Sexual norm and daily behaviors in the first ten years of the Franco regime: Courtship and sexuality

Abstract

Taking into account the political and social change brought by the Franco régime, this paper attempts to define the concept of «sexual norm» imparted by the producers of official discourse and to examine whether it influenced the sexual behaviour of individuals. The study concentrates on the first ten years of the régime and attempts to determine the types of sexual behaviour which were permitted by law and by the prevailing moral code. 1 shall first examine the reforms in discourse, law and institutions which promoted the public discussion of sexual matters which ocurred in the 1920s and culminated in the Second Republic. Although it is generally argued that the public discussion of sexual matters disappeared with the arrival of the Franco régime, in fact it continued to exist, albeit at a different level. There follows an analysis of the nature of official discourse in the 1940s which was traditionalist and defined the «normal couple» as the married couple with children. I shall then show how only by being engaged to be married could a couple enjoy a sexual relationship before marriage. There follows a comparison between the intimate practices permitted by official discourse and those which occurred in everyday life. The study emphasises the complexity of sexual practices in the early years of francoism and outlines the investigation which still remains to be done.