This article explores the hypotheses put forth in the literature on health and sexuality to explain vulnerability to HIV. The aim is to generate meaningful narratives about the reasons that justify forms of unsafe sexuality among men, which could serve as a platform for future research (perhaps based on surveys). The questions addressed are as follows: Is vulnerability to HIV, as suggested by the literature on health and epidemiology, a problem of ignorance or lack of information about risk? Or could it be, as those literatures also suggest, the result of an inability to protect oneself? Or, on the contrary, could we be, as the literature on sexuality postulates, facing a set of decisions made in a context of sufficient information, but that accept uncertainty about risk in the hope of achieving certain objectives in terms of personal and sexual satisfaction? Based on the analysis of more than 30 hours of material, obtained from 22 in-depth interviews with MSM, a vision of sexual relations among men is proposed, understood as the result of complex balances between objectives as opposed as safety and risk. Trust plays a central role in resolving these balances: often, risky sexual practices are chosen in the need to establish relationships of trust. Uncertainty is accepted as a small price to pay to connect with sexual and emotional partners.

Este artículo analiza la musicación de los balcones durante el primer confinamiento provocado por la COVID-19 en España. A partir de un amplio análisis de corte cualitativo, se presenta la experiencia de interpretar, compartir y escuchar música en los balcones como una respuesta socialmente resiliente. La motivación para interpretar música nació de la voluntad de asistencia y ayuda; las redes tejidas en torno a la experiencia musical estimularon reacciones de empoderamiento colectivo, ayudando también a nuevos procesos de identificación con la comunidad de pertenencia. El análisis de la musicación de los balcones reivindica el concepto de resiliencia social como herramienta para el análisis social de las pandemias, orientando la atención hacia la complejidad de las respuestas sociales ante las grandes crisis, y defendiendo el interés de considerar a las experiencias artísticas como espacios donde se pueden sentar las bases para el impulso de nuevas formas de confianza social.

This article discusses 15-M and anti-austerity mobilizations in Spain from the perspective of repression and penalization. The literature has paid a great deal of attention to the consequences of this cycle of protest in relation to the quality of democratic participation and governance; it could be argued that the 15-M movement has raised the standards for key aspects of Spanish democracy. In articulating new counter-hegemonic claims, however, 15-M mobilizations have created an opportunity for new forms of repression. Drawing on criminology, socio-legal studies, and mobilization literature, we argue that this cycle of protest has been penalized. This involves a combination of technologies of repression that include invasive policing, securitization, and criminalization. Penalization needs to be seen as a dissent-suppressing mechanism, a negative response by political authorities and private actors that thrives when societies suffer from widespread anxieties about insecurity and crime.

Never in Spain's history have sexual minorities enjoyed the current rights. However, LGBTIphobic rhetoric displayed by extreme-right activism threats the gains made. An online survey among LGBTI+ people between 16 and 29 years was conducted. 152 people answered. Results show that Spanish LGBTI+ youth is mostly prone to activism, they were quite informed about legal initiatives, and they mostly think that LGBTI+ people continue to suffer discrimination, the group of friends and peers appears to be the safest context and teachers seem to fail on the duty of help LGBTI+ young people. Additionally, LGBTI+ young people often use inclusive language, especially in casual context, and they seek referents in social media, where they follow influencers who openly declared themselves part of the LGBTI+ collective. The study serves as an example of the changing cultural and political practices of non-cis-hetero youth in a society moving fast towards equality but attending the raising of regressive movements.

Never in Spain’s history have sexual minorities enjoyed the current rights. However, LGBTIphobic rhetoric displayed by extreme-right activism threats the gains made. An online survey among LGBTI+ people between 16 and 29 years was conducted. 152 people answered. Results show that Spanish LGBTI+ youth is mostly prone to activism, they were quite informed about legal initiatives and they mostly think that LGBTI+ people continue to suffer discrimination, the group of friends and peers appears to be the safest context and teachers seem to fail on the duty of help LGBTI+ young people. Additionally, LGBTI+ young people often use inclusive language, especially in casual context, and they seek referents in social media, where they follow influencers who openly declared themselves part of the LGBTI+ collective. The study serves as an example of the changing cultural and political practices of non-cis-hetero youth in a society moving fast towards equality but attending the raising of regressive movements.

This article analyses the musicking phenomenon on balconies during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Spain. Based on an extensive qualitative analysis, the experience of performing, sharing, and listening to music from and on balconies is presented as a socially resilient response. A desire to help and assist others was the driving force for performers; the networks created around the musical experience promoted feelings of collective empowerment and were conducive to forming new patterns regarding people's membership of, and identification with, their community. The analysis of the musicking phenomenon on balconies makes a case for using social resilience as a tool for the social analysis of pandemics. This can be focused on the complexities of social responses to large crises, and advocate the role of the arts as spaces for boosting new forms of social trust.

This article draws on ethnographic research on the political attitudes of people who have been directly affected by the economic crisis of 2008. Analyses that use survey data do not always pay the necessary attention to expressions of advanced marginalization. This article uses observation and interviewing with users of soup kitchens, support groups and housing related forms of activism (the PAH, for instance). They are addressed as vulnerable communities, a relevant issue when it comes to research design. The path that leads towards marginalization is relevant for political attitudes. The more social exclusion and poverty become chronic, the higher the chances of a permanent disconnection with politics. However, under the right conditions, politics, and activism, can become a pathway for a better reality.

En este artículo se propone una etnografía de las actitudes hacia la política de aquellos ciudadanos que han sufrido de manera directa las consecuencias sociales y económicas de la crisis iniciada en 2008. Se corrige una limitación de los estudios basados en encuestas, que no suelen prestar la debida atención a las personas expuestas a formas avanzadas de marginalidad. Se ha observado e interactuado con, y entrevistado a personas usuarias de comedores sociales, grupos de autoayuda y también a participantes en asambleas de la PAH. Son estas personas ‘vulnerables’, cuestión que condiciona aspectos claves del diseño metodológico. Se argumenta que la perpetuación en la marginalidad es un elemento importante a la hora de entender las actitudes. La perpetuación en la exclusión y la pobreza puede desembocar en una desconexión permanente con la política. No obstante, si se dan las condiciones necesarias, la política, y en particular el activismo, puede concebirse como un medio para mejorar la realidad cotidiana. This article draws on ethnographic research on the political attitudes of people who have been directly affected by the economic crisis of 2008. Analyses that use survey data do not always pay the necessary attention to expressions of advanced marginalization. This article uses observation and interviewing with users of soup kitchens, support groups and housing related forms of activism (the PAH, for instance). They are addressed as vulnerable communities, a relevant issue when it comes to research design. The path that leads towards marginalization is relevant for political attitudes. The more social exclusion and poverty become chronic, the higher the chances of a permanent disconnection with politics. However, under the right conditions, politics, and activism, can become a pathway for a better reality.

Este artículo estudia a los músicos indie en España. A partir de treinta entrevistas a músicos, se discuten los conflictos sobre la autenticidad en el espacio alternativo contemporáneo. Los músicos indie conforman un espacio de creación propio, un “subcampo” en la terminología propuesta por Pierre Bourdieu. Es un espacio cruzado por relaciones múltiples y maleables con la industria y reconocido dentro de las músicas populares, en donde conviven convergencias artísticas con patrones de conflicto. El análisis revela la transformación de las preocupaciones de muchos de estos músicos. Para gran parte de ellos, lo relevante es remarcar las diferencias con otros músicos desde la perspectiva de la reputación y la autenticidad. Esas barreras de diferenciación, que entendemos como una expresión de capital subcultural, se construyen sobre una serie de estrategias, centradas en la experimentación, el conocimiento y el tránsito por espacios alternativos. En última instancia, el artículo sitúa a los músicos indie como altavoces privilegiados de conflictos valorativos e ideológicos en torno a la definición social de la independencia, y también como agentes relevantes en la articulación de dicha definición.

Este artículo estudia un asunto muy poco explorado: las actitudes de los españoles hacia la legalización de la prostitución. Empleando técnicas de análisis cuantitativas, y a partir de datos de encuesta representativos de la población en su conjunto, se busca la identificación de aquellas variables que establecen diferencias en la población ante la cuestión de si la prostitución ha de cambiar su tratamiento legal. El análisis confirma algunas impresiones parciales recogidas en las literaturas de psicología y trabajo social: la sociedad española apoya la legalización. Este apoyo es sin embargo menor entre las mujeres, las personas extranjeras, las personas más conservadoras y los trabajadores menos cualificados. Como cabría esperar, los consumidores de prostitución son claramente favorables a la legalización

The LGBT movement has been successful in improving the legal and social standing of sexual minorities in Spain; this includes the recognition of same-sex marriages, joint adoption, and the right to change identification in public registers. The movement has also contributed to a wider acceptance of LGBT diversity at the societal level. LGBT mobilizations in Spain started in the 1970s, with the transition toward democracy. The first political generation of activists believed in gay liberation, supported revolutionary ideas, and defended street protesting. This did not prevent activists from seeking collaboration with the state, as urgent legal action was required to end the criminalization of homosexual relations. After a decade of demobilization, a new generation of activists revamped LGBT activism in Spain during the 1990s, again with a well-defined political agenda: reacting to the devastation caused by AIDS, and also to the changes taking place in the international stage, the new “proud” generation demanded not only individual rights, but also family rights. The legalization of same-sex marriage (and joint adoption) in 2005 was the outcome of a vibrant cycle of mobilization. Contrary to some expectations, the Spanish LGBT movement has not become the victim of its own success. By shifting its attention toward the goal of substantive equality and by reaching out to new communities, the movement remains influential and vigilant against threats posed by the consolidation of new forms of conservative countermobilization.

This article focuses on indie musicians in Spain. Drawing on thirty in depth interviews with musicians, the paper addresses authenticity as a source of conflicts within alternative scenes. Indie musicians belong to a specific space of creation, a 'subfield' according to the terminology suggested by Pierre Bourdieu. Indie music is a space with its own standing among popular music, one which has developed complex and shifting relations with the music industry. That is a space where artistic partnerships coexist with patterns of internal conflict. Our analysis points at a transformation in the priorities of many of these musicians. Insisting on a particular profile vis-a-vis other musicians in terms of reputation and authenticity has become a clear priority. These strategies of differentiation, which we address as expressions of subcultural capital, are built on a search for innovation, particularized knowledge and spaces. This article proposes a reading of musicians as relevant expressions of larger conflicts and value shifts about the meaning of independence in contemporary societies.

En este artículo analizamos los discursos de periodistas y columnistas conservadores, críticos con el movimiento 15M, que escribieron piezas en este sentido entre el 16 de mayo y el 30 de septiembre de 2011. Estas piezas fueron publicadas en tres periódicos diferentes: Abc, Libertad Digital y La razón. Defendemos que el esfuerzo de estos periodistas por denigrar al activismo ha de ser visto como una forma de represión de la protesta; la prensa, así, puede desarrollar mecanismos discursivos hostiles que se insertan en una estrategia más amplia de represión de la juventud. En esta estrategia, la prensa conservadora se alía con la policía y con partidos políticos también conservadores para ‘securitizar’ la protesta. El examen de la participación de la prensa española en la represión revela sorprendentes paralelismos con una visión del mundo que se creía ya muy superada: en particular, los periodistas y columnistas conservadores han resucitado la ‘psicología de las masas’, es decir, aquella popular teoría que resumía las ansiedades de la clase intelectual contra el activismo de la clase obrera.