Sex And Society In Early Twentieth Century Spain

Examines issues of sex and society in early twentieth-century Spain, using a specific case history, namely that of Hildegart Rodriguez (1914-1933) who came to be one of the central players in the Spanish chapter of the World League for Sexual Reform (WLSR) and made famous by her dramatic demise when murdered by her mother.

"This study provides a mapping of diversity of cultural importations made by Spain, and of the divers cultural imaginaries that were prominent through the early decades of the 20th century, both in relation to Europe, and to Spain's own interior. In all cases, net-working and informal contacts provided the conduits of exchange, and enlivened and personalized the nature of trafficking." "Three features make it original in its approach. It focuses on a broad range of institutions, including publishing houses and journals, as "centres of exchange", and looks at how they promoted and facilitated Spain's contact with Europe. Secondly it foregrounds the idea of "cultural imaginaries" as the driving force behind Spain's exchanges with Europe. Thirdly, it departs from a Franco/German-centred concept of Europe, paying particular attention to a Europe of the margins, in the form of England and Russia, two countries that held particular attractions for the Spanish mind. While being centred on Madrid for its case-studies, it also pays specific attention to issues of internal dissemination." --Book Jacket.

This book explores the popular and elite debates over the creation of a two-sex model of human bodies in eighteenth-century Spain.

Sex has no history, but sexual science does. Starting in the late nineteenth century, scholars and activists all over the world suddenly began to insist that understandings of sex be based on science. As Japanese and Indian sexologists influenced their German, British and American counterparts, and vice versa, sexuality, modernity, and imaginings of exotified “Others” became intimately linked. The first anthology to provide a worldwide perspective on the birth and development of the field, A Global History of Sexual Science contends that actors outside of Europe—in Asia, Latin America, and Africa—became important interlocutors in debates on prostitution, birth control or transvestitism. Ideas circulated through intellectual exchange, travel, and internationally produced and disseminated publications. Twenty scholars tackle specific issues, including the female orgasm and the criminalization of male homosexuality, to demonstrate how concepts and ideas introduced by sexual scientists gained currency throughout the modern world.

Explores the general concept of "Spanishness" as all things related to Spain, specifically as the multiple meanings of "Spanishness" and the different ways of being Spanish are depicted in 20th-21st century literary and cinematic fiction of Spain. This book also represents a call for a re-evaluation of what being Spanish means.

Palgrave Advances in the Modern History of Sexuality offers a comprehensive and accessible overview of historical debate in the history of European and American sexuality since c. 1750. Each chapter explores in detail one theme, such as race, pornography, marriage, science or religion, which historians have seen as essential to writing the history of sexuality. The book therefore not only offers a broad introduction to the state of the art, but also suggests new directions for research and debate.

"With an eye to the rather insular, particular development and definition of feminism in Spain, the author recognizes that the twentieth century has been a period of great change for peninsular women authors. Her study of the creative compromises wrought by severe oppression followed by relative liberation, all within the context of Spain's specific religious and regional influences, illustrates the unique positioning of these women writers as shown through their female characters. While this is reflection of the current scholarship in Women's Studies (examining the feminist resonance of the construction of female identity through texts written by women about women), it is one that is in its first stages of development in Spanish criticism and has been primarily author-specific. Ellen C. Mayock's research provides a more panoramic view, so to speak, facilitating an overview of progression between trends, as opposed to a singular progression of a single author within the context of era- a very positive move that allows for full comprehension."--BOOK JACKET.