La oposición al franquismo a través de reivindicaciones feministasel Año Internacional de la Mujer en Televisión Española

Abstract

Abstract. Objective/Context: during the last years of Franco’s dictatorship, the UN declared 1975 International Women’s Year and chose Mexico City to host the event. Aware of its world impact as a UN member State since 1955, the Spanish dictatorship was present at this forum. This investigation studies the coverage Spanish public television (TVE) gave to the first International Women’s Year and the Mexico congress through Informe Semanal, Francoist’s most innovative show and one of those most watched by the audience. Methodology: through qualitative content analysis of the TV shows related to the event, in-depth interviews of journalists involved in the development of the content, and the support of other secondary sources, we analyze the focus that was offered and determine whether there was a choice made for a narrative close to the official position, or another, opposed to the former, closer to the feminist movement, which allowed exercising strong push-back to the dictatorship from public television. Originality: the work allows approaching the political and social change experienced in Spain in the seventies from an innovative viewpoint that connects this case with the role of television as a platform for feminist voices and agendas. Conclusions: the International Year drove the feminist struggle in Spain and Informe Semanal became a platform that broadcasted egalitarian notions to a heterogeneous and numerous audience, which feminism would not otherwise have reached in a dictatorial context.