You can’t hide us from each other anymore

As a recent Latin American Slutwalker, and as a Feminist in general, I am witnessing a very welcomed worldwide debate on a certain kind of “advice” regarding rape prevention or, as some have phrased in a laughable euphemism, “risk-management”.

Many feminists have wrote articles which helped me understand different views on what the fight is really about. It also helped me to attend the Slutwalk held in my city, and see with my own eyes what happened there.

I would like to share with you my own vision now.

Since few people could have summarized such ancient lore so efficiently, I will take hand of Constable Sanguinetti’s words: “women should avoid dressing like sluts.”

An alternate approach was provided by Emily Yoffe recently: “don’t get drunk.”

These statements are problematic for several reasons.

But the main reason, which also happens to be the simplest, is that they go absolutely against everything we know about rape.

The so-called advice is a myth, and its main effect is to shame women’s choices and silence rape survivors.

But this time I’d like to focus on a particular consequence of buying into the myth’s logic.

The Monster Woman

I find it very annoying when someone refers to all women using the singular form “a woman”, a very common use in Spanish.

We say “Woman’s day” instead of “Women’s day”. It’s also very common to hear “Woman is…” when someone is preaching about what women are, or what they’re supposed to be. This last example is usually followed by horrendous compilations of stereotypes.

The problem of using the singular form is that instead of thinking about millions and millions of unique human beings, we end up thinking of one single, specific, ubiquitous woman. We think of an “Ideal Woman”.

And what kind of Ideal Woman have we been taught in this Hell of a world?

A monstrous one.

(Click on the image to expand)

Vade retro Luzbelitx!

Luzbelito knows his fate is one of loneliness
he also sees everyone can tell how much it makes him laugh

 
 

My first story is inevitably the story of my name.

Throughout my life, I had different names.

Some may argue they were not actually names, but nicknames or pseudonyms instead.

But as I uncovered my identity I understood a couple of words written in an ID card are not more of a name than those coming from a friend’s heart, or my own heart for that matter.

Each one of those names was a stage in my life, an identity, a story of learning.

So this is, more or less, the story of my current name:

 

Luzbelito is a concept album by Argentine rock band Los Redonditos de Ricota. It is named after the main character (a diminutive form of Lucifer a.k.a. Luzbel) who also happens to be the Devil’s offspring.