Good girls versus bad girls in early Francoist prisons: Sexuality as a great divide

Abstract

This is a story about ‘good girls’ and ‘bad girls’ — the political prisoners and the non-political prisoners of the first period of Franco’s regime. The political prisoners, mostly communists, differentiated themselves from non-political prisoners by refusing to have anything to do with the non-normative sexuality — auto-eroticism and lesbianism — that was rife among the non-political prisoners, many of whom were prostitutes. Taking a unique stance, the sexual liberalness of the political prisoner, Carlota O’Neill, set her account apart from the rest of the written testimonies that have been analysed. This article examines the reasons for these diverging views on sexuality. Along with testimonies, this work of historical memory is based on historical studies and interviews.