Beatriz Gimeno Reinoso is a Spanish politician and LGBT rights activist. Since June 2015, she has been a representative for Podemos in the tenth legislative term of the Assembly of Madrid and is responsible for the area of policy of Podemos concerning equality in Madrid. She was the President of the FELGTB between 2003 and 2007, during the period in which same-sex marriage was approved in Spain and Madrid was chosen as the holder of :es:Europride 2007|Europride 2007.
Early career
Beatriz Gimeno studied Semitic languages. In 1985 she moved with her family to Sevilla, and in 1988 started to attend the meetings of a feminist group, the first group of many that she would go on to participate in. In 1990, she fell in love with a fellow participant of these groups. Upon returning to Madrid she joined COGAM, and in 1995 started to focus on working with the FELGTB. She held the position of Secretary General within FELGTB until she assumed the presidency in 2002, replacing Pedro Zerolo. She left the position on 6 March 2007 in order to be a member of culture within the FELGTB, promoting LGBT studies in the culture and the university; her successor as head of FELGTB was Antonio Poveda. Beatriz Gimeno works within diverse mediums of communication, among them the daily digital newspaperEl Plural.
Political career
In the autonomous elections of Madrid in 2015, was the fourth member in the list of Podemos, becoming a representative in the Parliament of Madrid. In February 2017, she led the Anti-capitalists along with Miguel Urbán for the primaries elections for Podemos.
Lesbian feminist
Gimeno has indicated that there exists a 'gay machismo' within the homosexual movement, owed to the idea that women within the movement would be 'doubly discriminated' due to the fact that they are both lesbians and women. She published diverse, specialised works on the theme of lesbian feminism and positioned herself on numerous occasions in opposition to the legalisation of prostitution, denouncing the commodification of the female body under neoliberalism.
Same-sex marriage in Spain
During the deliberation of the law to approve same-sex marriage in Spain, Gimeno, in her position as President of the FELGTB, lashed out against the stance of the People's Party as well as the Catholic Church, who strongly opposed the proposed regulation of same-sex partnerships. The FELGTB called for a large march, that coincided with the Pride Parade, to celebrate the new law.
