WE CAN DO IT!

Taking advantage of the closeness of 8 March, I would like to reflect on feminism: its history and its current situation.

Women have been repressed since human beginning. During human evolution this repression has changed with the history, culture and so on. But, the most important fact is that with this discrimination it goes the women fight to defend their rights and to improve their conditions and situation.

Historically, in pre-modern societies, women have been excluded for many areas. For example, in ancient Greece, although women were free, they hadn't right to vote because they couldn't take part in the economic affairs. This fact was decisive to avoid women to vote because you had to pay tax if you wanted to have right to vote.

Later, with the triumph of the monotheistic religions which built their theories with patriarchy as cornerstone, women got second-class citizens. They were confined to housework, childcare and the worship of the pertinent God. They couldn't receive education, they couldn't vote, they couldn't administrate themselves, they couldn't decide anything... They were considered just an object which served to please men and to make the species survive.

This situation remained until the First World War and the worker's movement.

During the Industrial Revolution, women had to work hardly like men, but they were worse considered than the latests. Women earned less money, they had worse working conditions, they hadn't any rights not even maternity leave. They couldn't participate in political life: they couldn't vote or being voted.

With the worker's movement started the achievements on the level of social rights, but at this time, women gave priority to class struggle and feminism was pushed into the background.

It was in 1931 when feminism made the definitive step in the political sphere, particularly in the Spanish Second Republic. During this period women could be voted and voted too. This fact lit the fuse that would make the rest of Europe started strongly the feminist fight.

In the Second World War women held jobs of the men while they were fighting in the trenches. They suffered the harsh working conditions and many of them joined the militias. It was the case, for example of Rosa Luxemburg.

Since then, feminist struggle hasn't ceased: universal suffrage, divorce, access to education, right to decide, sexual liberation, equal rights, incorporation into the labour world, and so on.

GHOST OF SPAIN

These are some funny sentences that I found reading the book...

1. Tapando vergüenzas → Covering up embarrassments

2. Mucho ruido y pocas nueces → a lot of noise but few walnuts

3. ¡Joder, que no nos toquen los cojones! → Fuck, why don't they leave our balls alone?

4. Me cago en su puta madre... → I shit on his whore-mother...

5. Traje de luces → A suit of lights

6. Secretos a voces → Voiced secrets

7. Ni tonto, ni perezoso → Neither stupid, nor lazy

8. Cosas del pueblo → Village matters

9. Nostálgicos → “The few who still feel nostalgia for the Caudillo”

10. Casposos (fascistas) → “the dandruff-ridden”

11. No tiene pelos en la lengua → Has no hairs on his tongue

12. Con la boca pequeña → With a small mouth

13. Ley de Punto Final → Full Stop Law

14. Prensa rosa → Pink press

15. Tocando palmas → Beating out a complex, staccato, machine-gun rhythm with their hands

16. Si les da la gana → If they feel “the urge”

17. Camarón de la Isla → The Shrimp of the Island

18. Clubes de alterne → The brothels that dot Spain's main highways

19. Pisa fuerte niña, que paga el ayuntamiento → Tread firmly, “niña”, the town council's paying

20. La paya te va a pinchar → The non-gypsy, as the nurse was known, will stick a needle into you

21. Mosto → Sweet grape juice

22. Trasnochar → To cross the night

23. Ser de pueblo → To be from the village

CULTURAL ASSIMILATION

The treatment accorded to immigration, and the management of cultural diversity that it brings, is another side of the construction and reproduction of our Western societies. Since the nineteenth century, assimilation has been the process by which successive waves of immigrants became “French or North-American”. While objectives were common -cultural assimilation and the identification with a national-cultural identity-, the ways to get it varied from one State to another: from the “French republican model” to the North-American “melting pot”.

Management formulas: they should be understood as a ideology, policies and practices whole which not only show and express the kind of social cohesion, political traditions and identity myths, but also the forms of unequal relationship, the balances and adjustments among groups culturally different and hierarchical.

HOMOGENIZATION AND MODERNITY
Assimilation: process by which a person or a group adopts as its own the dominant culture in the society while he leaves his differenced cultural identity. The traditional immigrant-receiving countries, like France and the USA, hoped these people left their heritage and assimilated the cultural customs of the host country progressively.
Assimilation of immigrants was an other aspect of the strong trend towards the homogenization which characterized the process of the nation-state construction.

In order to assimilate these people, governments designed nation-building programs which consisted in a series of measures:
1.Promotion of a common language.
2.Only curricular content in teaching.
3.Participation in the “national” institutions.
4.Identification with some symbolic referents and historical myths, etc.
These measures were linked to some aims: modern economy, literate population and a bigger political and social cohesion.
Thus, immigrants were incorporated into societies which were constituted on the basis of a hegemonic culture and identified as cohesion and homogeneity.

The success of the assimilation process was based on social dynamics and actions of institutions, with their explicit requirements-learning the language-and implicit-adapting to the customs.

Many of these societies were more heterogeneous than its national image proclaimed.


FRENCH REPUBLICAN ASSIMILATION
The model of the III Republic involved the adoption of the French language and culture, the adherence to the “republican values”: freedom, equality and fraternity; and to a common political-national project too by the participation and framing in a series of institutions and social spaces such as school, army and the world of work.
The key idea of the French republican model: socialization through institutions of the Republic and permanent residence assimilates the immigrant, and makes him or his children, French. Thus, the well integrated immigrant expresses himself in French, identifies himself with France and with the behaviours, customs and habits of the major part of the population. As this model doesn't consider to keep the cultures of origin, it's logical its hostility towards groups and communities based on the immigrant culture. Besides it's considered a danger for the success of the acculturation process, the existence of specific groups may weaken the loyalty to the Republic.
Cultural or religious peculiarities are own of the private sphere, they shouldn't have public projection.


FROM ASSIMILATION TO PLURALISM
Both the French republican model as the American “melting pot” offered to immigrants, in exchange for their acculturation and identification with France or the USA, the promise of full social and economic integration. This promise of upward social mobility will be no longer kept. I becomes more difficult and selective in a more unequal and fragmented society, both in its structure as in its social actors, and where the greatest danger is not exploitation but exclusion. The increase in inequality and social problems entail the reduction of the protective action of States. Meanwhile, social ties which provided security, identity and sense weaken.
Not only differences and social dynamics of exclusion increase, but they tend to ethnificate. Immigrants and ethnic groups are “underneath” inserted in the social structure. Upward social mobility is much more difficult and the social ethnificated stratification is consolidated. Lost ideological and social referents, the search for meaning and discontent tend to express in identity keys.
In the 80s and 90s, conflicts with the involvement of groups arisen from immigration in poor districts grow. This situation is reflected in school failure, violent attitudes and “difficult areas”.
However, with globalization it has increased the importance given to the own culture, the assessment of the own identity and the legitimacy of its defense.


THE REPUBLICAN INTEGRATION IN THE 90s
Inclusion of immigrants happens: move towards social integration and appropriate and respectful management of cultural differences is attempted.
But, the French people is only one and there are no recognitions to specific and different identities.
The republican way of the recognition of diversity is very wary. It accepts the preservation of cultural diversity but reaffirms the specific republican accents: the need to emphasize the common things, solidarity and social cohesion as a major concern; individual integration as a citizen and the refusal to institutionalize minorities, particularly by law channel; primacy of individual rights to minority representation.

THIS IS VALENCIA

During last month, the Catalan government has passed the “cinema in Catalan” bill. This bill provides the almost 50% of the films screened at Catalan cinemas must be in Catalan.
This new has ruffled the Spanish right-wing feathers because they want to believe Spanish is under threat in Catalonia. They think that Spanish speakers are persecuted and booed wherever they go. These kind of people can't stand that Catalans want to defend their linguistic rights, their culture and the fact that they want to be respected and recognized. Ultimately, the only aim they pursue is to live fully in Catalan.

However, in Valencia, the situation is completely different. Here it's almost impossible to see a film in Catalan. Our government doesn't care about our linguistic rights. We only just to see Canal 9 and its “marvellous” schedules, the number of films, advertisements and programmes which are in Catalan; and how well the presenters speak our language.
In spite of this, you can hear many Valencians making fun of Catalans. They say “Look at what Catalans are doing now!They want to put the 50% of the films in Catalan!Mad people!”
It is shameful that we can't see any film in Catalan, in our language, because a circus clowns -our politicians- think that Catalan is a second language which has to disappear.
In Valencia, Catalan speakers can see a film in Catalan once a month, when the Universitat de València with the collaboration of the Universitat Politècnica de València screens a film in the UGC cinema. The problem or advantage is that it's free with the student card (2x1). And, when there's a great and very famous film, it's impossible to find any ticket.
So,it is regrettable that we can't enjoy our leisure in Catalan. We have many few classes/lessons in a proper Catalan. We have many troubles to speak in Catalan away from home because the staff which work facing people, usually, don't understand our language. Our politicians say that Valencian is not the same of Catalan, but they defend this theory in Spanish.
Well...THIS IS VALENCIA!

MAFALDA

Have you ever read Mafalda? If you haven't... Please! Do it! It's a fantastic comic which makes a criticism about our “little world”.

Mafalda is a five years old little girl who is deeply concerned about humanity and world peace and rebels against the world as it is. Big trues are loosened hidden in nice sentences and jokes.

I can't put here any comic strip because I haven't found any in English... but here it is one in Spanish!jejee ^^

CHRISTMAS REFLECTION

Making use of these days I would like to make a reflection: What does Christmas consist of?

Crowds of people in the streets, thousands of bulbs illuminating the streets, the smell of chestnuts and corncobs flooding everything, shopping everywhere, hypocrisy, gifts, money and so on. This is all what you see during these days: many people spending too much money, which many of them haven't got. This is our new lifestyle, a life based on appearances.

Fifty years ago, Christmas Day, the 25th December, was a day to stay with the family and to receive the Christmas box. And in the afternoon, children went out to the streets to throw firecrackers.

In this time, Santa Claus didn't exist for the Spanish society. Santa Claus is a Nordic tradition which was used by “El Corte Inglés” to raise the consumption and their benefits. In addition to this, Santa Claus is an American celebration too, and this fact is very important because many countries of Europe adopt American festivities like Halloween, that had never been celebrated before.

Could anybody tell me why in these days we must be happy? Why can't be happy all the year? Why just can we forgive during this period of the year? I have tried it many times, but I have never understand why we must be good people in these days and not the whole year.

Returning to the central subject of Christmas and what it carries, I would want to speak about the huge amount of presents. Why have we got the necessity of buying all these presents? Are we worse people if we don't buy a minimum of twenty expensive gifts? I can't understand this either.

Against what it is thought, children aren't happier for having more gifts. This is a capitalist idea: the time that you can't spend/dedicate with your sons fill it with presents and whims. With this thought it has increased the number of children with depression and emotional disorders. The fondness of the family can't be replaced for nothing material. Spoiled and disrespectful children are the result of this practice, like those that we find nowadays.

Our parents and their parents are going wrong in the education that they are giving to their sons. They have all they want without their behaviour, without striving for nothing. And the parents agree and reward.

For these reasons and other personal opinions I don't like Christmas festivity, though I enjoy holidays and not having class.

Being an authentic Valencian

Expressions you must to know if you want to be an authentic Valencian.

1. You look like Paco the explainer man.
>Pareixes Paco l'explicaor<

2. Take the candle because the procession is long.
>Agarra el ciri que la processó és llarga<

3. Over there in the eggs band.
>Per ahí per la banda'ls ous<

4. As shit by irrigation dish.
>Com cagalló per sèquia<

5. In the same color I have a Sarnatxo.
>Del mateix color tinc un Sarnatxo<

6. Here, the silliest makes clocks.
>Ací el més tonto fa rellotges<

7. To be the owner of the carchofas field.
>Ser l'amo del carxofar<

8. Every little rock makes wall.
>Tota pedreta fa paret<

9. A little blood with onion!
>Una poca sang en ceba!<

10. The paunch of your grandmother!
>La panxa t'abuela!<

11. The fig of your mother!
>La figa ta mare!<

12. Ale, to your village!
>Ale, a tu pueblo!<

13. That one who is not, does not find himself.
>El que no està, no s'encontra<

14. How are you? Suffering and having rabies.
>Com estàs? Patint i rabiant<

15. With a pinch I pick you up.
>D'un pessic t'alce en alt<

16. With a flea, makes a horse.
>D'una puça fer un cavall<

17. Give the trompa back to the boy!
>Torna-li la trompa al xic!<

18. Wheeling, wheeling to the Albaida Port.
>Rodant, rodant, al port d´Albaida<

19. The mother who goes!
>La mare que va!<

20. And the father who comes back!
>I el pare que torna!<

21. Take care, don't scald.
>Tin cuidao no t'escaldes<

22. It rains a little bit, but although it rains a little, it rains enough.
>Plou poc, però per a lo poc que plou, plou prou<

23. Throws more a fig's hair that a ship's rope.
>Tira més un pel de figa que una maroma de barco<

24. Next to nothing says the little paper.
>Quasi res diu el paperet<

25. Good night crucible, that the light puts out.
>Bona nit, cresol, que la llum s'apaga<

26. What goes forward, goes forward.
>Lo que va davant, va davant<

27. Good morning in the morning!
>Bon dia, pel matí!<

28. Yes, wait for you good sitted down.
>Si, espera't ben sentadet...<

29. Going melon.
>Anar meló<

30. Going fried.
>Anar fregit<

31. Do from intestine, heart.
>Fer de tripas corasón<

32. Who is hungry, dreams about rolls.
>Qui te fam, somia rotllos<

33. If Queen knew what Giraboix is, she would came to Xixona to suck the Boix.
>Si la reina sapiguera el que són els giraboix, a Xixona vendría a llepar el boix<

34. With patience and a stem, the sky is won.
>Amb paciència i una canya, el cel es guanya<

35. Work and stick!
>Faena i garrot!<

36. To be of Good Year.
>Estar de bon any<

37. And now what are we doing with the stock/hot liquid?
>I ara què fem del caldo?<

38. Always the same song!
>Sempre la mateixa cançó!<

39. I would like to see you by a little hole!
>M'agradaria vore't per un foraet!<

40. Txe, today are we going to see the gunpowerdisplay?
>Txe, hui anem a vore la mascletà?<

41. Burn him!
>Foc en ell!<

41. Rebowls how much water is falling down!
>Recollons quin aigua cau...!<

42. The fig of your aunt in lorry's wheel!
>La figa de ta tia en rodes de camió!<

43. I shit in the salad sea!
>Me cague en la mar salà!<

44. The mother who has give birth!
>La mare que t'ha parit!<

45. Go to do the wank!
>Ves te'n a fer la mà!<