Andalusia. There is a lot of history regarding the fight for the rights of trans people in Spain in this province specifically. Cristina Ortiz, better known by her stage name 'La Veneno,' was a Spanish actress, celebrity, model, sex worker and vedette. She was born in Adra, a town in the province of Almeria, located in the autonomous community of Andalusia, situated in the Poniente Almeriense region. She spent a large portion of her life working in Andalusia and is well known among Andalusians. Another important Andalusian figure is Mar Cambrollé, a Sevillian and a trans activist also well known for her work trying to advance the rights of trans / gender-diverse people. This history gives a bit of context about how the culture of Andalusia is different from other parts of Spain in terms of trans rights and therefore provides some context about the atmosphere in Andalusia.

I had the great pleasure of being able to attend the Malaga Pride 2023. This celebration was so different from the event that I attended in Sitges. With this, it is important to note that the Sitges event was a recognition of the International Day against LGTBIQ+ phobia, while the Malaga event was a Pride celebration. The pride events began in 'Plaza de la Constitución' at 6:00 PM, and all the people from different organizations in the city met here. Participating organizations included Apoyo Positivo Torremolinos, Diverxo Malaga, Colegandalus Malaga, Asociación Glairis, Asima Malaga, Malaga Participa, Malaga City Council, the Local and National Police and the Guardia Civil. The first 45 minutes only consisted of the arrival of many individuals and representatives of organizations and the preparation of all parts of the parade. Each organization mentioned had its own banner with a message connected to the event and many of the individuals carried a flag of an LGTBIQ+ identity of some sort. After the parade started, the crowd walked from the aforementioned plaza to Plaza de la Merced. At Plaza de la Merced, there were plenty of things to enjoy for a happy evening: attendees listened to a manifesto and enjoyed performances by Spanish artists. There were vendors selling food and drinks, as well as tables from local LGTBIQ+ organizations offering information about resources for LGTBIQ+ people (rapid HIV testing, support groups, workshops and more.) After all the shows, there was a big party in the Plaza with drinks and music. The attendance of the armed forces as well as the local and national police was interesting to me. There were hundreds or maybe thousands of them there monitoring the crowd and surveilling. I did not observe or hear directly of any acts of hate that happened, but obviously this does not mean that there wasn’t something that happened. All in all, it was a very well attended event, filling all of Calle Marques de Larios from Plaza de la Constitution all the way to Plaza de la Marina/Alameda Principal.

An interesting note about LGTBIQ+ organizations in Malaga is that some participants reported negative experiences with them as trans people. "When they received me at their headquarters," recounted one participant, "They didn't know anything about trans issues." While this is only one perspective, it is true that many LGTBIQ+ organizations have not truly provided the same level of support to trans people as they have to cis people. Not always, but often, when working with LGTBIQ+ organizations, I find myself saying, "They say their organization supports LGTBIQ+ people, but what are the specific things they are doing to support trans people? There are many services that the organization provides to the public, some of which do support trans people (rapid HIV testing, easy access to antiretroviral medications, community events for the community at large, and more) but there is no support for trans people specifically (a social or support group for trans people, help with finding medical providers to provide gender affirming treatment or access to psychotherapy with a therapist knowledgeable about trans issues specifically, or awareness/education campaigns on trans issues). The work done by LGTBIQ+ organizations in Malaga is very important. At the same time, we must acknowledge the fact that there is a lot that needs to be changed.

Torremolinos, a town that is located 15 kilometers from the center of the city of Malaga, is known around the world as an LGTBIQ+ paradise. Torremolinos itself is about the size of Sitges, and has a similar atmosphere in many ways. For example, there is a lot of LGTBIQ+ influence in the town, and most of the LGTBIQ+ organizations in town have a membership that consists of 80-90% cis, gay men, give or take (according to a leader of one of the organizations.) Geography, however, distinguishes Torremolinos and Sitges. While Sitges is in the northeast corner of Spain, Torremolinos is on the Costa del Sol (the southern coast.) It is well known that people in Andalusia are generally warmer and friendlier. So, report some participants, in a town as small as Torremolinos, everyone is looking at everyone all the time. It is more difficult to blend in and not be identified as a trans person, and therefore put yourself in danger, in Torremolinos. Another thing is the type of tourism it attracts. Sitges has a lot of tourists from France and the UK, while Torremolinos attracts more Germans and people from other parts of Spain. This is most likely because of the geography: Torremolinos is much further away from France and the UK. I met some lovely people in Torremolinos.

Later this week, I will write to you again with some introductions to my work in Madrid. I am already very busy here meeting people who are participating in the research in formal and informal ways, exploring the city and analyzing the data I have already collected in preparation for preparing a formal presentation summarizing all the findings of my study.

Until next week...
Mattie

*In Spanish, this adjective comes in gendered forms (‘comodo’ being the masculine, ‘comoda’ being the feminine, and ‘comode’ being the less widely accepted, but neutral form.)This participant referred to themself with masculine pronouns even though they identify as non-binary. It is a shared experience among many non-binary participants to use gendered pronouns while speaking in Spanish. Most of them explain that they had not learned neutral language before and/or that members of their social/professional circles do not understand them when they refer to themselves with neutral pronouns.

I would love to hear from you. You can leave me a message in the comments area below, send me an email (hola@mattiebaird.com) or get in touch through my contact page, which you can find in the navigation panel at the top of any page on the site.