Article initially published in the Feminist Tribune (@TFeminista_)
In recent months, I have followed several cases of books written by women in which, to give meaning to the relevance of that narrative, the publisher has decided (with or without the author's consent) to include a strip of paper in which it is highlighted who she is or was in relation to certain men, relevant by themselves, of course.
One of them I discovered in November when I read a news story about the posthumous publication of a book on Republican politics. Mercedes Nunez (1911-1986) entitled The value of memory. It was put on sale by Editorial Renacimiento with the following claim: ‘Memories of the Secretary of State Pablo Neruda, testimony to the horror of Francoist prisons and Nazi concentration camps. It seems that we only achieve a certain value as women if a man "verifies" us and I pointed it out to the editors on Twitter:
Of course, beyond criticizing a small publisher that wants to rescue writings of invisible women, I would like to reflect on how we continue to be influenced by who prescribes, especially if that someone is a man. And of course I think you can use the name of a famous man for promotional purposes, but in another way more respectful towards the author, for example, taking care of the language: it's not the same be the secretary of someone (involves possession) who work as a secretary for Someone.
However, the explanation they gave me saddened me, because just as I think they have a responsibility, so do we. Although it is hard to accept, if we do not buy books written by women unless they are linked to a man of weight, it is we who are not legitimizing these authors.
Another of these cases that has circulated on social networks is that of a book by the Mexican writer Elena Garro (1916-1998), Reunion of characters, in which the promotional text reads: ‘Woman of Octavio Paz, Lover of Bioy Casares, Inspirational García Márquez admired by Borges”. No comment.
When I began to be aware of Wikipedia's gender gap, it helped me a lot to identify certain features of that inequality in the experience of my colleagues, who had been editing longer and more intensely than I had. They showed me how most women are systematically described based on their family or emotional ties to certain men. It is sadly common to find at the beginning of women's biographies those "mother of", "daughter of", "wife of", "muse of" ... as a relevant feature, even before their professional dedication or their contributions in any area.
This fact of describing women in relation to men occurs not only in Wikipedia biographies but also in other articles I have recently discovered that have reminded me of this chapter of the Bible:
Genesis 2:22
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he fell asleep; And God took one of his ribs, and shut up the flesh in that place. And out of the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man, he formed a woman, and brought her to the man.
And the man said: This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She will be called a woman, because of the man she was taken.
Do I seem to exaggerate? Take a look at how the ‘man’ and to the ‘woman’ in their respective Wikipedia articles:
Male is a male human being, regardless of whether it is child o adult. The word "male" in Spanish derives from the Latin varo ("brave", "efforted"), most likely related to vir ("male", "hero") under the influence of the Germanic baro ("free man").
Female (from Latin mulĭer, -ēris), o female (lat. femĭna), is the human being feminine o female, regardless of whether it is girl o adult. Woman also refers to distinctions of gender character cultural y social attributed to him, as well as to the differences sexual y biological of the female in the human species in front of the male of the human species. It has physical aspects that differentiate it from the male as a higher voice, narrower waist, wider hip and pelvis wider, less body hair, minus muscle mass and more adipose tissue, Mamas Larger and narrower and smaller stature compared to the male.
We still have a very long road ahead of us and we need a lot of work in quantity and quality. Not only is it about making many new biographies of women but it is essential to make them with a gender perspective. Although it is not easy, I am also convinced that being aware of these inequalities puts us a little closer to starting to change things.
We need to unlearn first to perceive the relevance of women in relation to the men who accredit us, and learn later to value and legitimize each other. There is nothing more enriching than discovering and admiring you for what you bring me, teach me, motivate me and accompany me in this vital process. Therefore, I will write about you and your lives. Thank you for existing, my women.
English (UK)