History of the bullfight: Carrie B Douglas

 Today, I looked at a book by Carrie. B. Douglass on the "Modernity and Tradition" of bullfighting because in my plan I specified that i'd like to gain an insight into the origins and tradition of it. This book offers some information, mainly opinions: 

"For many Spaniards and Hispanics, bullfighting is a minor, unimportant nineteenth century survival, part of an arcane world view associated with General Franco and his supporters." (Douglas, 1997). From my studies in A Level Spanish, I know Franco was a fascist dictator in Spain from the years 1939-1975, and his dictatorship was a time of opression, cruelty and fear. To say that bullfighting is "associated" with General Franco fully emphasises the barbaric nature to it. Also, the Franco Regime was particularly oppressive towards women who were told to stay at home and raise children and essentially live to make their husbands happy and satisfied. Therefore, there is a sense of toxic masculinity in the sport due to this history, because clearly women would not have been a part of it. It is easy to picture the way it was associated with "honour", "valour", and "courage", which all add to this idea of a stereotypical masculine world. In this sense, bullfighting is a phallocentric sport. This makes me question whether it belongs in the modern world, which is what Douglas wants us to think about also. 

On top of this, it is stated that "The Bull is the totem of Spain, because it is identified with Spain and with Spaniards. The Iberian peninsula was described by Roman Georagrapher Starbo in the first century as having the shape of a bulls hide. This metaphor is constantly used to refer to Spain." (Douglas, 1997). When we look into the adjective "totem", the way bullfighting has become ingrained with the perceptions and the national image of Spain is clear. It is ingrained into our idea with the country, which affects our sense of the place as a whole, but the question is raised as to whether this is positive or in fact, in modern days, negative. However, the way that Douglas speaks of it would also insinuate it is renowned and apreciated. This exempliefies the contrasting views of people, as some do believe it is culture and tradition but others don't. 

Source Evaluation: 

This source was interesting because it was a first hand account of someone's experiences and theories surrounding the bullfight in Spain. However, because of the fact it was from only one persons viewpoint it is fair to say that the information on offer is fairly limite. Therefore, I want to complete more research on the history of the bullfight as this will allow me to compare at least two sources and the information they have to offer. Also, the book is relatively outdated, being written in 1997, so therefore I would like to find some more up to date information as I will be able to create a stronger argument and form a more solid opinion. 

Bulls, Bullfighting, and Spanish Identities - Carrie B. Douglass - Google Books

(Carrie.B.Douglas,1997, Bulls, Bullfighting and Spanish Identity, The University of Arizona Press, accessed 20.Oct)