“It was the most sexist, arrogant, fascist and even anti-democratic thing I have ever heard,” says Sonía Gómez Menéndez. The Spanish feminist is furious about the explanation of football association president Luis Rubiales about his unwanted kiss to football star Jennifer Hermoso. I’m not going to resign, Rubiales said last Friday, five times, to loud applause from a large number of his colleagues. It is not machismo that plagues Spain, but “fake feminism,” said Rubiales.
“And it didn’t stop there,” says Gómez, who works for Confluencia Movimiento Feminista, the umbrella organization for all feminist groups in Spain. “He also promised to double the salary of coach Jorge Vilda.”
In the run-up to the World Cup, Vilda was discredited after players accused him of inappropriate behavior in an email to the football association. For example, at the training camp he would have forced them to keep their bedroom door open so that he could check whether they were in bed. The women who signed the email were not selected. “That applause, those rewards and abuse of power. They are all Rubiales,” says Gómez.
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The football association affair draws attention to the apparently still strong machismo in Spain. But the issue also shows that Spain has been changed by the great feminist movement against it.
Mobilization
Spanish feminist organizations immediately took action after the kiss, even though half of Spain was still on vacation. What followed were demonstrations in front of the Football Association’s headquarters and in central Madrid, where hundreds of people gathered to condemn the machismo and express support for Hermoso. On social media, #Estamoscontigo, a popular hashtag among feminists to condemn macho violence, went viral again. Also #SeAcabó, it’s done, was used a lot.
“What is happening now with Rubiales shows that society has become more aware and sensitive to identifying forms of sexual violence,” says gender sociologist Rosa Cobo Bedia, affiliated with the University of A Coruña. “#SeAcabó is a warning: impunity has come to an end.”
What is happening with Rubiales shows that society has become more sensitive to identifying forms of sexual violence
Rosa Cobo Bedia gender sociologist University of A Coruña
A long history preceded that. Even before the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, women in the Spanish society, which was still strongly dominated by the Catholic Church, were already claiming their position in society. “The Spanish Republic also gave women that space by introducing very progressive legislation,” explains Gómez, referring to 1933, the year women gained the right to vote. Both world wars ensured that women went to work on a large scale, replacing the men who were at the front.
Backlash
A backlash came under dictator Francisco Franco. Women were forced back into the roles of housewives and mothers. Divorce, abortion and contraception were banned. For anything they wanted to do outside the home, such as traveling, they had to get a permission form from a man.
Although this changed after Franco’s death in 1975 and the restoration of democracy, the macho culture has persisted. For example, the far-right party Vox, which governs more than ten large municipalities and four regions, stands firmly in favor of the traditional division of roles between men and women. The party believes that feminism demonizes the traditional family model and deprives women of freedom who choose to take care of the children at home.
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Photo Andrea Comas/AP
The church also continues to play a role, but not nearly as strongly. Not only has the country broken away from Catholicism, feminism has crept into the church. For example, female theologians spoke out about the discrimination and deprivation of women. They demand equality and more authority. At the beginning of this year, the church heed this call and promised recovery. Politics is also progressive.
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In addition, society has shifted. Spain has more progressive laws than many other European countries when it comes to women. There is the rape law, the transgender and abortion law and the menstrual leave. According to Gómez and Cobo, these would never have happened without the feminist movement.
Fight against inequality
“The fight against inequality and sexist violence can only be achieved through policy. Both on the labor market (for example by equalizing salaries) and in education; both in culture and in science; both in the family and in religion, and so on,” Cobo sums up. “And such policies cannot be made without feminism. If feminism is strong, if it has the ability to mobilize, then the political power will feel some of that discomfort and turn it into rights or public policy. You can’t improve women’s lives without feminism.”
On the eye Spain is doing well regarding women’s emancipation. In 2022, 53.8 percent of women had a paid job. 55.7% of university students are female. In business, only six of every 100 CEOs are women, while in politics, half of the 22 ministerial posts are currently held by women.
The far-right party Vox stands firm in favor of the traditional division of roles between men and women
According to Gómez, however, Spain is far from there. “Boys want to be footballers because they can earn millions. Girls know they have to work themselves to death if they want to play football professionally to make ends meet,” she says. “A woman who wants to reach a high position probably has to give up her family life completely, while this is never asked of a man. At job interviews, women are still asked if they want to have children. The answer determines their future. Meanwhile, the positions of power remain in the hands of men. It is very difficult for a society to respect women if macho men remain in those positions of power.”
Upbringing
More is therefore needed for profound change, argues Gómez. “We also need to look at education. If we are already being raised and educated in a sexist way, then a law is pointless. It starts with education,” she says. “Gender stereotypes must be eradicated completely. A woman is a woman because she wears heels. No, that’s a gender stereotype.”
Gómez believes that making all kinds of women visible is a way to counter machismo. “From an early age, because if you only start with adolescents, it becomes more complicated.”
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She also thinks that the press can also present a fairer image of women. “Take the World Cup. There were few front pages on which the brand new champions were depicted. Instead, you saw Rubiales and Coach Vilda. We almost forgot that the women are the champions. This would never happen to a men’s team.”
“We have broken the glass ceiling, but there is still a steel ceiling to be pierced,” Gómez summarizes the situation. And: “Men have to participate. A mistake made in recent decades is that men were not involved in feminism. We need them as well-informed allies. Not to take our positions, but to be aware of their privileges and distance themselves from them.”