For years, sociologist Elisa García-Mingo has immersed herself in the study of the machosphere, online communities that spread misogynistic content, whether through ridiculing comments and messages or by asking artificial intelligence to reinvent photographs of women to undress them.

That we are starting with artificial intelligence using biased algorithms is no secret. The dangers of using AI without regulation have been demonstrated and emphasized, whether for personal purposes, in a company or institution, or, even more alarmingly, for disseminating content on social media. Achieving ethical algorithms, aligned with democratic values ​​and incorporating a gender perspective, is an objective that is being pursued, especially in Europe. Women experts in this field are shedding light on a rapidly advancing technology that seems difficult to control and in which, as in the world of... big tech, There's a lack of women.

The concept backlash (which could be translated as recoil, rebound either counter-reactionThis describes a structured and hostile backlash against advances in equality, especially against women's rights. It is an ideological and cultural counteroffensive that does not arise from isolated responses, but from a coordinated strategy with a clear objective: to promote a counter-reform that reverses social gains in rights and freedoms.

With another March 8th approaching, feminism is facing a disastrous situation. The movement is suffering setbacks worldwide, and according to the results of a survey published in this newspaper, 60% of men in Spain believe they are being discriminated against simply for being men. Data like this neither surprises us nor is it foreign to our society. Often, in the very articles I write each week, there are men who automatically feel... offended Just for using a feminine adjective. Even if the adjective could include me, a woman, it doesn't matter if we're talking about the beacon scam or living past 100. These are individuals, almost always anonymous, who cling to the tradition of thinking only of themselves. Nor to the tradition that women can be discriminated against. But woe betide them if a generic term doesn't make them feel included! (They are there, but they want to maintain their status. Besides, they shouldn't be everywhere, either.) These men are terrified of losing what they believe is their birthright. But these men's feelings are also tied to egocentrism and a deliberate desire to harm. Because, seeing the state of the world, they show not even the slightest empathy for verifiable facts and for a fundamental reason: demanding human rights is exhausting. We have other things to do in life. But we want a fairer life for everyone. And we want to use adjectives however we please.

Those who criticize marrying young as a mistake because it involves choosing a life partner before truly knowing yourself will surely be delighted that Cher has found her soulmate on the cusp of 80. With years of experience gained from self-discovery and having become so certain of who she is that she has dared to defy every possible social taboo, the most primal of all living pop divas seems to have found someone with whom to swear eternal love, however long eternity may last for her. After two failed marriages and 50 years of abstinence—marital, not romantic—we understand that she knew exactly what she was looking for in a man. That's why it's so joyful that she has found him—which doesn't always happen—and is determined to give it a luxurious touch through marriage. Especially since this decision will greatly upset that insufferable ageist and sexist social class that always tries to oppress anyone who attempts to live their life freely. This is a guarantee that Cher's upcoming wedding is very good news.

Until recently, a certain Paco Salazar was considered one of Pedro Sánchez's right-hand men. José Luis Ábalos and Santos Cerdán were also among the Prime Minister's closest advisors, so it's clear that Sánchez has a remarkably poor eye for choosing his right-hand men. Salazar shared with these other advisors the fact that he was a lecher. According to the complaints and witnesses against him, he was the typical trigger-happy type who took advantage of his position of power (he was a high-ranking official in data analysis and forecasting at La Moncloa, and one of Pedro Sánchez's main electoral advisors) to sexually harass the women who worked with him. Comments, behaviors, and situations that he—as is always the case—considered jokes, but which were degrading. The events came to light before the summer and, despite complaints from several collaborators and activists (including former parliamentary spokesperson Adriana Lastra), the PSOE did nothing for the victims until recently, when a journalistic investigation byEldiario.es This has brought the case back into the spotlight. This weekend, Pedro Sánchez admitted the "mistakes" that have accumulated in this story, the main one being the neglect of the women who suffered harassment from Salazar.

This week we presented the main findings of the Survey on Sexual Violence by the Department of the Interior. These are alarming figures that should shake anyone to their core, but at the same time, they allow us to construct a clear picture of the serious problem and the impact of this violence. The fact that two out of every three Catalan women (67.3%) have suffered sexual violence at some point in their lives, and that 15.5% have experienced it in the last year, definitively shatters the myth that sexual violence is exceptional or circumstantial. It is structural, persistent, and deeply rooted, and even today, only 6% of those affected report it. This violence, as the data indicates, transcends generations, public and private spaces, and intimate relationships, and it remains silenced. This silence is not resignation or passivity on the part of women, but rather a response to institutional distrust, the difficulty in identifying situations of violence (many of which are normalized and internalized), and a reflection of the fear of reprisals and the social burden that still falls on those who suffer it in the form of guilt or shame.

First came the web users Forocoches with those endless threads of the purest brother-in-lawismAs social media has grown, so has the rise of... influencers antifeministswho make money by leading the backlash against machismo and misogyny, promoting hostility towards feminists and proclaiming that "violence has no gender." So great is the influence of these men—who claim to fight for "men's rights"—that the UN has issued a warning about the dangers of their power. machosphere (also known as manosphere)) when it comes to attracting younger generations.

On November 4th, a drunken, clumsy man assaulted Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, during a walk through the capital. The president filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office to set an example that this type of behavior is more than unacceptable: "It's a crime, and if I don't file a complaint, what becomes of all Mexican women?" In a press conference, Sheinbaum proposed reviewing whether sexual harassment in public spaces should be considered a criminal offense. It seems that important women—and here she uses "important" to clarify that they not only wield power but also symbolically embody a series of shared values, such as freedom and mutual respect—must confront this type of violence far too often.

"Poor little brother of yours," my mother always said to me, even though we were twins. How many women haven't subjected little girls to merciless judgment while weeping for the suffering of those poor creatures who, because of their external genitalia, were the recipients of surprising compassion? I'm not saying there aren't mothers who mistreat boys, but there are far too many who indulge them, pamper them, and overprotect them to pathological extremes. It starts in the domestic sphere, sparing them the simplest daily tasks, and continues by exempting them from taking on responsibilities, thus turning them into eternal children. What a poisoned inheritance, that of the mother-in-law, who has left us with so many men to raise; what a disservice those who raised their offspring as if they were young masters with servants have done us. And what a way to harm them, too, that they will no longer find a world with women willing to serve them for free.

"I thought I had married an egalitarian man." The words of a professional woman, mother of four young children, echo in a room where they are discussing... forms of neomachismo“My husband,” the witness continues, “is a caregiver, a present father, he participates in the work, but he’s selfish and prioritizes his own time.” Later, she adds that it took her a while to realize these behaviors and states that, after sharing it with friends, she’s seen that her partner’s case is not uncommon. Men who feel “allied” with the feminist cause end up perpetuating patriarchal patterns. “They feel attacked and don’t embrace change,” she summarizes before an audience that understands the sentiment but also doesn’t want to be swayed by reality, much less by pessimism.

We talk about machismo as if it were a biblical curse, a design of invisible gods who hold the future in their hands. We don't say, as they used to say in my town, that everything is written, but we sigh, saying, "We're not doing well, we're going backwards." The harassers and abusers of Barbamecans are not explained by classic misogyny; they are a reflection of the technological forms that that old acquaintance, hatred of women, has adopted. If the older femicides are perfect children of the patriarchy, as the well-known feminist slogan goes, these kids are perfect children of the techno-nihilistic neo-machismo that the great magnates of monstrous corporations have been imposing on us. bros Those who are driven by the predatory impulse of people and nature must hold them accountable for how they are changing who we are by acting on the most unprotected and impressionable link: that of children in education.

Imagine for a moment that your partner decides to take photos or videos without saying anything to you, while you're at home, dressed, undressed, cooking, in the bathroom, in the shower, or even having sex. And he shares this material on a platform with other unknown users (perhaps even an acquaintance). Suddenly, one day, you find out that your image has been shared among thousands of men and that you've been turned into a sexual object, as if you've been exposed in a market. No one has asked your permission to use your image, neither your body nor yours. The person you've shared your life with for years and in whom you trusted has decided to expose you to the world through a platform filled with sexualizing and degrading comments, turning you into a kind of product or a trophy (here comes a demonstration of virility). Suddenly, you're his, and they haven't even considered you. It's a way of showing power, in a shared space, with a common language that binds you. We are facing a space of male belonging and complicity in which behaviors are reinforced, and with a common impulse that increasingly leads to the transgression of boundaries.

When Marina goes running outdoors, she listens to urban or techno music. At home, she might play Beethoven, but for exercise, she needs more uptempo music to feel energized. In any case, the songs from Bad Bunny's new album only play through one earbud when she runs along the street. "I leave my other ear free to listen to everything that's happening around me," she explains to ARA. During her outdoor runs, Marina, a 24-year-old Barcelona resident, laments having to regularly hear sexist comments, and the feeling of insecurity she experiences leads her to take precautions.

When a public figure with more than six million followers expresses his opinion on social media, he must proceed with caution. Former Real Madrid player Javier Chicharito Hernández (1988) has been at the center of controversy for sexist statements on his Instagram account. The Mexican forward stated that women are "failing" and should allow themselves to be "led by a man who only wants to see them happy." Two days earlier, in another video on his social media, he questioned women who wanted a "providing man" but considered that "cleaning is patriarchal oppression." Sitting on the couch wearing a cap, the player begins to speak in these terms: "Women, you are failing and you are eradicating masculinity by making society hypersensitive. Embody your feminine energy by caring, nurturing, receiving, multiplying, cleaning, maintaining the home, which is the most precious place."

These days, the data from the latest opinion poll by the Institute of Political and Social Sciences (ICPS) have been published, once again revealing a worrying trend among men under 25 in Catalonia: a clearly conservative drift (they show less commitment to democratic values) and, in some respects, much more macho positions. The trend is almost triple that of women of the same age (less than 10%). However, the discourse is clearly more anti-feminist. The gap between discourse and action creates a new reality, and therefore, we cannot fall into the simple analysis that says "young people are more macho." There are some elements that may be transversally influencing many of them, old references to masculinities. The critical view of these models of masculinity, evident among girls, is also found in some young boys who have surely refined their perception more due to the influence of a greater feminist social consciousness (which has penetrated them even without realizing it), for all this, they do not have a clear path, either individual or collective. Thus, the easiest thing is to reject what challenges them, because it is easier and more comfortable to withdraw than not to work to reflect on who we are, now, models of diverse masculinity, more egalitarian, careful and sustainable with life. gender vertigo: fear, the resistance that emerges when the patriarchal system feels threatened and challenged to change. Like a metaphorical dizziness faced with the loss of privileges in a changing world in which you're not entirely sure how to respond to what's being asked of you. They talk to you about you, about us, when perhaps you've never stopped to reflect on who you are, or what masculinities are all about. More or less consciously, this acts as a brake on the advancement of equality and ends up leading to entrenched and irresponsible positions, close to postulates originating from the far right. It's the perfect excuse not to change (even if only discursively) and opt for a hard-fought path that, surely, also doesn't quite convince. It's a position that responds to fear, confusion, andlazinessto change. In this regard, courage lies in those who commit to the need for social change, to self-denial, and who seek to build more habitable lives and societies.

Born in the fourth wave of feminism, Me Too and egalitarian policies, teenage boys and girls who are now in high school are more separated than their parents were at the same age. Feminism has been a hardship for them, because they maintain that it is points to everyone as aggressors And in the end, they end up discriminated against because everything is done to favor women. Girls, on the other hand, assume that feminism means equality, but to maintain coexistence with their peers, they reject positions they consider radical.

In that country you can appear on public television and tell lies and nothing will happen. Najia Lotfi was invited as a Muslim woman to the Ideas Cafe Gemma Nierga and set herself up as a representative of all those who belong to this religious denomination, hiding a relevant fact: that she is not only a believer, but a member of an Islamist party. That is, a political party whose ultimate goal is the establishment of an Islamic state based on Sharia law. It's not that she's a sympathizer or that we can attribute any affinity to her with the Justice and Development Party (PJD), but rather that she was a member of parliament. With a strange gift of ubiquity, she was one during Ada Colau's first term, and while in the Moroccan parliament she was part of the ranks that want the lives of all Moroccans to be based on the Quran, in Barcelona she was inventing a supposedly ethical bank and receiving subsidies from the city council, and I didn't care.

Obviously, when it was revealed on Monday that the Cannes Film Festival had toughened its dress code For women, the most immediate response from many people was downright angry, because they considered the new stylistic cues to be sexist. This reaction isn't surprising given what's happened around the world over the last 2,000 years. Therefore, it's more than justified to scream when someone tells a woman how to dress. At the same time, perhaps we should also be a little more thorough in our observations before issuing a full verdict. Especially the press, from whom a somewhat less superficial analysis is expected.

Muhammad was a feminist because he had the generosity to recognize that women have souls and because he loved all his wives equally, even though his favorite was Aisha, whom he married when she was nine. Allah is merciful and compassionate because in the Quran he said it was unfair for men to keep the entire inheritance and that daughters were entitled to half of what sons were entitled to. In his infinite consideration for us, he also established that our witness was worth half that of a man's witness. Girls, what more could you want? If the Holy Book also makes it very clear that we owe obedience to our father and husband, surely he would do it for our own good. And when he recommends that men keep us on a tight leash if we don't comply with his dictates, he does so by proposing a graduated scale of punishments. Don't be barbaric, gentlemen: first take away her word, then keep her away from her bed, and if, even then, she doesn't obey, hit her. Fundamentalist Islamists and publicists of Islam in the West have made all kinds of dialectical curves to deny the patriarchal structure of the religion, from blaming the evil and malicious translators, probably Islamophobic even if they have dedicated their entire lives to working on the Quran, to transposing them. daraba, what does it mean paste for all Arabic speakers except proselytizers living in democratic and open societies. Some even claim that the root of the word actually means ""hit gently." They focus on interpreting the ways in which male domination should be exercised as if the most scandalous thing were not precisely the domination itself.