<![CDATA[Ara Balears in English - women]]> 10 <![CDATA[Family unit 'of destination in the universal']]> The Vox parliamentary group presented a non-legislative proposal a few days ago so that "the unborn" counts as a member of the family unit. The proposal was rejected with the votes against from the left-wing parties and the abstention of the PP, even though the Government had initially shown itself "open" to studying the idea. Specifically, the Minister of Families, Social Welfare and Dependency Care, Sandra Fernández, was "willing" to consider this measure, currently driven by the government of the Community of Madrid, for its possible implementation in these fortunate Islands.Someone might ask what this "unborn conceived" is all about. Grammatically it is an absurd construction, but it is more or less what it seems: it refers to the creature that is gestating inside the mother's womb and that, therefore, has not yet been born. The fetus, in a word, but since the right/far-right finds that 'fetus' sounds ugly, they have looked for a name that they must find more elegant and that, as often happens in these cases, is monstrous. The unborn conceived, here you have it. The idea bears the stamp of the Ayuso stable, where our "peperam" always has its eyes fixed. Prohens was a bit of an ayuser in his time in Madrid politics, which as everyone knows is the good one, politics in capital letters. From time to time they import things of his: now a cut in immigrants' rights here, now racist statements there, all in good taste and typical of knowledgeable people. The unborn conceived, why not, is part of the family unit. The family unit is the complicated way of naming the family, which as is also known today can be in many ways, like ice cream, but in its strict sense, for our right-thinking right, it continues to be made up of dad, mom, sons and daughters. And the unborn conceived, as many as there are. It is an excellent idea that hopefully will one day prosper and be applied to the last consequences: by the same logic, deceased godfathers and godmothers should also be considered members of "the family unit". The unborn and the already buried: in this way we will achieve a very complete family unit. The initiative is no joke, but a direct attack on women's rights, and particularly on rights, reproductive ones, that the new right – the new right – has identified as targets to be eliminated. It is about carrying out the great regression, cutting as many rights as possible – for women, immigrants, the LGTBI collective, workers, linguistic and cultural minorities. Abortion, which had apparently become an established right in the legal systems of Western democracies, is once again faltering under the pressure of the global far-right onslaught, which has moved the pieces of what is called the political board many squares to the right. In this way, formations of recognized liberal tradition have shifted in Europe towards hard right positions. Now let's imagine what a formation of recognized Francoist tradition will do, and moreover, governing in minority with the support of an openly fascist party.We must not tire of saying it: what the PP and Vox are doing together is a journey to nowhere in which we are risking much more than we think. Even if they do not move forward (for the moment), when certain proposals are put on the table and poison public discourse, we have all already lost a little. Imagining delirious family units, taking steps backward in women's rights, or prohibiting non-residents from using public transport are first steps not towards the imaginary dictatorships that Ayuso claims Spaniards suffer from, but towards a very real and very dire authoritarianism.

]]> <![CDATA[Our first 'lip gloss' or when being women was a fun game]]>

The two girls I have in front of me are the ones who are the most well-behaved in the entire group of third graders in Primary school who are now surrounding me. They were the first to sit down, further away from the rest, as soon as they entered the carriage. They remain oblivious to what is happening in the background, to their classmates, who are jumping, shouting and fighting to get into the photo the teacher is taking of them. Occupying the minimum space of their seat and with their legs crossed, they hardly move, nor is their voice heard during the subway ride. But those of us who grew up with the phrase “You, look and be quiet” recognize each other. I look at them and they are quiet. I don't need words to discover their universe, hidden behind the mobile phone screen.

]]> <![CDATA[The nun aunt]]> In our home, as I suppose in 70% of Mallorcan families during the 20th century, we had a nun aunt. Ours was my grandfather's sister. I had always called her “the nun aunt”, but she had a civil name: Magdalena Bernat Gomila, and she was from the congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (forgive the pomposity of the name).

]]> <![CDATA[Dystopian ecstasy]]> Will I be able to become a man one day, as Ursula K. Le Guin was in her nineties performances, when, with her genuine sense of humor, she said: “I was born before women were invented, and I have spent the last decades trying to be a good man and I forgot to stay young, so I got old. [...] I can't stop thinking that a real man would have been able to do something. [...] But I failed. I did nothing. I utterly failed to stay young”? Like Ursula, I too have aged; this year I am moving into my fifties and I want to dedicate myself to a kind of urea mediocritas horaciana and to an asceticism that distances me from the worldly noise. I find myself, therefore, in an icy void, not knowing which direction to take, adjusting the tone of this transition and making efforts to step into my mature gallantry in the most dignified way possible.After much meditation and reading Ursula, I have come to a conclusion: it is absurd to continue trying to be a good man. For a long time I have wanted to be one in order to exercise my inherited rights to splash the toilet bowl with yellow water without breaking down over it, to dominate public space and feel empowered. The intensity of my youth is coming to an end. I too have failed everywhere: I am neither a man nor have I been able to stay young; however, her gaze still corrodes me from within. Let's admit it: it happens to me and it happens to all of us.At almost fifty, I still put my sexual energy at the service of anyone who notices an aspect that I myself am unable to see or value. I am excessively complacent, submissively pleasant, I perceive the desires of others as a priority and I exploit myself to feel productive and useful as sexual capital in the market. It is impossible to get rid of it. Despite no longer being a man – although it is impossible not to be one – and no longer being young, I am still crossed by the same concerns of the heterosexual symbolic order: the fantasy of being the chosen one among the rest of the competitors, the value of my abilities placed above all in their verdict. I am, therefore, neither a man nor young; but I don't exist as a woman either. Forgive me if I don't explain myself completely well, but I am still learning to transform my phallic language into a more poetic one.To avoid falling into delirium, I will try to make the right decisions. Perhaps this perspective will bring me closer to myself. The inspiration for this maturational structural shift is Doctor of the Church Saint Teresa of Ávila, who in one of her ineffable and spontaneous ecstasies felt the presence of God, and “in no case could she doubt that it was within me or I all wrapped up in Him.”Much like the mystic, in a kind of escape or dystopian ecstasy that occurred in one of my meditations, I experienced myself – Margaret Atwood saw it clearly – as a ‘woman with a man inside observing a woman’’. The rapture had transformed the masculine gaze into an eroticism that desired my body with the same intensity and care with which the land of a garden is tilled and only the fruits that belong to the one who cultivates them and for whose taking there is permission are harvested. I saw myself with a man inside observing a complete woman, free and in control of herself. All the men who ever used me to satisfy their voids and exploited my body, like the master who with his extractivist logic exhausts the resources of the South, would cease to exist in my daily cognitive habits as a result of the phenomenological illumination.No longer mother, no longer secretary, no longer savior of lost egos. No longer waiting for male validation. I had completed the first dwellings of my decolonizing journey and the nun Teresa was calling me to deepen in contemplation: to soften the gaze of the inner dwelling, to understand it, to transform it. The following mansions took me even further from the conditioning world of heterosexual thought. The stillness of maturity moved me to transcend polarities and demands, to shed the 'heteroetheric' dandruff, to love and fuck without guilt; to finally leave the market of male desire. To no longer want to please, but only to be accountable to my body and make decisions beyond what is reasonable. Light as the arms of a child who simultaneously holds and plays with the weight of new words, and allows herself this poetic parenthesis.In the full 21st century, although one of the advantages of age and maturity is that one's own desire is freer and less conditioned, women have not yet been invented, but we don't care; or at least this embodied contemplative vision came to me in my particular rapture with the approval of the Carmelite mystic and the impulse of the writer of Earthsea. Both the poetic thought of Saint Teresa and the beautiful dystopian scenarios of Ursula are inspiring in my work with other women. All of them, young and mature, continue to be inhabited by the same patriarchal pressures that I include myself in. Relating to other socially feminized bodies and supporting each other in what we commonly experience is the only antidote I have discovered to become more sexually free. This and age, of course.

]]> <![CDATA["My grandmother's submission pushed me to investigate the role of women during Francoism"]]>

The historian Marina Castillo Fuentesal (Palma, 1996) has recently obtained her doctorate with a cum laude qualification from the University of the Balearic Islands. Between the yoke and the cross. Women during the Franco dictatorship in Mallorca (1939-1975) is the title of the research she has conducted for almost six years and which has been supervised by the professors of Contemporary History David Ginard and Sebastià Serra.

]]> <![CDATA[Art and parity]]> Following the recent awarding of the prize for best novel of the year, the controversy surrounding the underrepresentation of women in the shortlist of ten nominated novels has resurfaced. Although the winner was a woman, Antònia Carré-Pons, she made sure to point out in her acceptance speech that there were only two novels written by women on the list of ten finalists (which included a novel by the author of this piece). Did it include me, or did it include my novel? Those who seem to have a certain notion of parity are the very juries that compile these lists. If women publish four out of every ten books, at least this proportion should be reflected in the awards and distinctions, unless we are being told that they do a worse job—which we perhaps cannot deduce if they are ultimately the ones honored…

]]> <![CDATA[Let's be honest, nothing beats the satisfaction of another woman.]]>

There are many reasons why I admire my cousinDespite being four years younger than me, I feel it would be incredibly difficult to teach her anything. I'd be mortified to have to teach that amazing woman anything. At 26, she has the same survival instinct as a single, divorced mother of four. She seems to have been born with half her life already lived, as if adulthood arrived at 18. "It's a miracle I turned out so well," she always tells me, with that dark humor that came with her Brazilian leg. And it's true. I'd like to say I'd defend her against anything and anyone, but the truth is, she's never given me the chance. She's smart, quick-witted, and vibrant. Her life is like a "Mexican soap opera"—she also says—but she outruns the misfortunes. Perhaps that's why she's been blessed with a very small bust, but also with a sharp eye and a protective mind, which lead almost everyone to mistake her for something she's not and—quickly—realize it. In fact, my favorite photo in the world is one where we appear side by side – me, at 10 years old, and her, at 6 – with such a disproportionate level of physical development that next to her, I look like a giant, about to crush a dwarf.

]]> <![CDATA[Less than 25% women are featured in this year's San Sebastian film festival lineup.]]>

The percentage of female participation in the groups scheduled for this year's festival doesn't even reach 22%, a figure that, even so, slightly exceeds the 15.87% of last year's edition. These are figures that members of the MU.MA.RE (Revolutionary Mallorcan Women Musicians) collective have been analyzing since May 2024 and sharing on their Instagram profile. "It's true that there's a slight increase from one year to the next, but it doesn't seem to be a consequence of the Palma City Council implementing gender parity policies. Women's participation barely exceeds 20%, so the increase seems rather fortuitous," they told ARA Baleares. Regarding the issue of parity—and understanding female participation as that of women and gender non-conforming individuals—sources from the collective state that their assessment of the lineup is negative, "especially when we're talking about the city's most important popular festival and a cultural event in which a significant amount of public money is traditionally invested."

]]> <![CDATA[Palma stands up against gender violence and remembers Palestinian women]]>

Nearly 1,500 people, divided into two demonstrations, marched in Palma with a common goal: to end gender-based violence. This Tuesday, the Transfeminist Coordinating Committee of Mallorca and the Feminist Movement of Mallorca marched separately through the streets of Palma in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The mobilization organized by the Transfeminist Coordinating Committee departed at 6:30 p.m. from Plaça de la Porta Pintada, while the other started at the same time from Plaça d'Espanya. However, they had different destinations: Plaça de Cort and Plaça del Tub, respectively. Despite the clear distinction between the two movements, Sara Barceló, spokesperson for the Transfeminist Coordinating Committee of Mallorca, considered that the trans-inclusive demonstration "brought in many people who otherwise would not have taken to the streets" and celebrated that "both demonstrations result in a larger turnout because there is greater representation." Some of the attendees explained to ARA Baleares that they joined the Transfeminist Coordinator's demonstration because "it's more inclusive," although they stressed that "the important thing is to demonstrate."

]]> <![CDATA[The voices of November 25th: "Is it violence when your partner persists until they get what they want? Yes, it is."]]>

In Palma, more than fifteen crimes of gender violence are recorded every day. In 2024, 5,402 were recorded.This represents a 13% increase compared to the previous year, according to City Council data. Across the Balearic Islands, crimes of the same type reached 8,752, a 3% increase compared to 2013. Among the victims, older women are increasingly represented: the 24-hour service of the Balearic Women's Institute (IB-Mujer) registered a 183% increase in in-person support, rising from 7 to 6 in a single year. These figures go beyond mere numbers: behind them are stories that cry out for justice, recognition, and visibility.

]]> <![CDATA[Mystical Readings (I): 'Take up your cross']]> I was delighted by the script about the Mallorcan mystics (Leonard Muntaner, Ed.), ever since the writer and researcher Rosa Planas had explained to me that she worked there. I didn't expect to find the idols of a new faith: rather, I wanted to confirm the presumption that convent life had been, for many years, not only a cruel punishment from parents, husbands, et al. but also a dual and more universal, less anthropocentric and more magical alternative—life for Art.

]]> <![CDATA[One in three women engaged in prostitution in Palma is a victim of trafficking or exploitation.]]>

The report Identification of cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation The 2024 report prepared by the Palma City Council's Technical Equality Unit determines that one in three women engaged in prostitution in Palma is a victim of human trafficking or exploitation. Furthermore, it estimates that there are at least 447 victims of sexual exploitation in Palma.

]]> <![CDATA[My godmother is as much a 'pickme girl' as I am.]]>

The other day I caught myself thinking, "I like that girl C. Tangana has now." Let's recap some facts about who he is: he also calls himself El Madrileño or Pucho, although his real name is Antón Álvarez. He is the author of songs as good as You stopped loving me and Laureating in the limo, among others, but also of a controversial photo on the deck of a yacht surrounded by women showing their backsides as if they were their trophies. Confusing the person and the character, it seems to me that he's playing at being a two-faced man, virile and tender, real and stupid: ironically (?) sexist. In short, C. Tangana embodies everything a guy should have to send you straight to a psychologist, as my friend Henry would say. And now it turns out he has a partner in whom, inexplicably, I find it easier to see myself.

]]> <![CDATA[Pornographic lessons]]> We already know that everything that happens on social media and the Internet can leave an indelible mark. Take the case of the politician—or actor—whose inappropriate opinions from years ago, or even compromising photographs, we find. Everything that a person who lives on social media has posted can remain there forever, especially if others take care to keep track of it, or if the media also reports it.

]]> <![CDATA[Spanish, aged between 30 and 44, and with primary education: the majority profile of victims of gender-based violence in Palma.]]>

Palma City Council's Comprehensive Care Service for Victims of Gender-Based Violence (SAIVM) has assisted 1,420 people during 2024 through its three programs, aimed at women, women and children, and male aggressors. This figure represents a 3% increase compared to the previous year. However, the number of cases of care has risen significantly among women (+15%). 1,097 were assisted, while 192 children and 121 men were treated. According to Lourdes Roca, Councilor for Social Services, Education, Citizen Participation, Youth, and Equality, 90% of the women achieved the project's objectives, 79% of the children improved their emotional well-being, and 84% of the men assisted acknowledged having caused harm and were working to improve.

]]> <![CDATA["We are a failure," I tell myself at least once a week.]]>

I remember the day when, for the first time, I was able to verbalize that I was lost, that I didn't know what to do with my life, that perhaps I had failed. I was in Hong Kong with my boyfriend, about to finish a nearly four-month trip through Asia. We were on a long trip, and I felt like I had all the time in the world, the feeling that makes you feel comfortable starting on unfinished business. So I began to reflect out loud, constantly walking, putting one foot after the other: right, left, right, left. "Maybe I should have studied something else." Right, left, right, left. "I just wasn't brave enough." Right, left, right, left. "I did everything wrong." Right, left, right, left. From higher and higher, from my chest getting tighter and tighter. I remember the rhythm of my breathing, the constant rhythm, the traffic jam that made all the intrusive thoughts move very quickly. I hyperventilated and couldn't stop the torrent of words.

]]> <![CDATA[The invisible women who 'trained' the Part Forana]]>

73-year-old Selvatgina native Francisca Coll Sampol proudly stands next to her huge youthful photo in the exhibition. Braid, at the Inca Footwear Museum. "It's from 1965," she says. "I was 13 years old at the time. It was made for me by the people from Trenzados Fiol in Inca for a leather fair that was scheduled to take place in Düsseldorf (Germany). For the occasion, they wanted me to dress as a peasant, although I never had a handloom with me. This is the ancestral tradition of our trade."

]]> <![CDATA[The 'Forbes' list of the most influential women in the Balearic Islands]]>

Forbes Women Spain This Monday, the magazine presented its list of the 50 most influential women in the Balearic Islands for 2025. These include the president of the Balearic Government, Marga Prohens; the singer and television presenter Chenoa; and the Michelin-starred chef Maca de Castro. In this way, the magazine aims to highlight the leadership and contributions of outstanding women in sectors as diverse as business, politics, culture, sports, and innovation in the archipelago.

]]>