Harassment in the spotlight
Complaints to the famous tenor Placido Domingo have reinstated the debate about sexist attacks. Al calor de la cuarta ola feminista mundial, the bell #MeToo about which we have expressed opportunely, has not been arrested or Hollywood or Cannes. Some days ago, eight singers and a dancer They have accused Placido Domingo several acts of sexual harassment that occurred from 1980.
Women ensured that pressed to engage in sex and when she was rejected, He punished them in the workplace. Single Patricia Wulf agreed to be identified, the other women refused to do so for fear of reprisals. Backstage staff members, Voice teachers and an administrator asserted that the issue was "a secret with voices". In the United States there was concert cancellations, "The San Francisco Opera gives a high priority to creating a safe environment in which everyone can focus on their work and art, and in which colleagues are treated with respect, dignity and fellowship ". The Los Angeles Opera where the tenor's CEO since 2003, will open an investigation.
…patriarchal justice, more inclined to dismiss complaints to investigate…
Placido Domingo responded: "Accusations of these unidentified individuals dating back thirty years ago are deeply disturbing and, as presented, inaccurate. Nevertheless, it is painful to hear that may have upset someone or have made them feel uncomfortable, no matter how long ago and despite my best intentions. I thought all my interactions and relationships were always welcome and consensual. People who know me or who have worked with me know I'm not someone who intentionally hurt, offend or embarrass anyone. We recognize that the rules and standards by which we are, and we must be, They measured are very different today than they were in the past. I am fortunate and privileged to have had a career of more than 50 years in opera and keep myself in the highest standards ". There are those who defend it as "A gentleman and good co-worker" and they consider that the accusations are "Slanders".
accusations, self justifications and defenses, They call for a fair and transparent investigation. This is something that hardly guarantee the patriarchal justice, more inclined to dismiss complaints investigating the aforementioned, to unprotect the victims that punish those who are proven guilty.
At the same time we must seize to stress that sexual harassment can not be encapsulated as a problem develops only on stage artists, rich and famous singers and models. With less importance and very partial statistics, It is a question that daily affects women around the world. racialized, immigrant, young, the poor, workers in precarious situations and peasant, They are particularly powerless.
racialized, immigrant, young, the poor, workers in precarious situations and peasant, They are particularly powerless.
On the street, in transportation and public spaces, attacks mean that women can not go quiet, since any unknown individual occupies space without consent. In the workplace bullying is defined as bullying and it is not always penalized. Abuse of power by a boss or someone prestigious, fear to denounce the possible consequences, the lack of channels to do so or ridiculing the back are elements that determine the actions of women; exactly in the place where they have to attend every day to earn a living. more uncomfortable, unimaginable.
Beyond the existence of sectors with different opinions, the women's movement strives to unitarily face expressions of violence and sexist harassment. The fight is necessary to provide a common strategy: the defeat of oppression and exploitation. Non stop, side by side with the working class mobilized, until patriarchy and capitalism fall together.
Flower Willow Carral
