Shepherdesses: new representations of rural women in Spain

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the practices of representing shepherd women in Spain, who have recently become more visible. New representations challenge stereotyped concepts of gender roles and rurality in such a masculinized context as the livestock sector. One of the main arguments of the article is that shepherdesses narratives and visuals connect with the sustainable agro-social development of the economy from an ecofeminist perspective. The authors conducted a close reading of a selection of productions, including short videos and media interventions about shepherdesses. Among the conclusions, they argue that shepherdesses’ media productions and interventions put women at the center of local development processes, with particular emphasis on their role and leadership qualities. Their activities promote and maintain a networked sisterhood that activates intersectional approaches in favor of alternative structures to farming and life in rural areas.

KEYWORDS:

• Shepherd women
• rural women
• gender representations
• ecofeminism
• networked sisterhood
• sororidad

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Extensive livestock farming raises animals in the wild on large expanses of land and by means of outdoor grazing. It uses the natural resources of the area in such a way that production is compatible with the environment (see GeR 2020b). Intensive animal farming is an industrial livestock system designed to maximize production that uses large numbers of animals usually confined indoors.

2. This name is a translation of la pastoreta (Catalan diminutive for shepherdess), which is apparently how she was known by the local people (Fábregas 2016). See https://escoladepastorsdecatalunya.cat/quisom/, last access October 13 2021.

Additional information

Funding

This article was supported by the research project “Articulaciones de género en el documental español: una perspectiva interseccional”. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain [PGC2018-097966-B-100].

Notes on contributors

Enric Castelló

Enric Castelló is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and member of the Asterisc, Communication Research Group. He has lately focused in storytelling, representations and rural studies. He was invited researcher at Glasgow Caledonian University and at Loughborough University. His articles are published in many international journals including Journal of Consumer Culture, Media, Culture & Society, Journal of Rural Studies or Memory Studies among others. E-mail: [email protected]

María José Romano

María José Romano is a Research Assistant in the Gender and ICT research program at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain. She holds degrees in Social Anthropology (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, URV) and Audiovisual Communication (Universitat de València). Her research interests include collective memory and mediatization, as well as gender equality in science and organizations. She is passionate about poetry and radio production and has been involved in feminist and anti-militarist movements. E-mail: [email protected]