LIFE-COURSE EFFECTS OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL ACTIVISM: PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRAJECTORIES FROM ANTI-FRANCOISM TO THE 15-M IN SPAIN^*

Using life stories, this article analyzes the effects that youthful political participation during the final years of Spain’s Francoist dictatorship had on the public and private life-course trajectories for a group of activist women. Noteworthy among our conclusions is the fundamental role that political engagement plays, becoming a key element of the interviewed women’s identities. They associated political activity with mainly positive emotions, learnings, and empowerment, as well as with the creation of social networks that became especially relevant when reengaging in activism later in their lives. Similarly, their political activism favored the development of heterodox attitudes and behaviors. In general, their personal trajectories were marked by political and social commitments, regardless of the differences in relation to formal participation in political parties and other organizations.