The Franco regime also used censorship to oppress women

“The victorious Franco regime of the 40s is not the same as that of the 50s or 60s. Also, the people who worked as censors in the 40s were not the same as those twenty years later, so, as in any historical period, a lot has happened in these 40 years. There have been societal changes, changes in regulations, and changes in the criteria for the officers working there,” explains Sara Martín Gutiérrez.

“When one of the regime’s families became more powerful, like a Catholic or a Phalange, the censorship changed and leaned in that direction, which made it more moral or more political,” he says. The change in censorship in the 1960s.”The so-called Fraga Law removed censorship from being antecedent to being a posteriori.. From then on, publishers were not required to submit their work for review by a censor, but they could even go to jail if they published something that was later found to be infringing. Therefore, the most used strategy during the Franco regime was self-censorship.”

Although these restrictions are contained in Francoist regulations, the fact that censorship is a subjective matter ultimately dependent on the criteria, capacity or goodwill of the censor has always been There were jobs that were approved without explaining why very well.. For example, books from the CIS publishing house that talk about the history of the labor movement or none, a title that censors found bland and irrelevant because it was written largely by a woman, by Carmen Laforet. “Seeing women as intellectually inferior may be favorable in these situations. The censors did not see women as thinking beings with critical positions on Spanish social and political reality, much less so if we are talking about a 22-year-old girl, as was the case with Carmen Laforet,” she said. remembers De Lima Grecco.

NATIVE AND EXCLUDED Domesticated and excluded

According to the French sociologist Pierre Bordieu, a social group only exists to the extent that it is recognized and revealed within a historical or literary tradition. Consequently, identifying texts that are considered “classical” within a community means excluding others that do not fit into that cultural canon. In the case of Francoism, the canon was highly patriarchal, so the remaining books were those written by women, a group in which an organization led by women affiliated with the regime exercised enormous control. : Phalange Women’s Division.

“In Spain, the 1930s was, from a political point of view, a particular moment of freedom for women who obtained the right to vote and joined institutions. However, the women’s branch sought to discipline women. socially accepted roles for men and womenIn this sense, Sara Martín Gutiérrez, who does not hide the contradiction that the institution itself assumes, said, “The leaders of the Women’s Branch were single, they traveled without anyone’s permission because they were approved by the position given by the organization. they spoke at rallies, which gave them a political role that was more subordinate to men at the time. But what they propagated at these rallies was the model of housekeeping, caring for children and women as a bulwark or flag that the regime should pass on to its descendants.

In any case, even when they were part of the Women’s Arm, women held an equal position with men, only in a few cases, as this proves, they are entitled to be part of the censorship system. “We couldn’t find women with a permanent job” readers, the term used by the government to designate censors. There were women who did special studies analyzing children’s books only in some cases”, explains Gabriela de Lima Grecco, who gave examples of these collaborators the women of the Spanish Catholic Movement, their profiles, biographies, economic status and social position. Let’s not forget that they were also in line with the values ​​of the regime.

dishonest profession

The inequality and oppression experienced by women during the Franco regime marked the literary careers of those who wanted to devote themselves to writing professionally. Many people who are considered an activity inappropriate for their gender, use aliases to protect their identity and not break up their family with literary pursuits. In addition, these creators were excluded from literary meetings, awards and cultural institutions due to their women’s status, and in most cases they had to change what they wanted to tell in terms of literature in order to publish their works. genre and content.

“Many women prefer write your books with male characters instead of feminine, because it gave this work more seriousness. A work written by a woman and written with female characters has more commercial possibilities, as well as the presence of male characters, as in Eulalia’s work, which facilitated the approval of censorship. galvarriato, five tonsDe Lima Grecco also pointed out that there were certain genres that were easier to approve by censors, regardless of whether the work was written by a man or a woman. it was more difficult to identify any compromised nuances. On the other hand, poetry examining other systems of censorship was a genre used for occult literature as it was easier to circulate due to its shorter form.

Historical memory is one of the outstanding issues of Spanish democracy. More than 40 years later, institutions have not only repaired victims or prosecuted executioners, but also Preventing attempts such as opening graves or the justification of professionals or creators who were retaliated against during the Franco regime and who refused to give their names to the streets, libraries or public institutions. Hairy women step on it recognition and visibility study From these creators to try to reclaim everything lost during the Franco regime.

“It is not possible to know the entire cultural heritage lost by censorship. Most of the works still exist. censored in historical archives. The General Archive of the Administration of Alcalá de Henares probably contains all the works that fell into the hands of the censors and were approved or not approved for publication. It is the task of historians to save this censored and therefore unknown heritage”, concludes Gabriela de Lima Grecco.