Metaphors of Linearity, Gender and Spanish Fascism. A Proposal for a Socio-metaphorical Analysis

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the usefulness of metaphors for the social sciences. In view of the scant interest taken in their study from within these disciplines, some insights are proposed to further the socio-metaphorical approach, by applying it to the case of the Falangist political culture of the Spanish Civil War years and the immediate postwar period. Specifically, this article seeks to investigate the meaning of the recurrent metaphorical expressions relating to Spanish straightness, firmness and linearity. It concludes that their study can lead to a broader understanding of Spanish fascism in relation to the construction of its nationalist discourse and its conception of the masculine and feminine.