From outrage to normalization: Uses of psychoanalysis by the Spanish sexual reform movement (1920-1939)

Résumé

The aim of this article is to analyze how psychoanalytic ideas were received within the context of the debate around sexuality which took place in Spain during the 1920s and 1930s. While this reception was initially marked by a questioning of the role that Freud assigned to sexuality, psychoanalytic discourse would later make an appearance in various proposals for reforming sexual customs and overcoming bourgeois morality. The paper also considers the use of psychoanalysis in normative environments such as sexual education and marriage legislation, highlighting the different uses of psychoanalysis in the movement for sexual reform on a scientific basis which culminated during the socio- political context of the Second Republic.