Antigone’s daughters : the biopolitics of women’s repression during Early Francoism

Abstract

Born out of a Civil War, generalized violence, and fear of a new belligerent conflict, Francoism was established with blood and fire (Cayuela 2014, 29; Chaves Nogales 2013). Regarding the previous Second Republic as an illness they had to eradicate, Francoist forces made women specific targets of their repressive machinery. In their view, they were in most need of disciplining to go back into traditional female roles after the specific progressive social position they had enjoyed during the Second Republic (Ruiz 2007). Yet, despite the violent imposition of the regime, it should be acknowledged that Francoism lasted almost 40 years and only ended because of the dictator’s death. This begs the question of what other, innovative repressive mechanisms were used to achieve that stability and acceptance among the female population (Abad, Heredia and Marías 2012, 7; Cayuela 2014, 16). Despite the relevance of women in Francoist discourse and within its repressive machinery, the regime’s gender ideology is generally analysed as an isolated or secondary element. This chapter therefore aims to stress the important role women’s repression played in the regime as a whole, especially during the so-called Early Francoism (Gómez Fernández 2012, 162). In this sense, ‘repression’ will be understood as mechanisms exerted by the established power to control and sanction social conducts, whether through physical or psychological violence (Egido 2011, 26).