Abstract
The footed bullfight (corrida de toros or toreo) has been the subject of much research into gender in Spanish culture. In this chapter, I consider the impact of the horse on gendered cultural constructions by considering the form of bullfighting undertaken from horseback (corrida de rejones). I present a ‘bio-aesthetic’ analysis focused on the presentation and posturing (look and movement) of the bodies of male and female mounted bullfighters. Specifically, I consider the ways in which being astride a horse de-emphasises the biological sexual identity of the rider. I propose that the horse can be considered a liberator (by degrees) of biologically determined and culturally normalised expressions of gender. This chapter is based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Andalusia.
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Notes
- 1.
This collective is masculine.
- 2.
Paseíllo is the diminutive of el paseo from the verb pasear for a walk or a stroll.
- 3.
- 4.
Douglass refers to the footed bullfight as a ‘plebeian spectacle’ (1984b: 255).
- 5.
For a detailed description of the corrida de toros, see Marvin (1994, especially chapter one).
- 6.
The history of mounted bullfighting is discussed in more detail elsewhere, where I detail the significance of rejoneo being constructed by rejoneadores as the ‘oldest and the newest’ form of bullfighting (Thompson 2010b). See Campos Cañizares (2007) for an exploration of bullfighting from horseback during its seventeenth century ‘heyday’. See Thompson (2012) for further detail on the upper-class construction of mounted bullfighting.
- 7.
The elitist construction of mounted bullfighting is questioned by Thompson (2012).
- 8.
This feminine construction was acknowledged by mounted bullfighters with whom I spoke. One clearly thought that it was a derogatory construction, as demonstrated in the following comment: “That [rejoneo is feminine] has been written by several journalists who claim they are fans of el toreo [bullfighting] and they are not; because whoever is really a fan of el toreo likes all that is related to the bull and they are not fans; what’s happened is that they have caused damage by writing that”. It is not my intention in this chapter to refute or support the construction of rejoneo as feminine or masculine. Following Pink’s emphasis on multiple femininities, I too regard the bullfight as a ‘cultural resource to which a range of ideologies, meanings, experiences and aspirations may be connected…’ (1997a: 161).
- 9.
Cintrón goes on to say that she preferred to fight from foot than from horseback, claiming that anything done in a pair is more beautiful than by three, and that having to accommodate the horse’s intentions made her angry (de la Serna Miró 2008: 24).
- 10.
‘Amazona’ is a general term for female horse riders.
- 11.
There are three categories and types of bullrings in which corridas can officially take place. The first category consists of bullrings erected in the capital of a province, or in which at least 15 corridas are held each year, ten of which must be corridas de toros, that is, corridas from foot using mature bulls. Permanent bullrings that do not meet these criteria are second category bullrings, and those that are nonpermanent or portable are third category bullrings (Abarquero Durango 1984:106–107). Most bullfights are held in category 2 bullrings with the least in category 1.
- 12.
For a notable exception, see Muñoz (1997).
- 13.
Pink identifies five female rejoneadoras as active in the 1993 season (1996: 46).
- 14.
It is difficult to procure exact numbers as the official registry does not record nationality, gender (which could only be assumed from names) or status and some may be listed/registered but inactive. In 2010, Noelía Mota was described as the only active rejoneadora in Spain. Resource document. http://www.antena3.com/noticias/sociedad/dos-mujeres-mundo-hombres_2010091700143.html Accessed 21 March 2010.
- 15.
Myers et al. note that ‘over 80 % of equestrian competitors today are female’ (1999: 399).
- 16.
Although rejoneo does not provide for simultaneous competition (between men and women) such as characterised horse racing, the performance of rejoneadores in the same bullfight is compared and can thus be seen as competitive. The number of occasions where male rejoneadores refused to fight in the same programme as Cintrón also supports the competitive elements of rejoneo (Cintrón 1968: 214). A similar boycott befell Mercedes González-Cort in the late 1970s. As the first woman to be accepted into the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, she had to train her horse to perform the capriole in long reins by herself: ‘Normally, the airs about [above] the ground are performed by two riders, but no one would put themselves under my orders…’ (cited Vavra 1981: 108).
- 17.
For a discussion of the term ‘women’s bullfighting’ being preferred over ‘female bullfighting’, see Pink (1997b: 205–206).
- 18.
Indeed, the bullfighter is sometimes named after the estoque through the generic term for sword, ‘espada’.
- 19.
That is, having balls is not exclusive to the biologically or physiologically male. As Pink notes, ‘[i]n these discourses which redefine masculinity and femininity, testicular power is not exclusive to those who have testicles. The terminology has been retained but the concepts does not refer to an exclusively masculine social characteristic’ (1996: 59).
- 20.
Caireles are like cufflinks joined together by a short chain, which chink against each other whilst the rider-horse is moving. Caireles are usually only worn during the corrida de rejones and not under general working conditions in the countryside. At the time of my fieldwork, the Guarnicioneria Duarte in Jerez sold five different types of caireles: Spanish coins, horse heads, the holy virgin of El Rocio, nails and stirrups. Other charms include acorns, bull heads and stud brands.
- 21.
In fact, this element of movement is essential to the development of a centaurian relationship between rider and horse (Thompson 2011).
- 22.
This is effectively a trot on the spot, with slight advancement.
- 23.
This is a slow motion trot with a prolonged period of suspension between steps involving diagonal pairs of legs with minimal forward advancement.
- 24.
Garry Marvin, email to the author dated 17 July 2003.
- 25.
The rejoneador is required to make a minimum of two separate attempts with the rejon de muerte before being allowed to dismount (Ministerio de Justicia e Interior 1996: Article 85.5). After two warnings from the president, the rejoneador must dismount from his horse and kill the bull from the ground. The significance of dismounting is discussed elsewhere (Thompson 2010a).
- 26.
This interpretation is made in Guarner’s psychoanalytic study of the corrida from foot in Mexico where he suggests that ‘anal aspects are evident in the different back passes, which imply a contact with matador’s buttocks, while genitality is represented by the need of having the bull pass as close as possible in front of the genitals’ (1970: 19–20).
- 27.
Thus, the comments supporting his disagreeance are not reproduced here.
- 28.
http://groups.msn.com/rejoneo/
- 29.
MacClancy (1996: 82, fn 4) notes the same concern with women’s physical strength in relation to footed bullfighters.
- 30.
The doma vaquera style of riding, and the need to carry rejones, dictates a style or riding with the reins in the left hand.
- 31.
MacClancy (1996: 73) notes the same idea of the bull being a great leveller of social distinction but in relation to the gender of footed bullfighters. Similarly, Moreno Pidal (2004: 258–259) acknowledges that having money might help a rejoneador get into the plaza but that the bull doesn’t discriminate if he is rich or poor.
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Acknowledgement
I am grateful to the rejoneadores and other (human and non-human) Andalusians who shared their world with me during fieldwork. I also wish to thank Dr Mike Wilmore, Dr Rod Lucas, Professor Adrian Franklin and Professor Garry Marvin for comments on an early version of this paper and Dr Danielle Every for comments on a later version. Thanks are also extended to the editors for their valuable suggestions.
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Thompson, K. (2013). Cojones and Rejones: Multiple Ways of Experiencing, Expressing and Interpreting Gender in the Spanish Mounted Bullfight (Rejoneo). In: Adelman, M., Knijnik, J. (eds) Gender and Equestrian Sport. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6824-6_8
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