Masculinity and Queer Desire in Spanish Enlightenment Literature

In his study of Spanish Enlightenment writings, Mehl Allan Penrose examines three male tropes: the effeminate and Francophile petimetre; the bujarrón, who engaged in sexual relations with other men; and the Arcadian shepherd, who expressed his desire for other males. Penrose analyzes the construction of ’queerness’ in these writings as a sign of the anxieties revolving around the supposed decline of masculinity and the evolving nature of sexuality in Spain.