“But what are you doing?” they ask. incredulous answer. “And what did you say?” they insist. “Fine,” he replies. The Acceptance of Facts. As if nothing could help. A stolen kiss isn’t always a wanted kiss. This happened in romantic comedies with silly protagonists who in no way resemble those wow women, with legs of steel and boots worth their weight in gold, who from now on will wear a star on the chest of their red t-shirts. A stolen kiss doesn’t have to be a pleasant surprise. Vice versa. It’s an intervention. More or less annoying, but still annoying. An invasion of your own space. Without consent. An aggression.
The thorn that the president of the Spanish federation, Luis Rubiales, planted in Jenni Hermoso’s nose, one of the best Spanish soccer players who was recently crowned world champion in Australia, is an attack on the 10 of Spain and all women in the world the ones that didn’t fit in our chests that Sunday as we cried out Olga Carmona’s goal at the top of our lungs. Also many men who would never have dreamed of taking such liberties.
What a pity that such a beautiful day spoils this shabby mahirulismo. What a little sensitivity. This Sunday in August we celebrated more than just one title. Especially us. The women, the girls, the girls of this country, we celebrated that our stubbornness had finally conquered machismo. Or at least he won one of those games that will be remembered for a lifetime with a stunning goal like Sevilla Carmona’s. We’ve celebrated that the success of the 23 from Australia and New Zealand gives us arguments to argue with everyone that playing like a girl is neither ridicule nor exclusionary. The girls of this country win matches that excite: with the most exquisite football, the ball at Cata’s feet that spoils the ball as much as the others, passes and more passes, touches and more touches, delicious changes of direction, frenzied gazelles like Salma; With football charring Aitana’s head, Alexia’s heart suffers on the bench and loses Hermoso’s championship (even with the penalty that didn’t exist).
The girls of this country, the character of the flag, no longer swallow nonsense. “But I didn’t like it, did I?” Jenni insisted in a live video on social media.
Rubiales may have been carried away by his misunderstood spontaneity. But you have to know how you are. There are many eyes watching. As many or more as there are girls today who admire Mariona and Ona, Paredes and Abelleira. Perhaps she wanted to show that there was no longer a worthwhile crisis, or that she was stopping the success of these unstoppable women. Perhaps he wanted to show that the soccer players he one day treated like spoiled girls — “the federation will only have dedicated soccer players, even if it has to play with youth players,” said this statement after the 3 p.m. riot — they appreciate him . That they don’t see him as an intruder in the dressing room where he tells them he’s going to pay for a holiday to Ibiza. To him who was responsible for speaking out about resentment when it came time to be a man who stuck his chest out, rather than assuming this trophy is also for those soccer players, former teammates and friends of the 23 who are the Made the decision I didn’t want to apologize and stayed at home and watched the World Cup on TV. His complaint, his pulse on Rubiales and Vilda explain part of the success of this selection.
Rubiales’ kiss to Hermoso reminds us that the road traveled is long. But there is still a long way to go. Because women kiss whoever we want, when we want. Because a surprise kiss on the mouth is aggression. It’s even worse when the kiss comes from a manager. The year is 2023. And these gestures are unjustifiable.
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