The more we are told not to look at something, the more we look at it. The more we are told to hide something, the more obvious what we want to hide becomes. The more we are told not to look towards the door, the more our eyes drift there. Sometimes we must communicate the opposite to achieve the desired effect. And that is what should be happening in Barcelona and its events for women. The more we put the word "woman" in the name of an event, the more difficult it will be for a man to attend. If it's a course on menopause or menstrual products, it's obvious that the interested parties will be women. But, for any other topic we want to reflect on as a society, city, or community, we need to open the conversation. We need to listen to both sides of society, men and women.
The Greek philosopher Cicero said that, for a conversation to flow, we must take care of the alternation of voices, and that is what Barcelona needs to position itself as an evolved, humanist, innovative, and committed city that opens itself to the world. To talk about equality and women's leadership in masculinized sectors, we cannot only address women. Every time events are created to promote female leadership, to talk about the urgency of putting on purple glasses, about how necessary and liberating it is as a society to be more inclusive, and how companies gain profitability from it, these forums must include men and women. If feminism only concentrates on women's environments, we do not transform society. We are repeating the model of the men's club that we are criticizing so much.
Of course, autonomously, as a man, you can decide to be part of it, but if you have felt rejected by any of its impacts, you will never be an agent of change. Barcelona hosts hundreds of events only for women, where the word "woman" is in the name of the event. Creative work is needed to find names that do not exclude men and that clearly include women.
If we only talk about technology with geeks, there will never be a disruptive idea that isn't thought of from the outside. If we only talk about startups with entrepreneurs, we will only hear what we want to hear. If we only talk about education with pedagogues, the thought process will be very similar. We must invite those who are part of that conversation to this dialogue: senders, receivers, users, and buyers. This March is full of events for women; if only we go to those events, we make little progress. You, men, must also go to these events to know what we debate, what matters to us, and how we want to build a better Barcelona for everyone.
Barcelona is feminine. 53% of its inhabitants are women; furthermore, we decide 80% of purchases and account for 60% of the advertising budget. The numbers are very powerful, and now all that's missing is a transformative attitude, a willingness to listen, and to start shedding the ego. It is time for Barcelona to open up to the sea, propose an inclusive, pioneering, and winning feminism that we so desperately need.
It takes two to tango, let the dance begin.