Cojones and rejones : multiple ways of experiencing, expressing and interpreting gender in the Spanish mounted bullfight (Regoneo)

The footed bullfight (corrida de toros or toreo) has been the subject of much anthropological research into Spanish culture. From anthropological quarters, there has been an interest in the ways in which masculinity and femininity are reflected in and constructed by the bullfight.The use of a horse to conduct a full bullfight distinguishes mounted bullfighting from footed bullfighting. Because the mounted bullfight involves one human and two animals, with whom the human relates in very different ways, it is resistant to binary gender interpretations. The chapter considers the impact of the horse on gendered cultural constructions of the mounted bullfight (corrida de rejones) and mounted bullfighters (rejoneadores). The chapter presents a bio-aethetic argument based in the presentation and posturing of the bodies of male and female mounted bullfighters. Specifically, it considers the ways in which being astride a horse de-emphasises the biological sexual identity of the rider. The objective is to demonstrate the ways in which mounted bullfighting accommodates performances of multiple and alternative ways of being male, female and expressing sexuality. This is achieved by pairing a bio-aesthetic reading of the mounted bullfight with an analysis of opinions expressed by mounted bullfighters and their fans. Whilst offering an explanation of the greater cultural acceptability of female mounted bulfighters than female footed bullfighters, this chapter highlights the powerful and polysemic ways in which gender intersects with equestrian sports. It is proposed that the horse can be considered a liberator (be degrees) of biologically determined and culturally normalised expressions of gender. This chapter also extends the literature on bullfighting and gender in general and develops the relatively neglected body of research into mounted bullfighting and gender in equestrian endeavours in Spain. Moreover, it considers the significance of women's participation in an event traditionally dominated by men.