Homosexuality has historically been considered an aberration by most religions and a nefandum activity typified as a crime of sodomy in most countries of the world. Homosexuality was persecuted and punished in various ways and continues to be so in too many places around the world. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union establishes in article 21 that all discrimination shall be prohibited, included that based on sexual orientation, but the declaration does not mention the right to freely hold the person's own gender identity. We are certainly still far from living in a world in which the basic rights of humanity are fully respected. This book, fruit of the collaboration of the Center for Basque Studies of the University of Nevada and the Master in Feminist and Gender Studies of the University of the Basque Country, constitutes the first monograph written in English on this subject in relation to the Basque case. It tries to give response to the existing void around the issues of historical, legal and political, but also social and cultural reality, problems and challenges of the LGBT+ collective in the Basque Country

Bullen provides an overview of gender theory, then focuses on Basque women as agents of cultural transmission in the context of the nationalist movement, and in the diaspora. The myths surrounding Basque matriarchy and the extent of women's rule fixed in a mythical past are questioned. While the powerful mother figure has a vital role in handing down Basque language and culture, contemporary women are also breaking old stereotypes and carving out new niches for themselves, at times coming into conflict with the force of tradition. Distributed for the Center for Basque Studies.

Ramón Zallo offers us with this informative book an overall synthesis of Basque culture, society and history. Thanks to its contents it may be destined to become a road map for understanding some keys about the country of the Basques. The author starts from a broad concept of Basque culture which, while it is not very well known, is proportionally very rich for such a small country. He conceives it as a whole culture and as having a history of its own, although it is very closely related to its surroundings. And its trajectory indicates the need to prioritize its development and singularity in this global world full of uncertainty. In Part One he traces (and vindicates) the cultural and spatial idea of Euskal Herria, and briefly describes its history, society and characteristics, its economic evolution and the political systems of Euskadi, Navarra and Iparralde. He presents a society with deeply-rooted values and a very dense civil society that now needs to review, without amnesia, the tragedies and disappointments of recent years. In Part Two he offers a new vision of each one of the various branches of culture. Giving Euskara the attention that it deserves as the most specific defining trait, the book offers an added dimension through an updated look at the styles, works and names within architecture, the visual, theatre and musical arts, Basque literature in Euskara and Spanish and the different types of heritage.It ends with a gallery of historical and contemporary figures that demonstrate the country’s diversity. Its method is descriptive, orderly and not overly interpretative. Interpretation is left to the reader.

This book examines how individuals construct and express their identities in the Basque frontier area of France and Spain.