KADINSILAŞAN TOPLUM: XVII. YÜZYIL İSPANYA’SINDA ERKEK OLMAK
EFFEMINATE SOCIETY: BEING A MAN IN 17TH CENTURY SPAIN

Summary/Abstract: Beginning in the early seventeenth century, debates regarding Spain's decline led to the emergence of a series of works by Spanish writers addressing the subject of decadencia. Given the crisis in which the monarchy found itself, many Spanish writers argued that Spain, like all kingdoms of the past that had ruled and eventually declined, was beginning to fall from its former glory. While these writers attempted to identify the possible causes of the perceived decline of the monarchy, they took different views. They saw the distancing of Spanish men from their old identity and the failure to preserve their ancestral values and virtues as serious problems. Above all, men were criticized for not fulfilling the tasks assigned to them by Spanish society, for avoiding starting a family, for acquiring bad habits such as laziness, excess and luxury consumption, for refusing to join the military or work in the fields, for being overly concerned with their appearance and for wanting to earn money without working, all of which pointed to feminization. The current situation of Spanish men, who are increasingly accused of resembling women both physically and in lifestyle, also served as evidence of a significant crisis of masculinity in society, with changing notions of masculinity emerging as one of the main reasons for the decline. This study aims to reveal the connection between the decline the Spaniards believed they were experiencing and the state of effeminacy they attributed to Spanish men, whom they accused of forgetting all virtues and good habits.

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