Marriage, gender and family in the Spanish Constitution: transcending the nuclear family

The evolution of the social and legal conception of the family in Spain questions the gender assumptions that sustain the modern nuclear family. Its constitutional background is made up of the principle of equality and non-discrimination, public power's duty to pursue equality through affirmative action measures, and the separation of the constitutional protection of family and marriage. Although Spanish legal actors appear to respect this constitutional framework, its potential to transform gender relations is not always fully assumed. This paper claims the importance of embracing this potential against the inertia of modern gendered assumptions.