The Catalan Olympic medalist who stops evictions

Barcelona"The word activist It doesn't scare me. At home, I was raised with values and a way of understanding the world that pushes me to take a stand against injustice." Clara Basiana isn't just another former Olympic athlete. Far from using her past in elite sports to extract financial gain, she's as quick to dedicate herself to stopping an eviction as an "eviction," she confesses, "I use it in the way I consider most useful."

Blasiana, a journalist who collaborates with various media outlets, including ARA, has a critical view of the sector. "Women have to achieve great feats to appear in the media. Furthermore, if we analyze how and when we appear, we detect very important differences. For example, in the way we display our bodies," she warns. The objectification of athletes is very concerning to Basiana. "My sport is artistic swimming. If you read the rules, it doesn't say anything about what body type you should have, but everyone must be strong and slim. Performance should come first, even if it doesn't follow the aesthetic canon," she explains.

"For a time, emphasis was placed on women's aesthetic appearance rather than their athletic achievements. The focus was on the artistic side rather than the merits or physical achievement required in sports. Aspects like leadership and dedication were left in the background. Unchangeable foundations are being broken to open new perspectives," she says.

Society has evolved, but not all sectors are evolving at the same pace. "There has been a positive evolution in the media. There is still a lot of work to be done, but little by little, women are having more of a presence in the media. The way we cover sportswomen and their competitions is more valued. The work they do is valued, not so much their appearance, but there is still a lot of training and awareness to be done in newsrooms so that they have a vision based on the gender structure. The roots of the system run deep," analyzes Basiana, who on Thursday participated in a conference organized by the Catalan Basketball Federation at Blanquerna - Ramon Llull University.

Basiana's discourse is very direct, and it's easy to hear her speak of patriarchy in her training. "It seems like a very ugly word, but it serves to explain that men once dominated the family. The patriarchal system has thousands of years of history, and some authors even date it back to the Paleolithic. It has been visualized in different ways, but it still exists. Today's women play sports, but gender, reason, end up determining a lot of our desires, our priorities, and our way of relating to sports," explains Basiana, who won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"We must re-educate our gaze"

Her goal is to shake up thoughts. "There are many things that can be done to re-educate our perspective. When we do a general analysis, it's frightening because there's a lot of work involved. The key is for each person to do what they can in their environment. Training and awareness are key to making inequalities visible. If we don't see them, we won't be able to change them. A lot of work also needs to be done to prevent violence and attitudes. Resources, laws, and mechanisms are needed to make them effective. Otherwise, they remain a dead letter."