I will be focusing my research on the new wave of feminism that is becoming very popular around the world. Originally created in Chile by Las Tesis, the global ‘rape song’ is one about power dynamics and violence against feminism. The group of activist women, Las Tesis, became inspired by a radical feminist and anthropologist, Rita Segato, and wrote their approtraitely acusatory protest song. This song, titled “el violador en tu camino” (“The Rapist on Your Way”), was performed on November 25, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. Chile is known for the amount of violence against women that happens. There is so much violence that Chile, and Latin America in general, has coined the term ‘femicide’ for the high rates of female murders & rapes. I would like to look into how this specific movement has become popular. Obviously, it has spread with the help of social media, but I want to understand what actual legislation and female experiences are driving these intense feelings of violation within Chile. This is an extremely important thing to look into, because the movement is gaining speed for a reason: women are being threatened by the people in power.
Primary Source:
Performance Colectivo Las Tesis “Un Violador En Tu Camino.” Accessed February 16, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB7r6hdo3W4.
Secondary Source:
Pichel, Mar. “La Violación No Es Un Acto Sexual, Es Un Acto de Poder, de Dominación, Es Un Acto Político.” BBC News Mundo, December 11, 2019, sec. Otras noticias. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-50735010.
“‘Chile Woke Up’: Dictatorship’s Legacy of Inequality Triggers Mass Protests.” The New York Times, November 3, 2019, sec. World. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/03/world/americas/chile-protests.html.
Government of Chile. “Circuito de Feminicidio.” Chile: UN Women, 2009. https://evaw-global-database.unwomen.org/fr/countries/americas/chile/2009/circuito-de-feminicidio.
Cáceres Pérez, Daniela Isabel. “About the Semantics of the Femicide in Chile.” Sociedad y economía 31 (2016): 239-262.
This is a very meaningful research. I could connect you with my Chilean coworker in the National Library because she participated in the very first demonstrations in front of our workplace. It is important to research the dictatorship era laws on today’s women’s rights. Abortion is not legalized in Chile under the latest Constitution.
I recommend a site called Lat Fem that talks about victims of femicide across Latin American countries and how the society perceived and represented them. A common problem that people have when looking at femicide is that they would put the just world phenomenon and distance themselves from those cases.
This is a great topic to look at. I suggest looking at social media pages and how they campaign. Also, looking at historical events that are related to this movement.
You could narrow down the topic more on specific cases or social reaction over the past few months in Chile. I’d love to help if you need any help. I studied femicide last semester as my research project in Argentina. I also found some interesting articles if you would like to look at.
This is such a cool topic. When I was in Edinburgh, I saw this song sung by a large group down the Royal Mile. Just goes to show how global things can become with social media. Since this is happening in the contemporary moment, it’ll also be interesting to see how governments will respond.
This is a really important topic! Your research focus is clear and has a valid basis for the development of more research. I might have some sources that could help as well so let me know if you need help!