Enough! Is over! Mr. Rubiales, resign now! You and the RFEF are showing us everything that should not be done: relationship without consent, abuse of power, pressure on the victim, denying and manipulating the facts, attacking and discrediting the feminist movement, using clientelistic networks looking for supports and all the strategies that, from their position of privilege, the person who has committed the abuse is able to do in order not to lose their power.
Rubiales and the RFEF are proceeding in a way that is not new to us, which ends up normalizing a kiss without consent, downplaying the facts and blaming and putting the victim at the center of the debate. We have already learned that the player was also celebrating does not justify anyone kissing her. As gross as it sounds, they are perpetuating the culture of rape. In short, what we are seeing is everything that the feminist movement has been denouncing and demanding to be stopped for years.
What society do we live in? How can a man who holds the position of president be unaware of the power and responsibility that entails? There is such great impunity that it allows this to happen in the midst of a televised broadcast and the aggressor is convinced that there will be no consequences. And not only that, but he can come out in a press conference with the arrogant attitude of someone who feels untouchable. We cannot tolerate that there are people who, simply because they are men, feel empowered to abuse other people. I am also a man, I have been socialized in a masculinist society and therefore at some point I have had masculinist attitudes. But it is clear to me that men have a responsibility to actions like those of Rubiales. As men we must make it clear that a kiss without consent is a reprehensible act. We must be able to see that it is necessary to ask for forgiveness, pay attention to the people who have felt assaulted and try to repair the damage done.
Therefore, it is enough that as men we justify these attitudes by thinking that it could have happened to us. Let’s stop thinking about us and think about them, the assaulted women. Let’s become aware of the power we have and be able to be willing to lose privileges if we really want to change things. Fortunately, in front of all this dandruff there is a woman who has decided not to bow to the pressures, an organized players’ union that advises her and gives her legal cover, the entire collective of women footballers who support her and that they are willing to take personal risks (there are some who had previously given up going to the World Cup) and, in general, a large part of society that does not want to normalize these behaviors.
In a context of growing anti-feminist discourses, this depends on what kind of society we want. And to build a just and egalitarian society, these behaviors must not go unpunished. Therefore, Mr. Rubiales, resign. We need leaders who are aware and assume the responsibility that this represents, examples of dignity, organization and sisterhood like what the collective of soccer players are giving. Thank you for being an example.
2023-08-26 16:43:50
#Exemplary #feminism #rape #culture
