Voices barely heard, never believed. Analysis of the letters of the women inmates in Leganés’ asylum through the prism of epistemic injustice

Abstract

In this article, the letters from fifteen women who were confined in Leganés’ insane asylum during the first half of the 20th century are analysed. The analysis is framed with naturalistic and constructivist explanations of the concept of mental health and with Miranda Fricker’s concept of epistemic injustice as well. The main objective is to make the stories of these women visible and to explain the harms they suffered, at personal, political and epistemic levels. In the first part it is explained the asylum context. In the second part the causes of the women’s confinement are examined in contrast to different theoretical frameworks for understanding the concept of mental health. In the third part it is developed the concept of epistemic justice in connection with these cases. In the fourth part and conclusion the main ideas of the article, about gender and mental health, are transferred to the present.