WOMEN AND BULLFIGHTING

This book investigates the popularity and success of contemporary women performers in bullfighting culture which has been framed by a discourse of traditionalist masculinity This examination of the changing situation of women in the bullfighting world is used to explore the ways in which gender is represented enacted and negotiated in contemporary Spain The bullfight in the 1990s is in an ambiguous position it is a traditional performance in a changing consumer society In order to survive it needs to adapt itself to a wider social context and in particular to international media coverage It is in this context that the current success of women performers is located However women performers are a contested phenomenon in the bullfighting world there is heated debate over their acceptability much of which focuses on the body Moreover the entry of women into the bullfight questions existing definitions of the sport s ritual structure and of gender relations in Spain Thoroughly researched and compelling to read Women and Bullfighting addresses these issues and argues that existing traditionalist approaches to gender bullfighting and ritual in Spain need to be revised in order to locate women bullfighters in the context of a richly varied culture w