‘The Left Turns Us Into a Collectivity’. Political Discourses on LGBTIQ+ Rights Among Right-Wing LGB+ Individuals in Spain

Electoral sociology has shown that the LGBTIQ+ constituency differs significantly from the cisheterosexual population, exhibiting greater affinity for liberal values and progressive parties. However, in recent years, a LGB+ minority that aligns with right-wing ideology and parties has been identified. This article examines how these profiles construct narratives that articulate a right-wing political identity in terms of political behavior and how they relate to left- and right-wing parties and regarding LGBTIQ+ rights. Through a case study in Spain-a country with high social acceptance of sexual and gender diversity and mild political consensus on LGBTIQ+ rights prior to the emergence of far-right Vox-the discourses of right-wing LGB+ individuals are analyzed. Findings show that, although participants acknowledge that advances in rights have historically been promoted by left-wing parties, this recognition causes tension between their sexual identity and their ideological identity. This feeling of mismatch is managed through argumentative strategies that, on the one hand, minimize or justify historically homophobic stances from the right, and on the other, question the left's lead in LGBTIQ+ rights. Simultaneously, they engage in a narrative that right-wing parties have undergone crucial transformation through openly LGB+ politicians and alternative agendas distanced from "identity politics."