The rise of consumerism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries radically changed the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us. And, as it has throughout history, the social construct of “ideal” masculinity both reflects and responds to that lived reality, helping individuals adapt. Through a close study of Spanish film of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this book investigates hegemonic, or dominant, masculinity in the wake of dramatic consumer changes that occurred in Spain. It explores the ways in which masculine identity as represented in Spanish film positions itself in relation to desire and consumption, focusing especially on representations of hegemonic masculinity from the almost 40 year dictatorship of General Francisco Franco through the transition to democracy and into the early 1990s. Using psychoanalytic theory as employed primarily by Todd McGowan and Slavoj Žižek, this book analyzes cinematic representations of hegemonic masculine models, along with those portrayed as less favorable, to understand how political, social and economic changes in Spain in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries affect the process of masculine identity formation. In the shift from a “society of prohibition” to a “society of commanded enjoyment,” hegemonic masculinity as represented in Spanish film changes dramatically, initially organizing itself around prohibition and self-renunciation in the early Franco dictatorship and later, with neoliberal reforms and mass media promotion of consumerist values starting in the 1950s, reorienting itself around desire and enjoyment (embodied, for example, in the sexually promiscuous, fashionable young man of the 1970s). Personal pleasure and the satisfaction of one’s desires replace submission, obedience and self-abnegation—leading to a reconstruction of masculine identities in a social context that appears increasingly fragmented, plural and individualistic. The primary innovation of this text involves the repositioning of consumerism as a fundamental force in the formation of Spanish masculinity and showing how widely disseminated masculine models serve to accommodate political, social and economic demands.

Performing Parenthood reveals different enactments of motherhood and fatherhood in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Spain, showing how the family has adapted, or at times failed to do so, within the context of Spain’s changing socioeconomic reality. Through an examination of examples of non-normative parenthood in contemporary Spanish literature and film – including gay literary father figures, subversive physical touch between mother and child, fathers who cross-dress, lesbian maternal community building, non-biological parenting, and disabled bodies – the book argues that current conceptualizations of parenthood should be amplified to reflect the various existing identities and performances of motherhoods and fatherhoods. Connecting canonical works to recent works, the book establishes a unique dialogue that will expand the conversation about the Spanish family beyond the traditional view, bringing visibility to alternative family models. It argues that parental identities exist on a spectrum, enabling many parental figures to disregard heteronormative standards imposed upon the role and allowing them to experience parenthood in meaningful ways. Bringing visibility to literary and cinematic examples of alternative Spanish families, Performing Parenthood provides a glimpse into an evolving society influenced by national and global changes.

The Routledge International Handbook of Masculinity Studies provides a contemporary critical and scholarly overview of theorizing and research on masculinities as well as emerging ideas and areas of study that are likely to shape research and understanding of gender and men in the future. The forty-eight chapters of the handbook take an interdisciplinary approach to a range of topics on men and masculinities related to identity, sex, sexuality, culture, aesthetics, technology and pressing social issues. The handbook’s transnational lens acknowledges both the localities and global character of masculinity. A clear message in the book is the need for intersectional theorizing in dialogue with feminist, queer and sexuality studies in making sense of men and masculinities. Written in a clear and direct style, the handbook will appeal to students, teachers and researchers in the social sciences and humanities, as well as professionals, practitioners and activists.

In a country where the richness of diverse cultures is often overshadowed by historical conflicts, this book delves into the complex relationship between the so-called “center” and “periphery” within Spain’s borders. Traditionally, the center has symbolized Castilian identity, while the periphery encompassed other regional cultures. But in today’s rapidly evolving social landscape, what do these terms really mean? This groundbreaking work reexamines the “center vs. periphery” paradigm through the lens of contemporary Spanish literature, cinema, and media. It poses critical questions about the existence and nature of a unified Spanish identity and investigates whether the tension between these cultural spheres persists. The book also challenges readers to consider which aspects—linguistic, gender, or other forms of identity—play the most significant role in this dynamic. Furthermore, it scrutinizes whether marginalized groups such as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and differently-abled communities are relegated to the periphery in modern Spain. With no other published work focusing on these issues in 21st-century Spain, this book offers a fresh and nuanced perspective on cultural tensions that have shaped and continue to shape the nation. Its innovative approach makes it an indispensable reference for researchers and students in gender and women’s studies, Queer studies, media studies, Spanish literature, and language, as well as those exploring nationalism, separatism, race, and Blackness.

Costume design is a crucial, but frequently overlooked, aspect of film that fosters an appreciation of the diverse ways in which film and fashion enrich each other. These influential industries offer representations of ideas, values, and beliefs that shape and construct cultural identities. In Fashioning Spanish Cinema, Jorge Pérez analyses the use of clothing and fashion as costumes within Spanish cinema, paying particular attention to the significance of those costumes in relation to the visual styles and the narratives of the films. The author examines the links between costume analysis and other fields and theoretical frameworks such as fashion studies, the history of dress, celebrity studies, and gender and feminist studies. Fashioning Spanish Cinema looks at instances in which costumes are essential to shaping the public image of stars, such as Conchita Montenegro, Sara Montiel, Victoria Abril, and Penélope Cruz. Focusing on examples in which costumes have discursive autonomy, it explores how costumes engage with broader issues of identity and, relatedly, how costumes impact everyday practices and fashion trends beyond cinema. Drawing on case studies from multiple periods, films by contemporary directors and genres, and red-carpet events such as the Oscars and Goya Awards, Fashioning Spanish Cinema contributes a pivotal Spanish perspective to expanding interdisciplinary work on the intersections between film and fashion.

Almudena Grandes is one of Spain ́s foremost women ́s writers, having sold over 1.1 million copies of her episodios de una guerra interminable, her six-volume series that ranges from the Spanish Civil War to the democratic period; the myriad prizes awarded to her, 18 in total, confirm her pre-eminence. This book situates Grandes ́s novels within gendered, philosophical, and mnemonic theoretical concepts that illuminate hidden dimensions of her much-studied work. Lorraine Ryan considers and expands on existing critical work on Grandes ́s oeuvre, proposing new avenues of interpretation and understanding. She seeks to debunk the arguments of those who portray Grandes as the proponent of a sectarian, eminently biased Republican memory by analysing the wide variety of gender and perpetrator memories that proliferate in her work. The intersection of perpetrator memory with masculinity, ecocriticism, medical ethics and the child’s perspectives confirms Grandes’ nuanced engagement with Spanish memory culture. Departing from a philosophical basis, Ryan reconfigures the Republican victim in the novels as a vulnerable subject who attempts to flourish, thus refuting the current critical opinion of the victim as overly-empowered. The new perspectives produced in this monograph do not aim to suggest that Grandes is an advocate of perpetrator memory; rather, it suggests that Grandes is committed to a more pluralistic idea of memory culture, whereby her novels generate understanding of multiple victim, perpetrator and gender memories, an analysis that produces new and meaningful engagements with these novels. Thus, Ryan contends that Grandes ́s historical novels are infinitely more complex and nuanced than heretofore conceived.

Under Spain's twentieth-century dictators, state agents not only censored, eradicated, and attempted to prevent the circulation of obscenity, but also contradictorily engaged in curation and even restoration initiatives that have bequeathed us an extensive queer pornographic archive. Javier Fernández-Galeano takes us inside the archive to demonstrate how the incongruities of the Primo de Rivera (1923–1930) and Franco (1939–1975) regimes were manifested in the regulation of erotic material cultures. The dictators' authorities destroyed "straight" pornographies while often curating and preserving "queer" erotica. While reproductions of the masterpieces of Tintoretto, Michelangelo and Botticelli were incinerated to avoid their "deviant" effects, judicial authorities could repeatedly attend the screening of an amateur film showing a gay threesome without acknowledging the irony: their concern was not that obscene material was consumed, but rather by whom. Focusing on amateur pornographers and their confiscated and censored erotica, this book adds a rich complexity to both the history and theory of pornography, demonstrating that surveillance depends entirely on documenting intimacy and preserving transgression. This book sheds new light on the production, consumption, and circulation of pornography and erotica in Spain over the course of the twentieth century, drawing connections between intimate queer desires, preservation, and erasure.

How does coding change the way we think about architecture? This question opens up an important research perspective. In this book, Miro Roman and his AI Alice_ch3n81 develop a playful scenario in which they propose coding as the new literacy of information. They convey knowledge in the form of a project model that links the fields of architecture and information through two interwoven narrative strands in an “infinite flow” of real books. Focusing on the intersection of information technology and architectural formulation, the authors create an evolving intellectual reflection on digital architecture and computer science.

16 Identifying the male: Language, humor, and gender performance in Companyia T de Teatre's Homes! -- Index

An original new study of Spanish horror film.