ABSTRACT
The redefinition of gender roles and of the concepts of masculinity and femininity started in the mid-nineteenth century in Europe was accelerated by the sociopolitical and economic circumstances derived from the Great War. In the early twentieth century, female masculinity was considered a pathology, a sign of bad adaptation and served as identification of those women who yearned to have access to power. This chapter focuses on the disparate treatment of homosexual men and women in Carmen de Burgos's novel Ellas y ellos o ellos y ellas and the characterization of the virile woman in Quiero vivir mi vida prove Burgos's attempt to distance herself from these models of women. Women's virilism is considered a social threat for the patriarchal society, since characteristics traditionally considered manly can be possessed by both sexes, which would eventually justify women's access to power.
