It is ironic, perhaps, that it is Spain’s progressive government, and not some authoritarian Right-wing boogeyman, that is trying to get its “LGBTQI” citizens to officially register their sexual preferences.
The Spanish government has activated a voluntary registry, set up by the Labour Ministry, allowing persons with gender dysphoria and non-heteronormative orientations to notify the authorities of their gender and sexual identity.
Whereas the government cannot legally ask for this kind of information, it can facilitate and incentivise its voluntary disclosure. This would allow it to prioritise the assignment of public funds to help citizens who identify as transgender or homosexual to find employment.
Consequently, the “cis-gender” heterosexual—despite being more likely to start a family and, therefore, to need the income—will be treated as a second-order employment-seeker.
This registry was spearheaded by Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s Labour Minister and leader of the Sumar party. Tweeted Diaz:
We continue to gain rights for those who need them most. The new Employment Law gives priority in the attention of public employment services to groups that have traditionally suffered more inequality when it comes to finding work.
To be fair, this initiative is unlikely to have much real-world impact, given that the government’s job search service generally underperforms. According to one study, only about 1.9% of employed Spaniards have been placed in work through this service.
All the same, it does highlight how the discourse of individual self-determination (including of one’s gender identity) is directed at extending the ambit of state power and its related biomedical establishment.
