The arguments of exclusion. Women and liberalism in contemporary Spain

Authors

  • Nerea Aresti Universidad del País Vasco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17811/hc.v0i13.339

Keywords:

Women, Political rights, Discourses, Gender, 19th and 20th Centuries, Legislation

Abstract

From the beginning of the 19th Century to the recognition of the right of women to vote in 1931, Spanish politicians used a large number of arguments to exclude women from full citizenship. This article analyzes the main arguments that were used in these debates: from the meaning of silence to the force of habit, from the appeal to the scientific theories based on prejudice, to the emotions deprived of reasons. I suggest that women’s suffrage should not be understood as the outcome of a lineal or necessary evolution from the values of liberalism and the defense of universal rights. I have paid special attention to how the aim of preserving the sexual order worked in the different political cultures, particularly in liberalism.

Enviado el / Submission Date: 11/04/2012

Aceptado el / Acceptance Date: 12/05/2012

Author Biography

Nerea Aresti, Universidad del País Vasco

Nerea Aresti es investigadora permanente de la Universidad del País Vasco. Especialista en historia de género en la edad contemporánea, ha trabajado sobre todo desde la perspectiva de la construcción de identidades. Entre sus libros destacan Médicos, donjuanes y mujeres modernas (2001) y Masculinidades de tela de juicio. Hombres y género en el primer tercio del siglo XX (2010).

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Issue

No. 13 (2012): Historia Constitucional N. 13 (2012)

Section

Women, Political Parties and Spanish Liberalism

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