Hello,
How do you face the end of this year? We are in those weeks of taking stock or, at least, of looking back and wondering how time has passed so quickly, or perhaps so slowly, depending on the year you ‘have had’. The ritual of ringing bells is part of that end of the year and I would say that the associated controversy, too. There is always one… and it almost always has to do with a woman.
This time it was Lalachus’ turn. The comedian will broadcast the chimes on TVE along with David Broncano, his partner in ‘La Revuelta’. With the announcement came the comments full of fatphobia and misogyny. The attacks focused on the body and appearance of the program’s collaborator: the problem is that Lalachus is a woman and is fat, and the mixture of these factors shows us to what extent it is important to take into account the intersection of discriminations.s Cristina Pedroche may come to mind. Every year, she and the attention to their dresses (and her body) reopen the same conversation about the sexualization of women. She also receives attacks, although different: in her case she is accused of ‘selling’ false empowerment, of objectifying herself, or suspicions begin that it is her appearance that makes her be in that television position.
It is possible that Cristina Pedroche comes to mind. Every year, she and the attention to their dresses (and her body) reopen the same conversation about the sexualization of women. She also receives attacks, although different: in her case she is accused of ‘selling’ false empowerment, of objectifying herself, or suspicions begin that it is her appearance that makes her be in that television position.
Thinking about both cases -Lalachus and Pedroche- several reflections occur to me. One, there always seems to be something wrong with us and if it’s not one thing it will be another. Two, that society ‘demands’ that women who arrive in certain places, in some way, represent all the others, the entire female gender. What one does matters to all or defines all or must take all into account. And, well, whether we like it more or less, we must allow each woman to represent herself and not necessarily be taken as an example of anything or a representation of anyone.
Three: the arrival of Lalachus to a space like that of the chimes does suppose in some way the rupture of a model, that of the lord-whatever next to a thin, beautiful or, at the very least, woman. quite normative. Audiovisual is a medium where the tyranny of thinness and the dominant model of beauty is especially cruel.
I think we must be careful, because that does not mean that women who more or less comply with those canons are there for that reason, because that is falling into sexist argumentation. They are there because there are many women who are good at what they do and there are all types. It does seem evident that it is more difficult to be in certain places if you do not comply with the canon of thinness. And of course the double standard that is applied to men and women is evident: Chicote, Ibai Llanos, Ramón GarcÃa… their age, their hair, their size, their ‘outfit’ did not seem to matter so much even when choosing them nor to question their presence in those spaces.
You may be interested
- The Juana Rivas case has returned to the news after a few days ago the Italian Prosecutor’s Office accused her ex-partner of mistreating her children, something that the woman had been denouncing for years. I leave you a chronology of the case. Also this analysis on how what happened with Juana Rivas exemplifies the power of stereotypes about women, such as that of the ‘manipulative mother’.
- Fleeing Afghanistan due to the arrival of the Taliban to power and having to start from scratch in another country. This report from El PaÃs tells the story of seven Afghan women between 20 and 53 years old who have gone from working as judges or surgeons to having to completely change their lives in Spain.
- Continuing with the topic of attacks on women, a couple of weeks ago we had this discussion table with the director of the magazine ‘Volcánicas’, Catalina-Ruiz Navarro, the journalist Luciana Peker, and the coordinator of Efeminista, Macarena Baena, about online harassment and violence against journalists and communicators (especially if you are dedicated to the issue of equality). We’ve condensed the conversation into this podcast episode.
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While I was finishing this newsletter, two things happened: one, my son snuggled up next to me and gossiped about what I was doing and pointed out a (big) mistake in the text. So today I have an editor to thank for his contribution to this newsletter. And another: that the American poet has died Nikki Giovannia very important voice in African American poetry.
When I die I hope that every worker in the national council
security
fbi interpol cia development foundation
black women get
an extra bonus and maybe it will take the day
And you might even wonder why they didn’t work so hard for us.
like they used to do
for them
although it seems that it has always been like this
A hug.
Ann
#Lalachus #bodies #wrong
