Nineteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This work explores the development of flamenco throughout the ebbs and flows of change for women in Spain from the mid-nineteenth century through modern times. Not only was flamenco an indicator of attitudes towards women throughout this period, but the genre was also utilized by cantaoras (female flamenco performers) to elevate their position in society and covertly challenge patriarchal oppression. Thus, in combination with an analysis of the other intersections of marginalized identities of flamenco performers, flamenco performers have promoted intersectional feminism and provided a voice amidst the silencing of women in Spain through art. During the early era of flamenco in the mid-nineteenth century, female performers were associated with licentiousness and served as a scapegoat for the perceived cultural decline as Spain lost its global domination; yet these cantaoras employed performance to mock and satirize the hypocritical notions of masculinity and femininity in Spanish society to change perceptions of gender. This pattern continues to be seen in the song lyrics of female flamenco performers as women lost fundamental rights under General Francisco Franco’s regime, paving the way for enfranchisement in the late 1900s. Now, feminine performers continue to leverage flamenco as a means of progress, by incorporating protest and more recently accepted identities into the art form, like expressing gender nonconformity and queerness. Thus, female flamenco performers historically have and continue to utilize song and dance to elevate the status of the marginalized in Spain, particularly women.