Making Sense of the History of Sex and Gender in Early Modern Spain

Progress in describing the sexuality of Spaniards in the past has been accomplished by a handful of disparate movements and interests - women's history, studies of the Spanish Inquisition, literary criticism, 'queer theory', etc. Early modern Spanish history also presents historians with some persistent debates regarding sexual behavior; most notably, the relationship between religion and sexuality. Edward Behrend-Martinez describes the different contributions, problems, and contradictory conclusions produced by scholars in this field, and proposes some paths forward in uncovering the history of early modern Spanish sexuality.