Feminicide

By Janaina Albuquerque

In March 9th 2015 a new law was sanctioned by Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, that typifies feminicide^[1]. Not only this law changes brazilian’s Criminal Code, but it establishes feminicide as a heinous crime. It means that neither bail, grace, amnesty nor pardon can be granted.

           

There’s a fine line between what femicide and feminicide mean, even though many use both terms as synonyms. Femicide was firstly mentioned by Jill Radford and Diana Russel in “Femicide: The Politics of Woman Killing”, when Feminicide, on the other hand, was evoked by a mexican anthropologist, Marcela Lagarde. Femicide regards the death of female subjects in a broader spectrum, while feminicide exceeds misogyny by creating a climate of terror, persecution, rape, torture, sexual harassment, physical and verbal abuse. Femicide is to kill a woman because she’s a female. Feminicide is what holds responsible not only the male perpetrator, but also the State and judicial structures that normalize misogyny^[2].

Why is it important to include feminicide as a crime in domestic legal systems? Does it empower women in anyway?

Well, most surely yes.

But in order to be able to answer the first question, one must be aware of the effects of gender inequality in society. “What is the difference between murder and feminicide?”, some may ask. “If everyone is equal, no murder should be more serious than any other”. This definitely isn’t the way to approach this subject.

In the Brazilian criminal system, a qualified murder causes the sentence to be increased because of futile reasons, the way it was perpetrated, the way of execution or its finality. Why isn’t gender a qualification? Why isn’t race and why isn’t sexual orientation? None of these examples provide futile reasons. They highlight the most obscure side of the scope of the law: it doesn’t effectively protect the people. It isn’t complete and that’s a problem because the law is the ultimate agreement between the government and the people.

The typification of feminicide isn’t a privilege. It’s a right. A Human Right. Any kind of violence motivated by intolerance should indeed be treated more seriously. Every woman murdered simply because she is a woman weakens our way to gender equality. Every person hurt because of the color of her skin penetrates racism each inch deeper into our habits. Anyone who has ever incited violence against homosexuals is not only taking away another person’s right to love, but making this person afraid of showing her feelings and being herself. So there’s an immense meaning behind killing a person because of something she was born with. She can’t help it. She can’t detach from it. She shouldn’t want to suppress it.

The feminicide law wasn’t made for giving advantage to women because they are weaker, even if it represents a way of empowerment. What would happen to honour killings if feminicide was implemented in these countries? How many women would stop being disfigured by acid? It may not seem much, but fighting for equality is an everyday struggle won by baby steps.

Society is making a statement by turning feminicide into a specific, most severe kind of murder. It means that it won’t be tolerated that women are killed every day because of who they are any second longer. Women who are stuck in abusive relationships, who are beaten and humiliated, have a reason to believe that, in some way, the law is looking out for them. Not only that, but many women believe that only because they are women, they have to obey and be submissive; when the truth is they are powerful and equally as capable as any other human being, deserving to be treated as such. Feminicide states once and for all, even if there are people who don’t see it, that women’s rights are violated, that women suffer from prejudice, and that women need legal support to protect themselves from the ultimate kind of violence.  

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^[1] http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2015-2018/2015/Lei/L13104.htm

^[2] http://www.ghrc-usa.org/Programs/ForWomensRighttoLive/factsheet_femicide.pdf

Never judge a book by its cover

By Janaina Alberquerque

Just like many little girls, I grew up watching Disney movies and wanting to be like the Disney Princesses. As I grew older and I began to understand the movies better, part of the magic surrounding the stories I held so close to my heart disappeared. I was actually disappointed with the princesses I once looked up to. I’m bothered with the idea of young girls growing up thinking that it's okay to give up on their dreams, to run away from home, to live their lives according to someone else’s and to rely only in their beauty. I wish they knew they should become independent, active, conscious women who criticize, speak up and love themselves exactly the way they are.
I love how feminism has been influencing Disney movies and how, in an overall perspective, it's bringing the princesses closer to modern day women, when it comes to gender equality and women's rights. In 1937, when feminism was still on its first wave, Walt Disney was producing his first animation feature in full color. Bill Pete was an illustrator and a story writer for the Disney Studios at that time. He worked in the production of the movie in question, Snow White. In his autobiography, he published a letter of rejection sent by the studio to a woman named Mary Ford, who wanted to become a part of the team. Here is a picture of it:

 

She wasn’t selected for the job because "women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that task is performed entirely by young men" (paragraph 2). As it wasn’t enough, it had to be explained that "the only work open to women consists of tracing the characters on clear celluloid sheets with India ink, and then, filling in the tracing on the reverse side with paint according to directions" (paragraph 3).
So women couldn't compose the creative staff of a movie directed to young women.
That strikes me with no sense at all, because why would men know better? I'm sure that a whole male staff contributed to build such submissive, clueless, impulsive female characters. I perceive three phases of princesses:
The first one begins with Snow White. Apart from the Evil Stepmother and the mother that isn't shown, she's the only other female character. At 14, she's a housekeeper for seven men and she marries a guy who kisses her without her permission.  Then came Cinderella, which is a little better because there are more female characters and Cinderella actually gets to speak to the Prince before marrying him. What saddens me about it is that all characters seem shallow, with no hopes and dreams besides being rich and beautiful. Sleeping Beauty is a shame. Aurora has only 18 lines during the whole movie and she has no personality or proactivity whatsoever. Ariel shows some improvement by helping to save the day, but she decides to sacrifice something she's great at, which is singing, and drastically changes her body to impress a man. Moreover, she has to conquer the prince's heart depending solely on her looks, as she can't say anything due to the trade she made with Ursula.
I see the second phase princesses as transition princesses. Jasmine does use her persuasive powers to seduce Jafar, but! That doesn't take away the credit for stating, and I quote: "I am not a prize to be won". In Beauty and the Beast, Belle rejects the status of being the "most desirable" guy’s girlfriend unlike most girls in the village. I won't get deeper into the Stockholm syndrome interconnection, even though the Prince, as a Beast (and that’s a sensitive spot), is very rude, selfish, possessive and controlling. Let me make an observation by objecting the attribution of the Beast’s bad side to his “ugly” form.  When the Beast breaks the spell and suddenly becomes handsome, he drastically changes his personality as well. There isn’t only a princess stereotype but there’s also a villain’s. It’s clear to notice that they’re usually overweight, old and not very good-looking. In Aladdin and Princess and the Frog, for instance, the villains use magic and they seem very mystical. But aren’t they the ones who follow arabic and african religions? What kind of statement are we accepting with that? Isn’t this a way of encouraging people to pre-judge others?
The following characters compose a third phase of princesses who turned out to be really good role models for young women. Pocahontas is the first princess to be comfortably called a feminist. She doesn’t play the damsel in distress part; she's the one to save the prince and chooses to break up with him so she can follow her path. In Tangled, Rapunzel teaches how to take advantage out of her best features. She wasn't sitting and waiting for a prince to come and save her; he just gave her the extra hand she needed.  There's one important lesson there, which is to be a part of a team. Tiana's dream is to start her own business with the money she worked really hard to earn, and I'd say that's pretty admirable. Mulan is one of the few princesses to wield a weapon. She's the one to reallocate gender roles by making a place for herself, rescuing almost everybody and saving her country. She breaks a paradigm and to do that, she counts with the help of really powerful female role models. In Brave, Merida refuses to adopt the expected girly conduct in order to please an applicant prince. In contrast with the first phase princesses, the idea of getting married is absurd to her because she's a teenager and she's too young. She hasn't even fulfilled her life goals yet. Brave is a story about family relationships. It saddened me when I read critics like "Oh no, I can't believe Pixar has made a princess movie". I'm really glad it did.
“Real life” princess stories do happen! Once upon a time there was an african girl who prayed every night wishing she’d wake up the next and her skin would be a little lighter. She overcame her insecurities and became an Oscar-winning actress. Doesn’t it sound like a fairy-tale with a happy ending to you? Lupita Nyongo gave a speech in the 'Black Beauty Essence, Black Women In Hollywood Awards’ telling a little bit about her trajectory. If you haven't seen it yet, here's a link for it: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPCkfARH2eE). She says how important it was for her to identify herself with a public figure that looked so much like her during the process of learning how beautiful she was. To conclude my reasoning, I’ll borrow and idea introduced by a Nigerian writer called Chimamanda Adichie of the dangers of having a single story. Here's a link to watch her inspirational lecture: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg). To sum it up, if we only see one example of anything repeating itself over and over again we'll believe in a single story version of it, but the truth is there is a whole universe of stories to be explored… That's an exercise to help eradicate prejudice by creating acceptance and boosting our self-esteems. To engage in enhancing female representativeness, in all fields, is to, in someway, empower women as well. 

Be happy as you are!

It's summer below the equator. For Brazilians, that means Carnaval is approaching.

Many people have heard about it, seen pictures or even been to one. Brazil is widely known for it; the colors, the music, the euphoria, the women. Brazil has exported a body standard from it.

It wasn't until the beginning of this year when I heard about this new Brazilian butt-lift, though I guess it had been going on for a while back. I think there's a whole workout program with the same name. The article I read showed a picture of Izabel Goulart, a Brazilian supermodel, in the last Victoria's Secret fashion show. This miraculous surgery could seemingly turn your "derrière" into one that looked like hers. There is one other body intervention I'm aware of carrying the Brazilian name and I guess many women outside of Brazil have also heard of it, which is the Brazilian wax. The Brazilian body has become a brand.

The famous Drum Queens who parade in the avenues during Carnaval festivities have a different body type than supermodels. When this time of the year comes, Brazilian websites become flooded with news about the Drum Queens' preparation, saying how much weight they have loss and how they have intensified their work-out routines. Don't get me wrong, these are beautiful bodies and beautiful women who have worked really hard to look like they do.

But last week I came across an article about a fifteen-year-old girl who had become the youngest Drum Queen to ever parade for a Samba School. I don't always pay much attention to these kinds of news, since most of the Drum Queens are celebrities, such as actresses or socialites, and even though I think that there should be more women with average body types represented in the media, it's a fact that a certain body standard exists and I'd say the majority of women who work with their images are still very concerned about that. I'd even say that for Carnaval Drum Queens, it's comes to me as an obsession.

The teenager mentioned in the article is the daughter of the president of the Samba School she's parading for. She grew up in the Carnaval business, but this is the first time she parades as a Drum Queen.  In the article I read, she had given an interview talking about her excitement, boyfriends, her father's jealousy, the costume she'd wear, her inspirations and her training.  

Most Drum Queens parade with tiny costumes and some of them parade naked, with their bodies painted. The objectification of Brazilian women due to the overly sexualized way they are perceived during the Carnaval parades has been discussed over and over again. There are several layers to this discussion, such as the Brazilian tradition, what is thought to be the target audience's desire, the international export and the national exposure to the festivities' sexual connotation alongside with many other aspects. Yet what is the impact of having a teenage Drum Queen parading in 2014's Carnaval?

Many Brazilian young girls and young women grow up inspiring themselves in Drum Queens, who already are or instantly become influential public figures. Brazilian women see other curvy women parading and are therefore able to identify themselves. There is obviously the downside of objectification, but on the other hand, more women tend to embrace their curves because they're proud of their bodies, which is a great thing. But then again, it takes many hours working out plus a carefully monitored diet to achieve the Drum Queen body kind perfection. I believe that most women don't have the resources and much time to dedicate to their bodies; hence, to accomplish the body perfection they crave for, it takes shortcuts, which aren't always the healthiest options and which might initiate an obsessive pursuit leading to eating disorders and unnecessary body interventions.

It isn't a good message for girls when a fifteen-year-old is crowned a Drum Queen and publicly speaks of worrying about her weight and how her body will look like when she's parading. For starters, it's too early to expose such a young woman to this highly sexualized position. Somehow it even makes me think that crowning a teenage Drum Queen reinforces that it's okay for foreigns to come from abroad looking for sexual tourism with a minor. Brazil exports a body image, so by exporting the image of a teenager parading as a sex-symbol along with other grown women, it might influence many girls to want the same thing, to worry too much about their figure, to want to be in the same position as she is and to be as desirable as she seems to be. Even if she doesn't look like a teenager and even if she's arguably mature, she's subjected to sexual viewed position, whether she likes it or not. People won't look at her like a teenager; they will look at her like an adult woman.

Girls at that age are starting to figure their sexualities out and they are getting to know themselves. A fifteen-year-old shouldn't be forced into pulling the germinating sexiness out of her, even if she wants it or has it. She shouldn't be put in this position and she also shouldn't have to endure with the body related charging she didn't have before this "job". As teenagers, we all want to grow up very quickly, but part of the ripening process is learning to accept the way we look. Instead of being women obsessed with perfection we should be women obsessed with being comfortable in our own skins. We should take advantage of what we see and what we find beautiful in our own conditions, respecting our body types. We should learn how to be patient and not to follow unachievable trends. We're not bound to look like anything, specially because of society’s requirements, and we surely mustn't submit young girls to feel obliged to look like grown women.

By Janaína Albuquerque