These Luchadoras Are Creating an Army to Take on Misogyny in Mexico Clare Wiley - The Debrief | |
go to original May 24, 2017 |
The recent murder of a young woman in Mexico City has sparked a public out-cry on social media. The result has been a viral hashtag with a powerful message. (CGTN America)
‘We are living in a country of death.’ Lulú Barrera is talking about her homeland, Mexico. It’s thought that six women are killed by men every day there; the UN calls it a pandemic. Women deal with sexual harassment all the time – they’re targeted on buses and attacked in the streets.
Abuse, both online and IRL, is rampant. It’s a seriously tough place to fight for women’s rights. But that’s exactly what Lulú is doing. She’s part of an all-woman collective of cyber activists called Luchadoras, based in Mexico City. They spread comedy gifs and girl-power graphics. They stage mass edits of Wikipedia pages to make sure female figures get the credit they deserve.
They’re basically creating an army of women who have had enough of trolls and violence and are taking matters into their own hands. This band of women warriors are taking on the patriarchy – one meme at a time. ‘It’s a way to encourage women to take technology into their own hands, to occupy the digital space, but with fun, with humor,’ says Lulú.
Luchadoras also have an online talk-show that explores topics like transgender rights, cuts to health services, and HIV. They cover the issues the mainstream media won’t.
‘With all the corruption, the femicide, the lack of women in authority – the outlook is really adverse,’Lulú tells me. ‘[We want to tell] stories that can bring you hope again. There’s a way through [this] and it’s not going to come tomorrow or in the future, it’s already happening now. And women are a big part of this.’
The name Luchadoras means ‘female fighters’. It’s a reference to Mexican wrestling, Lucha Libre – those Spandexed guys who romp around in kitschy masks and colourful capes. But the collective also wants to cast women as fighters, as resilient. ‘That’s pretty much the way we want to see women, as luchadoras,’ says Lulú. ‘Because the context can be really adverse but you’re working to make it better.’
Read the rest at The Debrief
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