Female Sexual Dissatisfaction, from Francoism to Feminism. Discourses, Subjectivities and Emotions

Abstract

This article examines discourses about female frigidity during the Franco regime and the transition to democracy in Spain, analysing shifting definitions of sexual pleasure. It considers changes in the norms that regulated erotic expression, but also pays attention to subjectivities and experiences. The article explores what self-proclaimed “experts” said, but also the reception of hegemonic narratives and the construction of feminine and feminist knowledge. Therefore, it explores women’s experiences and the production of subjectivities, mainly through the letters sent to magazine advice columns, to which women wrote asking for guidance about their sexual frustrations. Finally, the article analyses feminist publications on sexuality in the 1970s.