Ibiza, the island widely known for its extravagance, beauty and colours, cannot be absent in the celebration of Pride. As in the years before, Ibiza shone bright to celebrate its love for everyone and to provide, in particular, a spotlight for its lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex inhabitants.
While we take these rights for granted today, life has not always been this way. Under Franco’s dictatorship, homosexuality was a crime. Many members of the LGBTI community, especially gay men and trans women, were imprisoned, sexually abused and even tortured, as the mere fact of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity was considered an attack on the integrity of the Spanish people. Lesbian women were mostly ignored and rendered invisible to society – with effects reverberating up until today, even on this island.
Ibiza arose as a safe haven for the LGBTI community in the sixties, and has continued to stand up for diversity throughout the years. Our society has shown us that, even today, we can never take gender equality for granted. So let’s keep on celebrating love and diversity, and never forget how we have come this far – and what remains to be done.
See more beautiful pictures on Ibiza2Mars.
An Cuypers 