How gender and authority made it possible to steal up to 300.000 babies in Spain: A gender perspective on Stolen Babies in Spain during and after the Franco era through the media’s portrayal of the phenomenon today

Abstract

In 1939 – 1990s Spain was plagued by several cases of newborn babies disappearing from the maternity bed of their mothers and irregular adoptions. This paper investigates several cases within the event through contemporary media’s portrayal of the events, taking a gender perspective on the entire phenomenon. With an underlying basis in the bachelor thesis ‘Framing de los bebés robados en la prensa española: una perspectiva de género’ by Kristensen & Vejnø (2021) I seek to develop on the findings from Kristensen & Vejnø (2021) in order to answer how, and if, it was possible to steal children from one woman and give them to another, without being questioned or challenged. Gender, power, and authority becomes key issues in the investigation to answer who, how and why? Furthermore, the paper attempts to showcase the relevance of those events in contemporary society and media today, 80 years later.