ABSTRACT
Zira Box examines the perspectives of the Spanish right on the issue of gender. The two principal political cultures of this right: traditional conservatism and that of fascism, must be situated within a wider European context. Whilst they could ally in certain circumstances, they maintained important differences, including their conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The notion of the fascist woman, through its demand for political mobilization, tended to undermine (often unintentionally) the traditional, domesticated framing of conservatives and Catholic culture. The fascist politization of public and private space had paradoxical effects, demonstrating how theory and practice might produce distinctive results. Catholic political culture also attached great importance to a moral conception of women. Masculinity also underwent re-framing, from that of virile warrior to family head. During the later stages of the regime, both cultures underwent substantial change, as did Spanish society, and pushed for greater roles for women in the workplace as well as some social rights.
