Dr. Jesús Espinosa Gutiérrez, professor of History at the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic), presented his book “Hombres feministas y masculinidad en la España contemporánea” (Feminist Men and Masculinity in Contemporary Spain) at an event held on February 12 on the second floor of the General Assemblies of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia building in Bilbao.
The event began with a speech by the writer Ritxar Bacete, coordinator in Spain of the international organization Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, followed by Teresa Laespada, PhD in Sociology from the University of Deusto, currently the Deputy for Employment, Social Cohesion, and Equality of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. After a review by the deputy of the most important milestones of the action of the deputation and the public policies of equality aimed at men of her department, she made a presentation on the academic-professional career of UNEATLANTICO professor Jesús Espinosa and the most relevant aspects of the book “Hombres feministas y masculinidad en la España contemporánea.”
The author then outlined the general lines of the book, explained its main objectives, and reviewed the most important figures that appear in it.
The book is remarkable in that it fills a gap in the historical knowledge of the feminist movement in Spain by shedding light on the contributions of men and establishing a chronology of their participation. Espinosa conducted extensive research in Spain and abroad, using theoretical frameworks to contextualize the various contributions of male feminists from diverse political backgrounds. It was also published in 2022 in the Feminismos collection of the Cátedra publishing house, part of the Anaya Group.
Patricia Campelo, General Director of Equality of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia; Nerea Aresti Esteban, Professor of Contemporary History at the Universidad Europea del Atlántico; Miren Llona, professor at the same university; historian Pilar Pérez Fuentes, former president of the Spanish Association of Women’s History Research; attended the event and took part in the question-and-answer session. Other members of the Modern Experience Research Group, such as Francisco Jiménez Aguilar and María Nieves García Pintor, were also present. Local representatives of NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders and Doctors of the World also attended.
Impact of the book
The UNEATLANTICO professor has presented his book in different parts of the country, such as the Santander Athenaeum or Meta Librería of Madrid, always referring to the role played by feminist men since the second half of the nineteenth century and the first third of the twentieth century in Spain.