City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 5-2018 Feminism Under and After Franco: Success and Failure in the Democratic Transition Kathryn L. Mahaney The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2713 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] FEMINISM UNDER AND AFTER FRANCO: SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN THE DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION by KATHRYN L. MAHANEY A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2018 ii © 2018 KATHRYN L. MAHANEY All Rights Reserved iii Feminism Under and After Franco: Success and Failure in the Democratic Transition by Kathryn L. Mahaney This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date Dagmar Herzog Chair of Examining Committee Date Helena Rosenblatt Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Helena Rosenblatt Mary Gibson THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv ABSTRACT Feminism Under and After Franco: Success and Failure in the Democratic Transition by Kathryn L. Mahaney Advisor: Dagmar Herzog This dissertation, through an examination of late-20th century Spanish feminism, analyzes how Spaniards’ anxieties about their nation’s post-Franco identity have influenced domestic debates about women’s rights and, eventually, gender equality policy. In this way debates about women’s rights have been central to Spaniards’ post-Franco political and cultural identity. I have also argued for a broader understanding of both the Sección Femenina and of Spanish feminism that places each in context of developments in Western European, and not just Spanish, culture and politics. The dissertation undertakes this argument over four chapters. Chapter One argues that unlike other elements within the Franco regime and despite outsiders’ perceptions of the organization, the Sección Femenina was not an unusually repressive outlier either within its international networks or among its peers. Rather, in terms of women’s civic participation and economic rights, which were the group’s major areas of focus, the policies that the Sección Femenina pushed aligned with those of organizations like the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), as well as of prominent women’s groups in other European and Western nations. Chapter Two argues that, despite the Spanish government’s abolition of repressive Franco-era legislation that, for instance, criminalized female (but not male) adultery; v its passage of feminist-friendly legislation; international sympathy for the plight of Spanish women; and leftist politicians self-identifying as feminist allies, the feminist movement itself had little political leverage in transition-era Spain. Chapter Three describes the shift from an international feminism driven by grassroots activists to an international feminism instead dominated by government-affiliated feminist organizations. Particularly in Spain, the creation of a federal women’s bureau, the Instituto de la Mujer, disrupted long-established feminist methods of protest and caused tension between grassroots campaigners and women in the Instituto. Lastly, Chapter Four examines domestic violence legislation as the first instance in which direct feminist influence, or at least direct institutional feminist influence, dramatically shaped a major piece of Spanish legislation. This was significant both for its impact on the rupture between feminist ideological camps as well as for its grounding in international tenets that feminists had long struggle to leverage for domestic change. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Finishing this dissertation, a task that has seemed, many, many times, to be insurmountable, is the culmination of a decade-long graduate school career and is something that has only happened because of those who have helped me along the way. I would especially like to thank my advisor Dagmar Herzog, who has always believed in me, who has always been honest with me, and who has, perhaps most importantly, always been kind. Over the years she has helped shepherd me through coursework and exams as well as through the research and drafting process. Her keen critical analysis of my drafts has helped me produce a dissertation that is worlds better than what I could have produced on my own, and her incredible mentorship made it possible for me to keep finding paths forward when I felt hopeless and overwhelmed. Similarly, I am indebted to Helena Rosenblatt for pushing me to further refine what I thought was my final dissertation draft, at a time when I was reluctant to give the work more attention. She did this while also acknowledging that critique can be painful and while gently encouraging me. And she was right – my now final draft is much improved as a result of her suggested clarifications and additions. Lastly, Mary Gibson read this work under an tight time limit so that I could defend the dissertation and have a chance to graduate with the class of 2018, something that made the logistics of my temporarily complicated life much smoother. My whole family is grateful for her generosity. Beyond my committee, I must also thank some scholars in my field. Temma Kaplan has been an invaluable resource for helping ground me in the scholarship of Spanish history, which she did when she served on my orals committee; for broadening my research, which she did by gifting me with an extensive, decades-in-the-making personal collection of newspaper clippings and feminist memorabilia; and for reading and correcting early drafts of several chapters. Julia vii Hudson-Richards also read early drafts and offered suggestions for re-framing and strengthening my argument, and in addition pointed me to some sources I may not have otherwise found. Of course, I am also grateful for the assistance of several archivists and researchers who helped me uncover my archival documents. I would like to thank the archivists at the United Nations Archives in New York City as well as the National Libraries of Catalonia and of Spain for their guidance as I conducted my research. Likewise, I would like to thank my colleague Suzanne Dunai, who tracked down some sources for me during her Fulbright year in Madrid when I’m sure she could have found a better use for her time. Javier Tébar at the Fundació Cipriano García Arxiu Històric de CCOO de Catalunya pulled every feminist and tangentially- feminist record he could think of for me when he heard the scope of my project, and these sources added depth to my analysis. And I owe much to the women of Ca la Dona and its Centre de Documentació in Barcelona who went far beyond their job descriptions while helping me navigate their archives. Mercè Otero Vidal and Mireia Bofill in particular provided invaluable commentary on sources I was studying, gave me books for my personal library, brought memorabilia from their homes to show me, and rearranged their personal schedules to ensure that I had sufficient time in the archives. I would be remiss if I neglected to acknowledge that none of this would have been possible without my family and friends. The community I’ve found in the Thistle Class Association, especially Mike McBride, Kimberly Pasley, Larry Liggett, Alex Liggett, Sam Brauer, Craig Smith, Alycia Sanders, and Meg Booth, has provided me a world beyond academia while consistently reminding me that other things in my life are also of immense value. Jess Davidson and fellow scholars in the ASPHS, thank you for your friendship, your collegiality, and for making me feel at home in the field of Spanish history. Arnout van der Meer, Joke van viii Oers, Annie DeVries, Elizabeth Churchich – I am 1000% happy to have met you along the way, and am 1000% grateful for your friendship. My mother and father, Jack and Colleen Mahaney, and sister and brother-in-law, Kristin Mahaney and Matt Gaines, have all somehow tolerated me throughout this process, even on those days when I was too busy reading, writing, or simply agonizing over the project to pick up the phone or to return their texts. It’s a miracle that I remain in their good graces, and I am so lucky to have a family who believes in me unconditionally. Finally, I have to thank my husband, Alex Gomez-del-Moral, who has stood with me since the beginning of our respective graduate careers. There is so much I could say, but I’ll just leave it at this: I feel blessed to have found a partner who is also a colleague, and who has been willing to switch hats as needed – sometimes providing me with ego-stroking and validation that I almost certainly didn’t deserve, other times being as brutally critical as any anonymous reviewer. I needed both. I am also grateful for a partner willing to go all-in, without prompting, on co-parenting and sharing the drudgery of household management; completing a dissertation while raising a small child and, as I neared the finish line, gestating another, would have been impossible without Alex’s commitment to ensuring that he pulled his weight and often much of mine as well. This dissertation is dedicated to the lights of my life, Cesc and Joan, but, most of all to Alex,