Bourgeois Feminism?

FEMINISM HAS BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD FOR MANY YEARS AROUND THE WORLD. SAYING YOU ARE NOT FEMINIST BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN EQUALITY IS NONSENSE.

By Aliénor Godefroy and Laura Camila Ruiz (exchange & 4th semester undergraduate FIGRI student, Media Analysis elective)

As Emma Watson, the famous actress from the Harry Potter films, said in her UN Women’s speech “If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier”. The beginning of the feminist movement is considered to be in the 19th and 20th centuries with the political movement of suffrage: those women who were fighting for their right to vote. Feminism has also had other important periods, for example in the 60s when women were fighting for their sexual freedom.  All of these liberation movements tried to fight against masculine domination (which does not mean being anti-men) and give us the equality that we deserve.

Even though her reasons were right for us because she talked about how she felt as it reopened the feminist debate in many countries, many people criticized Watson’s speech because of her “bourgeois” comments. To speak about the fact that you have to stop playing sport because of the fear that you’ll become too muscly seems a little ironic when you think about all the women who are not, for religious, economic or other reasons, free to practice any sport. When you’re French and you come here to speak about feminism, you may feel that your French feminist problems are light in comparison to those here. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the issues that French feminists have to face are superficial issues. It is only that every society has to face its own issues. There are issues that only concern some countries, like access to education for girls in developing countries, or all countries, like the gap between the average male and female salaries.

Living in a country where, even if you work more than men, your salary will be 20 percent less is not the only machismo problem that we have. We are raising women to believe in Disney World lifestyle goals. Nowadays, many girls want to find their ideal prince instead of finding themselves as successful businesswomen. We are forgetting our women’s history. Not all women have received the same rights but people keep thinking that being feminist is “too strong” and “too anti-men.”

We are not trying to make you change the way you think and the way you live your life. It is okay to expect to have the same job opportunities. It is okay to decide with whom you will have sex. It is okay to try to make your life better as women and expand the possibilities (for men as well). Feel free to speak out when somebody is violating your rights and feel free to express your opinion. Remember, feminism is about equality for both genders. This is about freedom.

Citizens of the World

By Alejandra Holguin Madriñan (7th semester undergraduate FIGRI student, English through Multimedia elective)

I always wondered why, if I have the right to free movement, I can’t calmly go to another country without having to fill out so much paperwork, pay for all the things I have to do to get a visa and all the other formalities.

If you go back in history you can realize that humans and animals were always in movement. They migrated and traveled great distances, and the weather, the food and natural events kept them moving constantly. However, today the causes of migration have evolved and it is not that easy to move to another territory whenever you want. Our ancestors would be very surprised to be limited by a visa, a passport and the paperwork to cross from here to there.

The development of the many obstacles for migrants began in the early twentieth century with the wave of immigrants coming from Europe to the United States and other countries in America. This period was epic because of the thousands of people moving from one country to another and the United States was the country receiving most of these immigrants. There were more and more people in pursuit of the American Dream. Laws and controls of every kind represented the beginning of the obstacles for these dreamers to enter the United States. Many other countries around the world also started to apply these measures.

Borders became a major topic on the agenda of the states within the international system. I think that the situations that exist today with the border between Colombia and Venezuela and the one between the United States and Mexico are outrageous. They are very different situations but they are based on the same issue: people are constantly crossing the borders between countries whether legally or illegally. We are not analyzing this problem at its source, we are just trying to “stop it” by closing borders, imposing obstacles, being violent and building walls to divide each other.

Why, if we have the right to free movement, should we have a passport or a visa to travel? Should we even have a passport or a visa? Why can’t we just be citizens of the world?

Hunger or Well-being?

By Andrea Estupiñan (4th semester undergraduate Tourism & Hotel Management student, English through Multimedia elective)

Do you remember what your breakfast was today? Or what you ate yesterday? I don’t know what you had, but I am sure that your meals included grains, fruit, vegetables, meat, chicken or fish; and maybe you could be thinking that it’s obvious that those foods were included in your diet and it makes no sense to ask that, so I have new questions for you. What kind of food are you eating? What is that doing or not doing to your body? How is it being produced? Where does all that come from?

It is important to take into account the factors already mentioned because there are situations that have been changing nutrition. I am talking about transgenic elements: food that comes from genetically modified (GM) seeds modified by Monsanto, the company that has this monopoly in its hands.

GM foods have been made to satisfy an increased demand for things to eat. It means that the modifications make seeds have a greater resistance to pests, ecosystem conditions and climatic conditions. They also become resistant to herbicides, take less time to grow, last longer and have more attractive physical characteristics although everything cannot be good. The production of GM foods brings with it the implementation of new practices such as the use of fertilizers and pesticides that are toxic to our health; the human body is not capable of removing these chemical toxins by itself and this exposure affects and deteriorates the body, due to internal biomass accumulation.

If you are thinking that you don’t eat these fertilizers or pesticides, think about how much of it could fall onto the ground where the plants grow. Think about how, when we consume protein, the animals have been fed with GM grain.

This form of agriculture is killing the other plants around GM crops. Insects are dying, and this is imminently affecting the food chain and the environment.

If this kills nature and living beings, won’t it kill us, too?

Be the voice of those that don’t have one

Article and photo by Francy Lorena Gamba Martínez
(6^th semester undergraduate Social Communication & Journalism student, Media Analysis elective)

We´ve seen them on the streets looking for food, or running from danger. Some of them may have known about the idea of a home and a human family, who in the end just threw them out because they grew up, while others are just used to being on the streets and not trusting anyone.

In Latin America the statistics about the number of homeless animals are really worrying. Just in Mexico, there are 1,200,000 homeless animals. Just imagine what the figure could be for the whole Latin American continent.

However, the saddest part of this reality is the government legislation and the lack of strong laws regarding this. There are mass culls, where the suffering of animals is often not important, and scheduled hunts, which in some places have become a kind of sport where the pain of the hunted animals is the most important aspect and these creatures are indiscriminately poisoned.

Those heartless methods show that there is little awareness about animal protection in this part of the world. Nevertheless, the eyes and ears of some people are opening bit by bit. With the access to information that came with the internet and cyberspace, there was a rise in the number of people that stopped saying “poor baby” and began to do something more. In Colombia, there are around 100 official organizations that work for animal rights in every area, every day. That is without taking into account those people who work by themselves recovering animals and giving them away in responsible adoption.

There are two sides to this coin, and everyone is playing their part in this situation. They are not just our pets or the closest animals that human beings have ever been related with. They are our habitat partners and, if we are indifferent to their pain, if we support their abuse, then what can we expect of our future in this world?

Milan Kundera, the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, said once that “humanity's true moral test, its fundamental test…consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.”  If we support and even participate in these kinds of terrible acts, how can we define our humanity? 

The End of a Cruel Spectacle

By Juan Sebastián Basto Hernández (2^nd semester undergraduate FIGRI student, level 4 English)

The bull, symbol of courage and tenacity, is subjected to a degrading and painful spectacle. The animal is prepared: vaseline is rubbed into his eyes and needles are stuck into his genitals, with the final purpose of getting him into the bullring weak and disoriented, facilitating the "slaughter" of the matador. Once the bullfight starts, the “picador”, knocks lances into the bull’s back, in order to cause intense pain in the neck of the animal that prevents it from looking up. Then the assistant matadors introduce the “banderillas” into the wound. Every movement of the bull is a martyrdom. Finally, the bull bleeds to death. The animal falls to the ground and the matador thrusts a “puntilla”, a wound that does not kill him, but leaves him conscious even if paralyzed. The bull is dragged out of the arena, and the audience stands and applauds. The work of art that they came to witness has finished.

The most outrageous thing of all is that Colombia is the scene of this cruel spectacle, disguised under the name of art and culture. Our country is one of the eight countries in the world that allows bullfighting and other practices that harm animals. This is because violence is part of our culture. We need to change that, because culture cannot be more important than animal rights, and we have to make people aware that they are watching a barbaric act and not a cultural one. This can be achieved through campaigns against animal violence.

As Ricardo Fajardo and Alexandra Cárdenas express in their book Animal Rights: “In Colombia, justice has been defined by the set of existing roles of human relationships throughout history. Unfortunately, the base of this history has been subordination. This started with black people, when the Spaniards colonized our territory, and continued with women and ethnic minorities. While this process has seen continuous fights for equality and recognition of rights, man has forgotten his closest cousin: the animal.”

To get an idea about animal rights in Colombia, just consult our constitution, where these rights are not even named or recognized. This contrasts with the constitution of other countries such as Germany, in which the state has the obligation to ensure the rights and protection of animals.

The mistreatment of bulls in Colombia is legitimized through Article 7 of Act 84 of 1989 corresponding to the National Statute of Protection of Animals. In this article, numerous behaviors that harm animals are authorized, and these behaviors are considered to be cultural and artistic expressions that identify us as Colombians, which makes the suffering of these living beings tolerable.

Above all, this law completely contradicts the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights, which provides basic and logical principles of animal protection in its articles 10 and 11: "No animal should be used for entertainment. Animal exhibitions and shows that use animals are incompatible with animals’ dignity. Every action that causes the unnecessary death of an animal is a crime against life."

Bullfighting is a grotesque and violent spectacle in which people feel satisfaction witnessing the death of an animal. Unfortunately, Colombia is the scene of this slaughter and the law protects it, considering it to be a cultural and artistic expression that identifies us as Colombians. It is clear that the only way to eradicate this violence is to reform the law, something that would not only constitute a benefit for the animals, which are the ones really affected by this practice, but would also be progress for the Colombian nation. As Thomas A. Edison said, “until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."

Have a Good Beginning to Have a Good Ending

By Santiago Ortiz (10^th semester FIGRI student)

I believe every start in our lives can be difficult, sometimes because nobody tells us what to do or how to be in some particular situations, and other times just because of the way we are. However, there are two special beginnings in our lives at university and at work, which I would like to mention because they are important for almost everybody. I want to give you some advice to make those situations less traumatic, based on my own experience.

Firstly, when you begin studying at university, there are some tips you should take into account to make this start easier. The people who you will find at university are very different from the people you used to be with at school, and for that reason you should be open-minded and make many friends, without caring about what they look like. There is nothing more traumatic than being alone, because your fear will not let you be. If you have a good group of friends, you will feel confident and you can figure out the new and weird problems you will face. In addition, a good group of friends will help you study for hard exams, because I am sure that the last year of your school wasn´t as difficult.

Another piece of advice I would like to give you is to be very organized because you will have a lot of homework and projects, and if you do not have a good method, you will not use your time well. In my own experience, I found support in a female friend. Usually, girls are more responsible and organized than men, and she helped me to remember important dates and study for exams.

It is not only a good idea to be more responsible, but also to build strong relationships with others. I would like to give you other little tips for your university life. You have to think you are going to be at least five years with your classmates, so it will be better if you build a good relationship with them. You must not lie about yourself, about your economic situation, or try to be someone different, because your classmates will have enough time to know everything about you. Likewise, the relationship with your teachers is also very important because a lot of them are very well-known, intelligent and experienced people. Not only can they help you at university, but they can help you in the future to get a good job or to advise you in your personal projects. Don’t be afraid of speaking with your teachers because they are regular people and most of them are very paternal and pleasant. If you follow this advice, you will have a great time at university.      

Moving on, below there are some pieces of advice for your first job that I have learnt myself. These are handy tips that everyone should know and make use of. I wish somebody had told me these before I started working, because this way, I would not have learnt them the hard way, and I would not have made so many awful mistakes. The following advice is not only applicable for work, but also for life.

Be humble. If you are one of those guys that graduated Suma Cum Laude and think you know everything, and you want to improve the way they do things in the office, I’ve got some advice for you. Forget about everything! What you are going to learn at work comes from experience rather than academia. It is the way things work in real life; it is not like in the classroom. Although knowledge should always be valued, don’t close your mind, so you can be easily be taught the new things that will complement you. There is nothing as annoying as a new person that wants to show off by correcting a current employee! I found out this when my colleague Andrés, the new intern, was hired.

Work hard, especially if your boss is a generation older than you. Bosses tend to dedicate a great part of their lives and goals to the company. They do not expect you to be a regular person, but a working machine that only has one focus: to generate profits for the company. Note that this happens more with older bosses. The older they are, the more their lives revolve around the company, and the more they want you to be totally dedicated to work and less to your personal life.

Be a unique, valuable asset. We all are good at something and we all have different skills. Your goal is to find out how you can apply those skills in your daily work. The important thing to have in mind is that you do not want to try to change the core of these things; just basic, slight improvements. Sometimes you will need to ask your boss or your colleague before making a change, so be aware of this. You can also express your ideas in workgroup conversations. Just use your wisdom and prudence before making a change and you will be fine. I hope these tips will be of great help in your life, because if you have a good beginning, you will have a good ending. 

A Healthy Snack!

By Laura Sofía Grueso (4th semester undergraduate Social Communication student, level 4 English)

There are some people who think that eating healthily is unpleasant and tasteless, but that isn’t true! 

There are many delicious and healthy recipes that give us nutrients and benefit our bodies.

I want to show you how to make a super healthy dessert without sugar or flour.

All you need is yogurt, a mango, stevia and lemon juice. Blend all the ingredients then put the mixture into the freezer. After two hours, you can enjoy a delicious ice cream, one hundred percent natural!

This dessert goes well with peanut butter, which you can make yourself. All you need are peanuts and olive oil. Put these ingredients into a blender until you have a smooth consistency, then put some of this mixture onto the dessert.

I hope you enjoy it!