Mom, mom, mom: the true (and only) female reference of adolescents

Adolescents are the foundation of our future and, for now, his history books haven’t changed much. Sociologist Beatriz Ranea explains to laSexta.com that machismo is a cultural problem that must be solved from, among other areas, Education: “A story has been made in which women do not exist“, for this reason he insists on the importance of showing female references: “It is important for adolescents to see women in different spaceswith different papers”.

We went to a school in the northwest area of ​​Madrid to find out the opinion of the youngest. Like any first day of class, we get confused at the entrance door before reaching the secretary’s office. Secondary Education students organize boxes of non-perishable food for a solidarity activity. On the walls, large murals of historical references: Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, all three with different biographies written by students and many photographs. In the background, a drawing of Teresa of Calcutta.

At recess, girls are relegated to the corners, to the fences.”

Psychologist Diana Fernández Villagrán tells laSexta.com that to be a benchmark, you have to have “the power and opportunities to be visible, to be pronounced and to occupy spaces traditionally banned for women”: “From school, at recess already they teach children to occupy all the space playing football or any sports group activity, and girls are relegated to the corners, to the fencesto be still without physical space to play, and that is constituting the personality of men and women”.

Carla, a Physics and Chemistry teacher, invites us to join her 4th ESO class

– “At recess, we all get together and talk. Boys and girls,” replies one of Carla’s students.

However, when the 11 students sit down to talk to laSexta.com, they separate: the girls in front and the boys behind. “It is that we are a pineapple”, smiles one of them. Lara* (15 years old) assures that “they are generally men who appear in books”: “To meet female references in history you have to look for yourself, that’s how I discovered elizabeth blackwellthe first woman to study medicine, which is what I would like to dedicate myself to”, confesses Lara.

– “I have read ‘extraordinary women‘, a book where they tell you the story of different women who have played an important role in history. It’s very interesting.” (Elena*, 15 years old).

For a few years, the publication of these types of books that focus on highlighting women in different fields has grown a lot. Félix Domínguez, owner of the Los Libros Salvajes bookstore, recounts his experience: “In 2018 we noticed that many books were published aimed at girls and adolescents to empower them and for them to see that there were female role models in many professional fields. It is also true that this trend has slowed down a bit.

By making our great women visible, we are creating benchmarks”

‘fight like a girl‘ is one of the bestsellers in this category. Its author, the journalist Sandra Sabatés, explains to laSexta.com that she approached this book “as a personal exercise”: “I was aware that I did not know many women from my own country who had fought to win our rights and freedoms and advance towards equality. For this reason, in her book she talks about Emilia Pardo Bazán, Rosalía de Castro, María de Maeztu, Clara Campoamor, or Victoria Kentamong many others: “By making our great women visible, we are creating role models, a source of inspiration for many girls that helps them to believe, to convince themselves that they too can be what they set out to be“. Sabatés insists that women “have legal equality, but there is a long way to go before this becomes real equality and this is the most difficult part because it implies a change in social mentality”.

But how do you achieve a change in social mentality? Without a doubt, classrooms are once again the answer (although not the only one). Bea (12 years old) and Mariana (15 years old) talk to laSexta.com before getting in the car with their mother. Both assure that the role of women in society has improved a lot, although they still believe that “There is much to do“However, Matías* (12 years old) sees the figure of women today”overrated“.

This is not a gender issue. Ranea (sociologist) says that the generations that grow up in equality at the legislative level begin to realize inequality “when they face more complex situations, such as looking for work, or going out at night, which is where violence is found on numerous occasions. that women suffer. Even more so in adult life: if they have a partner, with the sharing of care…”. In the end, the whole society is responsible: “We have been educated in machismo and it is when you are aware that you begin to disassociate yourself from it. In addition, there is also an interest in this not changing, there are ‘the guardians of the patriarchy‘, who benefit from women not being given opportunities to move up, for example, to continue with greater social recognition.”

The true references of adolescents

Elizabeth Blackwell, Marie Curie, Coco Chanel, Úrsula K. Le Guin, Rosalind Franklin, or Frida Kahlo are some of the women that adolescents have highlighted when they thought of relevant women in history. But when talking to them about their female role models, the response is unanimous and overwhelming. Neither Rosalía, nor María Pombo, nor Alexia Putellas, nor Cristinini: “My mother“.

– “No matter what happens, she is always there and knows what to do and how to move forward” (Teresa*, 15 years old)

– “I have never seen her give up” (Sofía*, 15 years old)

– “He is my example to follow” (Rafa*, 15 years old)

– “He supports me, accompanies me and leaves me my space” (Lara*, 15 years old)

– “Thanks to her I am where I am” (Jorge*, 15 years old)

– “He cares about everyone and inspires me” (Ángel*, 15 years old)

– “He is persistent and with great empathy” (Álvaro, 15 years old)

– “He has the strength that I want to have” (Lucía, 17 years old)

– “She is a hard worker” (Mario*, 15 years old)

– “What can I say… It’s my mother!” (Elena*, 15 years old)

The care in families continues to belong mostly to women: “They are here to tell you off, to play with you, to support you… for everything. That’s why mothers are referentsespecially in adolescence, which is when we need more limits and more security,” explains the psychologist Villagrán.

On the one hand, the answers of the adolescents insist on the importance of education at home, and on the other, they reinforce the idea of ​​continuing to promote female references in history: “They are beginning to have mothers as references from the care, the tenderness… from places that are only household roles, that is why it is so important to know other referents that are out of doors. There, the leaders, those who have true power, are still men.”

*Some names of the adolescents interviewed are fictitious, for the protection of minors.