Humiliating the feminists of the PSOE

Within the feminist movement, the phrase is so well-known that it has become a slogan: "Nothing is more like a right-wing sexist than a left-wing sexist." Women who have fought for equality from a progressive perspective have always faced the dilemma of dual membership: forming their own party or joining the ranks of those who, due to the nature of their social justice principles, could accommodate feminism. The first option may seem radical and exclusionary, but considering the systemic hostility that has characterized political parties and the price so many women must pay to have a relevant role, it is no wonder that it is valued. To avoid segregation and changing the structures of solid and powerful organizations, many feminists opted for dual membership. They have worked tirelessly at the grassroots level to make the equality agenda a priority, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the veterans who endured everything to be part of it for many of the gains we all now enjoy. They too suffered abuse, harassment, paternalism, and exclusion from the fraternal understanding of the men because they had a long-term goal.

Within the PSOE, there have always been sycophants and womanizers, disgusting and lecherous men. It would have been a miracle if, in just a few decades, all the men born from the stale patriarchy of National Catholicism had changed so radically. All of them, I say. Luckily, many did sincerely and wholeheartedly embrace feminism, but they didn't come across that way out of the box. The activists who were on the front lines during the Transition always tell us this: they had to educate their own men. You only have to read Montserrat Roig's novels to see that in bed, in the bedroom, in personal and family relationships, and also in the distribution of power within the organizations, they were more like right-wing men than feminist women.

But the current moment had to be different. This is what Pedro Sánchez's propaganda said, who, in the midst of the purple mobilization, made feminism his main banner. Meanwhile, he sidelined all the veterans who didn't fawn over him. He gave the Ministry of Equality to an Irene Montero with no experience or connection to the grassroots of the movement. He said nothing, as far as I recall, when an effigy of Carmen Calvo appeared hanging from a tree after trans activism targeted her. He endorsed and approved two disastrous laws for women: the so-called trans law and the law of only yes means yesBoth cases were analyzed by feminist legal experts who tirelessly reiterated and pointed out the risks they entailed. Over the years, we have witnessed the most competent socialists parade across the political stage, disappearing with strange, unexpected exits. Future historians will find a common thread running through all these marginalizations: their inability to bow before the Prime Minister. This inertia represents a public humiliation for all those who have stood up for him in the most difficult moments, those who have proudly displayed their feminist and socialist values. There are many women in the PSOE (and the PSC) who work tirelessly for equality and have achieved significant changes. One only needs to look at what is happening in local politics. Therefore, this apathy towards cases like those of Ábalos or Salazar is terribly damaging. Because it endorses the most disgusting sexism, but also because it demonstrates enormous contempt for all socialist feminists.