A 42-year-old soldier who recently announced his gender transition is slamming the Spanish Army for putting up obstacles to his use of the female changing rooms. Francisco Javier L. G., first began changing his legal documents in the spring of 2023 following the enactment of Spain’s controversial Trans Law.
Francisco has boldly stated that he has no intention of changing his name or undergoing any alterations to his body, noting in a recent interview that he is fine with his overtly masculine appearance.
“I like my body, I am happy with it and I do not intend to change it,” he said, adding that the only measures he is taking to complete his “transition” to “female” is altering his gender marker on legal documents.
“I am happy with my body and I [am sexually attracted to] women, but I realized some things and I felt like a woman. For example, I’m a beautician, and I feel better talking to women than men,” Francisco said. “When the new [trans] law came out, I asked my daughter if she minded if I became a woman. She’s 10-years-old, and told me she didn’t mind. Then I made the decision to do it.”
Months prior to his change in “identity,” Francisco participated in a TV program called First Dates, a show aimed at helping people find love. At one point during the show, the question “what turns you on the most?” was posed to participants, to which Francisco replied “I like long hair and high heels. I have a high heel shoe fetish. I love high heels.” He goes on to imply that he enjoyed wearing high heels himself.
In March of 2023, Spain dramatically relaxed its requirements for changing such documents, striking down a requirement that the individual provide medical reports demonstrating they had gender dysphoria or were undergoing cross-sex hormone therapy. The only formalities Francisco had to complete were the presentation of his documents at the Civil Registry, and waiting for a cursory three-month period.
Francisco has been in the military since 1999 and is stationed in the southern city of Seville where he is a heavy machinery mechanic. He is currently on medical leave due to a shoulder injury. But he has stated that his “problems” began after he informed his superiors of his legal gender transition and desire to use the women’s changing room.
“I could not continue using a locker room contrary to my gender, so I requested the use of the locker room that corresponded to my gender, which I understand should be a female locker room, since I am a woman,” the soldier tells Diario de Sevilla.
But Francisco says he was told he could not use the women’s facilities due to space issues, with the women’s area being 110% over capacity. Dissatisfied with the response, Francisco continued to pursue the issue.
The Army then sent him a summons to attend a meeting with the intention of resolving the case, where officials agreed that he could not use the male facilities as it was incompatible with his “new gender.” He was also told that an expansion was underway to increase the side of the women’s locker room area, and that he will eventually be allowed to use the women’s facilities.
Until then, he was offered the women’s senior command locker rooms on a pre-determined schedule, giving him access to the area within certain times of the day.
But Francisco believes the accommodation measures are neither fair nor right, and claims that he is being discriminated against on the basis of his transgender status.
“If a judge has declared me a woman, what does an army lawyer have to say about it?” he said to media.
In statements made yesterday to Diario de Sevilla, Francisco explained that he is pursuing avenues for possible legal action against the Army for failing to properly facilitate his gender transition.
Spain’s Ministry of Defense does not currently have any guidance on how to best adhere to the trans law, which was enacted last February, and is currently dealing with cases on an individualized basis. But both Francisco’s demands, and the Army’s attempt to accommodate him, have sparked backlash from Spanish women’s rights advocates.
On X (formerly Twitter), Ana Pollán, a well-known feminist activist, sarcastically detailed Francisco’s case.
“This woman named Francisco is not committing any fraud of law. She has scrupulously complied with all the formalities provided for in the trans law and there are no legal reasons to deny her rights. This is what happens when intellectual indigents legislate.”
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