Milicianas with Jessica McIvor

Overview

On this episode of our Spanish Civil War Interview Series I was joined by Jess McIvor, a PhD researcher to discuss the portrayal of women fighters during the Spanish Civil War. One of the really interesting pieces of the story of the Civil War is how it interacted with the views of the different groups around what they felt Spanish society was and should be. The presence of women within the militia units early in the war gave this ideological conflict a greater urgency and focus. Jess also mentions several excellent authors throughout the interview, which you can find linked to on the website over at historyofthesecondworldwar.com/interviews.

Listen

Further Reading

• Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Women’s Violence in Global Politics, Laura Sjoberg and Caron Gentry
• Defying Male Civilization: Women in the Spanish Civil War, Mary Nash
• Testimonios de mujeres en las cárceles franquistas, Tomasa Cuevas, 2005
• Gina Herrmann (2003) Voices of the vanquished: Leftist women and the Spanish Civil War, Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, 4:1, 11-29, DOI: 10.1080/1463620032000058659
• Memories of Resistance Women’s Voices from the Spanish Civil War by Shirley Mangini