Poetisa': ideology of a word; the case of Mexico

Abstract

Through a philological examination of the dichotomy ‘poet/ poetess’ in dictionaries and lexicographic articles, we show in this article their ideological implications in Spanish, to focus, later on, its usage in contemporary Mexico. To understand the negative connotation this term had for writers such as Rosario Castellanos or Margarita Michelena, it is necessary to go back to the nineteenth century, when it had an aura or corniness and dilettantism. Through a brief survey of notes and articles that appeared in literary publications during the second half of the twentieth century we explain the transition from the use of ‘poetess’,  for neutral or pejorative purposes, to the use of ‘poet’ as a positive assessment of women who write and publish poetry.