19 Jan, 2024 @ 13:20
1 min read

WATCH: Trans soldier in southern Spain demands to share female changing rooms – adding ‘what does it matter if I’m six-foot tall with a beard?’

A TRANSGENDER soldier has blasted her barracks in southern Spain after being told she cannot share the locker rooms used by other female servicepeople. 

Francisco Javier, 42, changed her gender to female under the country’s so-called ‘Ley Trans’, or Trans Law, but has kept her original name and intends to keep her masculine appearance. 

Javier says she has the support of her daughter and co-workers but does not feel recognised by army bosses at her barracks in Carmona, just outside Sevilla city. 

Javier claimed to the Sonsoles Onega TV programme that she has since been asked to avoid common changing areas, and has instead been ordered to use a room reserved for senior commanders. 

She said: “They tell me to change in a senior management room, where there are also women… I have an assigned time to change first and last minute so as not to cross paths with the other colleagues.”

The soldier of two decades said she wants to be treated like any other colleague and to be able to use the same facilities as the other female staff. 

She rejected claims that she wanted to ‘take advantage’ of the Trans Law. 

READ MORE: Man who abused two women changes gender and demands to be absolved ‘because they are a new person now’

When asked about her identity, Javier explained: “I am not transsexual, I am transgender, the law allows me to keep my name, maintain my physical condition and change my gender.” 

When asked about her experience as a woman, Javier said: “I can’t explain why I feel like a woman. It’s a feeling. What difference does it make if I have a beard or am six feet tall?”

The Trans Law sparked bitter divisions in the coalition government, as well as in the feminist movement, on its path through parliament last year.

Under the new legislation, in effect from last March, people can choose their name and legally registered gender without taking any previous steps or needing medical supervision, as was the case previously. 

This applies to anyone aged 16 and over, while for minors there are some conditions. Those aged 12 to 14 will need the blessing of the courts, while 14- to 16 year olds will need the permission of their parents or legal guardians.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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