The new sexual woman and the domesticated macho. The liberal movement of sexual reform (1920-1936)

Abstract

During the 1920s and 1930s, an influential group of Spanish progressive liberals promoted a movement of sexual reform. Sexual reformers attempted to secularize gender ideals and to change the sexual habits of men and women. These modern moralists opposed the traditional and religious understanding of sexuality, and tried to replace the old discourses with secular and allegedly scientific concepts. The new doctrine, although reformist, never challenged male privileges. Despite its limitations, the new discourse on sexuality deeply transformed traditional concepts of female chastity and paternal responsibility. This article also evaluates the contradictory repercussions of this ideological evolution, for both men and women.