Boletín 117 - 8M, women under Francoism and the only yes means yes law.
Boletín 117 - 8M, women under Francoism and the only yes means yes law.
+ tier 2/3 vocabulary, grammar search and A Level structures.
The 8M feminist strike of 2018 marked a pivotal moment when women across Spain rallied for gender equality, a call still echoing today. But beneath this call to action lies a deeper issue — the entrenched roots of sexism that continue to shape Spanish society.
Edition 117 of Boletín.
Tier 2 & 3 vocabulary, grammar search for students and A Level grammar.
Downloads/UniScoops
👋Welcome to Boletín, an English-language newsletter covering historical, cultural & topical stories related to the A Level Spanish course. These newsletters accompany a student worksheet which can be freely downloaded here.
📌Edition 117.
So, if it wasn’t already obvious, you should know that I love a pancarta (placard/banner). I love the slogans, the hand lettering and the opinions. It seems I’m not the only one…
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
This week, in an effort to contextualise an upcoming issue dealing with Rubiales, I want to focus on the fight for gender equality with the 8M movement (more pancartas!), the only yes means yes law and what some have called the deep-rooted nature of sexism in Spain.
This has the benefit of addressing three AQA A Level Spanish sub-themes:
Machismo y feminismo.
La efectividad de las manifestaciones y las huelgas.
Ejemplos de protestas sociales.
and broadly addresses a few WJEC themes as well:
Marginalisation.
Discrimination and diversity.
Traditional and modern values.
The 8M feminist strike of 2018 marked a pivotal moment when women across Spain rallied for gender equality, a call still echoing today. Here’s just a few of the slogans which you could read by those wielding placards.
Somos el grito de las que ya no tienen voz.
De camino a casa quiero ser libre, no valiente.
Nos quitaron tanto que terminaron quitándonos el miedo.
(R)evolucionando el mundo.
Es mi cuerpo, yo decido.
'No es no', si quieres más flexibilidad, apúntate a Yoga.
Sin feminismo en las aulas, no hay educación.
Estoy hasta el culo de tanto machirulo (this one is great!).
Here are 100 more.
Beneath this call to action lies a deeper issue — the entrenched roots of sexism that continue to shape Spanish society. The Ley de Garantía Integral de Libertad Sexual, a recent effort to combat sexual violence was a step in the right direction and has snowballed recently as Spain comes to terms with its very own MeToo movement sparked by Luis Rubiales (former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation) kissing Jenni Hermoso (captain of the women’s national team) without consent.
To understand the present, we must first reflect on the past. During the Franco era (1939-1975), Spanish women faced stark limitations on their roles in society. The regime emphasized traditional gender roles, relegating women primarily to domestic spheres. Opportunities for education and employment were limited, and women had little legal autonomy.
This is a great time to revisit la guía de la buena esposa which I’m dubious as to whether was actually published (apparently in 1953) or not. It’s a manual consisting of 11 rules which a woman should have adhered to in order to please her husband and run a household. As well as shedding light on societal attitudes towards women, used in class it can trigger some very good discussions and exemplifies well the imperative mood.
With the transition to democracy after Franco's death in 1975, Spain witnessed a seismic shift. The post-1975 period saw remarkable progress in women's rights, with significant legal and societal changes. Women gained access to education and employment, and their role in politics and public life expanded. Notably, the 1978 Spanish Constitution enshrined gender equality as a fundamental principle.
Despite these advancements, deeply ingrained sexism persisted. Discrimination, unequal pay, and gender-based violence remained pervasive issues. This brings us back to the 8M feminist strike and the Ley de Garantía Integral de Libertad Sexual, illustrating the ongoing struggle for true gender equality in Spain.
✒️The three texts.
8M.1
Cientos de miles de mujeres, acompañadas por miles de hombres, han inundado las calles de toda España como colofón a un Día Internacional de la Mujer histórico: la primera huelga general feminista realizada en España para exigir igualdad real. Mujeres de todas las edades, profesiones y razas han protagonizado un 8M sin precedentes por su impacto social y también económico. Al término de la manifestación, bajo una fina lluvia, representantes de la Comisión 8M leyeron un manifiesto contra la violencia machista y la discriminación laboral de la mujer, en el que denunciaban la brecha salarial.
La mujer bajo el franquismo.
Durante la dictadura de Franco (1939-1975), la situación de las mujeres experimentó importantes limitaciones y restricciones. El régimen franquista promovió un modelo de sociedad tradicional y conservadora en el que se esperaba que las mujeres desempeñaran roles tradicionales de esposas y madres. Se fomentó la sumisión de las mujeres a los hombres y se limitaron sus derechos y libertades. Las mujeres enfrentaron restricciones en su acceso a la educación y al empleo. El divorcio fue ilegal y se promulgó una legislación que otorgaba al marido un control casi absoluto sobre la vida de su esposa.
Solo sí es sí2
Se llama Ley de Garantía Integral de Libertad Sexual, aunque es más conocida como Ley de Libertad Sexual y, sobre todo, como ley de “solo sí es sí”. “Solo sí es sí” hace referencia al más importante y también el más polémico de los postulados de esta ley: el consentimiento antes de cualquier interacción sexual. Así, toda interacción sexual sin el consentimiento de la otra persona será una agresión y se castigará con una pena de prisión de 1 a 4 años. El acoso callejero pasará a ser penado como delito leve y la justicia podrá perseguirlo a petición de la persona que lo sufra, también se perseguirá la violencia sexual digital.
🗝️Tier 2/3 vocabulary.
Inundar (vb) - to flood.
El colofón (nms) - climax.
La huelga (nfs) - strike.
Exigir (vb) - to demand.
La brecha salarial - the pay gap.
Promover (vb) - to foster or promote.
Fomentar (vb) - to encourage.
Ortorgar (vb) - to bestow, grant, award or give.
Desempeñar (vb) - to carry out/undertake.
El consentimiento (nms) - consent.
🔍Grammar items to look out for.
Adjectives formed from past participles.
The present perfect.
Adjectives.
The preterite tense.
The future simple tense.
Direct object pronouns
🧠A Level structures.
Given the affirmative imperative commands present in la guía de la buena esposa this week’s A Level structure is the imperative mood. For a look at common imperative commands associated with smart speakers and how to form affirmative commands, including common irregulars, scroll down for a freebie page from my GCSE Spanish grammar workbook.
I introduced the 100-page grammar workbook last week here and am delighted to see so many of you already using it! I have loved giving them out to my students this last week. One thing I haven’t spoken so much about is the speaking/writing toolkit towards the end of the workbook. A little bit of item level data analysis this week revealed the extraordinary work our GCSE students produced in their unit 4 written papers and on viewing their scripts (WJEC have made them all available for free online this year 🤩) I’ve been delighted to see nearly all of them remembering to plan using the writing toolkit to ensure usage of A*/level 9 structures and idiomatic language. With permission I’ll share more at a later date!
Anyway, I was blown away last issue by the speed in which the ten reduced copies were snapped up. Looking at the post stats I can see lots of people missed out. So…
There are another ten more copies going for £10 with the link directly below.
🗞️PDF download of the student edition.
UniScoops
Lastly, I wanted to share a useful site for A Level students which is UniScoops. UniScoops is a free newsletter that makes academia fun, digestible, and accessible and best of all it’s written by students. Essentially, if you’re in year 12 or 13 you can glimpse behind the curtain of degree level education with all the benefits that might bring (increased subject knowledge, something to add to your personal statement or just reading/learning for leisure). Although not languages specific there will be, I’m reliably informed, a few Spanish related posts in the future.
The Boletín student worksheet can be download, as ever, over on TES.
Ollie
❤️
https://www.publico.es/sociedad/manifestacion-8m-madrid-8-m-feminismo-historia.html
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-62694510