For Spaniards -- and for the world -- nothing has expressed their country's traditionally rigid gender roles more powerfully than the image of the male matador. So sacred was the bullfighter's masculinity to Spanish identity that a 1908 law barred women from the sport. This film reveals the surprising history of the women who made such a law necessary and profiles two female matadors currently in the arena: the acclaimed Mari Paz Vega and neophyte Eva Florencia. These women are gender pioneers by necessity. But what emerges as their truest motivation is their sheer passion - - for bullfighting and the pursuit of a dream. Watch the full program online.
Explore the fashion of bullfighting in this gallery of matador costumes.
