Don't do it on Women's Day

They write to me, politely, inviting me to a special program on March 8th as a woman writer. "You'll be sharing the table with many powerful women writers like yourself," they tell me, because "powerful" is a term that goes with everything. To be powerful? How frightening. I feel powerless.

On International Women's Day, special programs are held featuring only women. But this very practice makes the presence of women in places (media, mountain races, hair salons, and drug dens) cease to be the norm. If I'm invited to a writers' panel any day, I'll wait until there are writers of both genders, because it's a profession—and one I've been practicing for several years now—where great works are created by both men and women. It would be very strange if a literary panel consisted only of men (I'd like to say the presenter is an idiot). And it would be very strange if there were only women (I mean, the presenter is being condescending).

Don't put me on any list with only female writers. At the bar, on the beach, at the gym, and also among readers, I want a mix. Don't interview me on International Women's Day: interview me the next day, and I'll be very, very grateful. No, it hasn't been harder for me to write or to have readers (the longing of every writer) because I'm a woman. Perhaps because I write in Catalan, yes, but with a little more effort, we've reached the same level as everyone else, those who write in other languages. The other day, the competition for best sommelier in Catalonia was held. Three women made it to the podium, in a competition that was, of course, mixed. It's significant that women win in a profession that has always been dominated by men. But they were awarded for being the best, not for being women.