Confronting Gender on Lima’s Stage, 1790–1830

Lots was shaken during the Age of Revolutions, new people came to power, new symbols and ideas of authority were discussed and imposed, all while new social and ethnic bonds were reimagined and established. As turmoil and repression spread, gender roles were also questioned. A new kind of masculinity was required in these years of widespread war, one that emphasized skill and daring, and elevated the military profession as ideal. Men ready to fight were required. Women, however, were reconfirmed in subjugated roles, serving the patriarchy in raising boys appropriately and tending to men’s needs. Following a rooted tradition of using the theater to spread ideas and ideologies, revolutionaries and their opponents turned to this space to convey their visions of how society should be. Yet in this era of dreamed freedoms, some also used the stage to convey their own visions and perform them.