Lucia Etxebarria's first two novels, Amor, curiosidad, prozac y dudas and Beatriz y los cuerpos celestes, demonstrate just how the author affirms, questions and discredits the binary notions that are historically associated with gender. A critical approach to the social roles traditionally categorized as masculine and feminine and the literal and symbolic concepts of homo, hetero and bisexuality---all of which are personified by the varied protagonists of the two works---unveils the faulty foundation upon which the cultural, sexual and even biological dichotomies of male and female are constructed and perpetuated. These arbitrary ideals are patriarchal constructs that inherently marginalize, conceal and even eradicate the innumerable unclassifiable gender combinations that can be found along the sexual spectrum. Etxebarria uses her texts as a social weapon with which to rebel against the traditional myths of femininity and represent the socially problematic genders that are often silenced by the omnipresent power of the classical Spanish hegemony.

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