Hola a todos. Sorry it's been so long--after two long weekends of traveling with little computer access and the fiasco of having my credit card eaten by an ATM-- I am back in action!
One thing I have been wanting to comment on is the different types of feminisms I am encountering in Spain. With such a limited experience of the culture here, with so many different notions of feminism around me, it's been anything but easy to draw conclusions. Below I've decided to discuss the various sources from which I've experienced these different feminisms.
My señora (host mom): She would definitely be the most influential resource I've had in learning about Spanish feminisms. Growing up during under the dictatorship of Franco, she was a first-hand witness to the lack of rights women (i.e. not having a bank account or leaving the country without permission from a husband/father) had until the late 1970s. But now, for herself and for her daughter, things are quite different; she is divorced (although she grew up in a era where it was prohibited), and is well-situated professional, who managed to have children despite a demanding career. A great model of a modern working woman. Of course, we must keep in mind that she had the privilege of obtaining a college education; thus, she could definitely represent a product of (for the US) second wave feminism. One of the most interesting parts of her story to me has been the way she talked about her parents, who, to her, created a "free" space within her home, within a restrictive structure. She told me story about how when she was in high school, she didn't pass a test to continue on with her studies, and a teacher/school administrator told her parents that it wasn't such a big deal, because she was a girl. This devastated her, but later she was comforted by her mother, who told her, "if you want to study, you are going to study." It was this exertion of agency within a extremely restrictive structure, by her mother, that powerfully shaped the rest of the course of her life!
One of my Spanish professors: One really interesting thing that this professor's class has brought to light for me is differences in abilities to contextualize literature, as it pertains to culture. That is, the students in my class have a much different repertoire of cultural references than I do, especially when it comes to legends and motifs from works of Spanish literature, that are from the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, that remain part of Spanish culture. For example, we read a play called "Don Juan Tenorio," which mainly could be familiar to Americans for the phrase 'Don Juan' which refers to, as we might call it, "a player." He's a guy that goes for tons of women, seeing them as conquests, and in the story he wins the heart of a woman, who was about to enter a convent, but ends up becoming fixated on "saving" this sinful man. We entered into a discussion about if this stereotypes are real or not, and the consensus of the class was yes. It went even further to question if there is a mini Don Juan in every man. Hmm. Now, this is definitely something I consider more harmful than useful in analyzing the human psyche. But, it brings to light the question, how do cultural references, like to this famous work, influence the way modern gender roles are played out? If this idea exists, how does it manifest itself in contemporary gendered behaviors? What kind of model does it give men? How does it perpetuate itself? What kind of American cultural stories do we have that could act in a similar way?
Another thing she said: "the two genders will never be equal, as they are different." What do we think about this? Is this cultural feminism? I think I agree with the statement, with one quick alteration: "the two genders will never be equal, as long as they are different." I think this really gets at a principle difference between second and third wave feminisms: the idea of advancing the woman and bringing her up to a level equal with the man, versus the idea of equalizing the all people and dissolving gender as a factor which defines someone. How prevalent are these ideas about the "inherent inequality" of genders here in Spain? (I know that one of my professors also mentioned the different academic strengths of girls and boys.) Are these differences defined in different ways? What do people see as the principle distinguishing factors?
Anti-abortion movement in Madrid: I would have been quite interested to see the movement first hand, but was away when it happened. This past weekend, there was an assembly of somewhere between 250,000-2,000,000 (the number depends on the source) people in the center of Madrid protesting the abortion policy, recently approved by the Ministry, which allows for abortions to minors.
An interesting thing to think about: the difference between a country with condom dispensers on city streets, an extremely liberal abortion policy, but a strong anti-abortion/religious movement.. and a country that practices abstinence only sex-ed, and has less liberal abortion policy, and also a strong anti-abortion movement. How do these things translate into the effects of every day lives?
(Here is the news article, in Spanish, of course)
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/10/17/espana/1255750564.html
The media: Here is an advertisement put in various Metro stations.
It reads: Bored of seeing adult shops that are only for men? Find out if you are an angel or a devil.
Some questions I have: what does this say about this public institution, a Metro station, for having an ad for an adult shop? Does this say anything about attitudes towards sexuality?
What does the woman on the ad represent? What about the slogan? Is is encouraging women to embrace their sexuality? As there is no man involved in the ad, is it allowing for a greater flexibility on what sex may be? As the woman is dressed in such suggestive clothing, is this embracing femininity? Objectifying it? Does this ad make a woman feel more encouraged to explore sexuality? By saying "are you an angel or a devil," is it limiting the enactment of sexuality to specific gendered roles?
Hasta pronto!
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