Abstract
Gender and Violence in Spanish Culture: From Vulnerability to Accountability – the third volume of the new series on Violence Studies published by Peter Lang – is a timely and much-needed work on a topic that continues to be relevant and urgent. It is edited by María José Gámez Fuentes and Rebeca Maseda García, leading scholars in the field of Gender Studies, who have published broadly on the subjects of gender-based violence, trauma, and gender equality. And it is endorsed enthusiastically by two prominent figures in the discipline: Chris Perriam, member of the editorial board of some of the most important journals in Hispanic Studies; and Athena Athanasiou, co-author with Judith Butler of the book Dispossession: The Performative in the Political. By interweaving, in a kaleidoscopic lens, an array of views from diverse backgrounds (Spain, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States) and disciplines (Sociology, Communications, Gender Study, and Hispanic Studies, among others), this study offers a compelling new insight into gender-based violence. It also allows a reconsideration of both the theoretical premises of much previous specialist literature in the field and the current cultural practices that, by falling into the dangers of voyeurism, aestheticization, and even trivialization, contribute to the current problem.
Gender and Violence in Spanish Culture is divided into 12 rigorously researched case studies, organized in three parts, that analyse violence from complementary angles: Theory and Politics, Activism and Associations, and Cultural Production. The rationale behind the choice of these three perspectives is that ‘politics helps us reconceptualize established frames of recognition; [. . .] activism intervenes in the public sphere by working with and through the hegemonic matrix, [. . .] and culture constitutes the arena for legitimizing or subverting contemporary imaginaries’ (p. 9). The first part of the volume addresses the so-called ‘Spanish miracle’ that culminated with the Gender-Based Violence Act passed in 2004. After Francisco Franco’s death, Spain quickly adopted an exemplary model both in the construction of a new legal framework, where gender violence ‘must be approached as a matter of State’ (p. 37), and in the creation of an awareness of the media’s enormous responsibility to ‘bear ethical witnessing to the violence inflicted upon women’ (p. 54). The case of Ana Orantes, killed by her ex-husband after she denounced him on TV, was the turning point.
The first part of the volume gives visibility to groups excluded from the State’s protective measures (sex workers and individuals with non-normative sexuality, among others) because ‘their actions, attitudes and assessments do not fit into the pattern of woman-victim’ (p.61). The second part of the volume offers an overview of the theories and practices in a broad array of initiatives. From grassroot movements to institutionalized associations, from neighbourhood activism to academic organizations, from street protests to online activism, from techno performances to the recuperation of historical memory, all these empowering efforts speak volumes against the notion that women are passive in the context of violence. The third part of the book tackles the role and responsibility of culture in the ‘process of ethical witnessing (the ethics of looking)’ (p. 7). It addresses novels such as Dulce Chacón’s La voz dormida (The Sleeping Voice, 2002) and Almudena Grandes’s Inés y la alegría (Inés and Joy, 2010), and films such as Pasos (Steps, directed by Federico Luppi in 2005), Ella(s) (directed by David Baute in 2010), and Carmina o revienta (Carmina or Blow Up) and its sequel Carmina y amén (Carmina and Amen, directed by Paco León in 2012 and 2014). In this sense, it considers the mythological imaginary that has normalized violence against women since the origins of Western culture (e.g. the rape of Europa, Persephone, Proserpina, Polyxena, and the Sabines).
The volume is bookended by two first-rate pieces, co-authored by the editors, which provide the theoretical framework for the collection. Combined, these two contributions (the introduction ‘The Configuration of Gender Violence: A Matrix to Be Reloaded’ and the final chapter ‘No More Victims: Changing the Script’) constitute perhaps the most lucid and intelligent work on the subject of gender-based violence to date: an incisive and engaging two-part essay that delves into the causes of violence, shuns any commonplace on the subject, and offers a groundbreaking vision for the future. In a nutshell, Gámez Fuentes and Maseda García’s key points are, first, that gender-based violence cannot be subsumed into singular interpersonal problems or isolated incidents caused by specific individual circumstances. Instead, they must be analysed as an endemic issue for which the (hetero)patriarchal system must be made accountable. Second, in order to inspire agency and resistance, the hegemonic discourse of victimhood must be supplanted by political confrontation. Since normative approaches and cultural imaginaries that position women as victims reinforce rather than annihilate violence, as a rhetorical strategy the concept of survival should displace – if not completely replace – that of victimization. Moreover, this study departs from the widespread assumptions underpinning mainstream arguments that cisgender heterosexual women are the sole targets of gender-based violence. LGTBIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and questioning) individuals are equally vulnerable. Finally, in using Spain as their case study, Gámez Fuentes and Maseda García show that, despite an advanced legislative model, progressive gender-related policies, and exemplary grassroot women’s movements, gender-based violence continues to be a pervasive phenomenon in Spain and worldwide. More socio-political and epistemological changes are necessary for its eradication.
Gender and Violence in Spanish Culture is a remarkable work for at least two reasons. The unique value of this volume lies in its ability to promote dialogue among theorists, activists, and practitioners. The wide spectrum of topics provides a thorough and, at the same time, nuanced overview (the authors talk about the ‘chiaroscuro’) of the state of the question and clarifies and amplifies perspectives on the issue. Spain has either failed to receive proper theoretical consideration or has been omitted altogether from contemporary theoretical debates. Not only does this volume demonstrate how Spain is a particularly valuable case study, but it also succeeds in producing compelling theory from the margins, assisting Spain’s struggle for legitimacy in relation to hegemonic epistemological systems. Gender and Violence in Spanish Culture: From Vulnerability to Accountability earns its authors a place among the key thinkers on gender-based violence worldwide. The volume will undoubtedly have a profound impact both on Violence Studies and, more broadly, on Gender and Sexualities Studies.