Talk-debate Tolosa-Spain: Digital Story Telling as a tool to prevent the sexist radicalization of youth.

We met twelve women from the Feminist Assembly of Tolosa. We have different profiles in professional development: social worker, militant of the pensioner movement, advisory/consulting worker, teacher, worker of the equality department of the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, etc. The participation of women of different ages has also been taken care of, since we believe that the generational transfer of knowledge is essential to evaluate the differences in each temporal context. We are all united by a common link: concern about the rise of certain macho attitudes in youth, and active work through the assembly to eradicate machismo.

Of all the tools acquired in the Sassari Join Staff Training, I decide to focus on Digital Story Telling , since two of the videos created by our team are focused on denouncing sexual violence and existing topics with lesbian women.

Video projection 1 : Any projection given day . The story narrates an ordinary day at work of a woman. At the work meeting her contributions are ignored by her colleagues, but at the subsequent work party she is harassed by a colleague who takes advantage of her drunken state to rape her.

In the subsequent debate, we all agree that, despite the undoubted progress made regarding women’s sexual rights, violence is still there, and moreover, it takes on new forms such as the brutal gang rapes that have occurred in recent years, or the chemical submission (burundanga in the drink, punctures with drugs, etc.) that has caused so much alarm in our context this summer, or the increase in the consumption of paid sex. The importance of moving in a few decades from a context in which everything was taboo (Franco era) to one in which childhood and pre-adolescence have access to mainstream porn through the Internet on any mobile phone is discussed. Also, for many young people the idea of paying for sex has once again become an option more linked to the idea of male sexual freedom, changing the tone of recent decades in which this practice was maintained but was publicly frowned upon.

Video Projection 2 : Topics . In this video, the story draws attention to some macho topics that a lesbian couple can find in their day to day. The aesthetic stereotypes, the curiosity that they arouse in the masculine imaginary, the incomprehension of being able to have a full sexuality without a penis, etc.

In the subsequent debate, it is also recognized that at the legislative level many rights have been guaranteed for the LGTBI+ community that were previously denied: marriage, adoption, pensions, etc. But there is also unanimity in the conviction that female sexuality remains largely unknown, the idea of sex itself, how, how much, why, continues to be from hegemonic male sexuality.

Tools to eradicate sexist violence among youth : use the Digital Story Telling so that early schoolchildren make their own video telling a story around the subject, which will later be used to work in class, with qualified professionals who also incorporate the feminist perspective. The classes must be taught to students in general, but it would also be advisable for there to be interventions disaggregated by sex, and for both girls and boys to receive specific tools and messages. Feminist self-defense courses taught for girls, for example, should be complemented with specific courses for boys to eradicate macho attitudes contrary to women’s freedom.