In favor of Regina Rodríguez Sirvent and all talented women

Dear Regi, I should be angry, envious, and resentful of you for many reasons. Your book Les calces al sol (La campana) and my Un cor de neu (La Magrana) were released together in September 2022, and yours, slowly but surely, succeeded, and mine, well, it didn't. And this is despite yours being the first book you published, not like me who has published a few. On top of that, you're quite a bit younger than me. And a good person. And talented and wonderful and hardworking and persistent. And stylish! According to the manual for a good follower of the patriarchal cliché, I should choke every time I read something about you. But the opposite happens to me.

The day you presented your new book Crispetes de matinada (La Campana), I was far away. And that, yes, made me angry. It pissed me off to miss that great moment. And I spent a couple of days envying all the people who were able to accompany you. But at the same time, I was deeply happy for those photos where you looked radiant, and for the stories from that bunch of friends proud of your achievement. But it was one of those nice kinds of envy, the ones that don't hurt. Quite the opposite.

Then I thought about how ancient and toxic it is that we women have been raised: to envy each other, to feel that other women are competition, to believe that the triumph and happiness of others means our defeat. And at some point, we've swallowed the lie that if the other triumphs and is happy, there will be no space for me. Fortunately, feminism has shown that the patriarchal emperor is naked. And that this cheap and pernicious strategy only seeks to divide women so that we look at each other with suspicion and don't fall into the temptation of talking to each other, lest we start helping each other, encouraging each other, allying ourselves.

For centuries, women have been suckers. Our material and legal survival depended on whether a man chose us to marry him. Other women then could indeed represent a danger. If he chose the other, I had a greater probability of remaining single, poor, forgotten. But that's no longer the case, and the attempt to make us see other women as a danger no longer works. And by freeing ourselves from this harmful gaze, we have gained an immense network of support. Or aren't the dinners organized by Ada Parellada at Semproniana to do precisely that great? Or Marta Pontnou's amazing Lentejuelas chat?

From my maturity I am glad that you are experiencing this sweet professional moment. I am tired of the old story. You have worked hard for it. And your triumph opens the door for us other women. And it makes you a benchmark, a woman who has pursued a dream, worked for it, and achieved it. And who has done so without stepping on anyone. The age difference does not worry me at all. I'm glad! It is a demonstration that things are changing. And that my daughter will have it easier. If it's good for you, it's good for all of us. And celebrating the happiness of others is the most radical feminist act I know.

Regi, enjoy your work, your popcorn, good literature, and life.