It’s now the turn of Sydonie Herrera, Crew Manager to give you her point of view on the International Women’s Rights Day and to explain why she considers herself feminist:
What does the international women’s rights day mean to you?
This day is essential because it brings women’s rights to the forefront and helps to mobilize public and media attention to their struggles and demands around the world. While as a white, heterosexual woman born in the 1980s and raised in a Western democracy I do not feel oppressed, this day is a reminder that I should never disengage just because my human rights are not being violated. To engage a global discourse, to contribute to include and sensitize men on this societal issue, is to be part of it and to increase the visibility of all women. I am raising a little boy and therefore, I am aware that through dialogue, exchange and education, real changes can take place in all of us, at any age.
What do you think could be improved in your professional life?
My first career was in fashion, I was a model, one of the few professions where women are systematically paid more than men. I’ve always had the chance to earn a living without being or feeling abused. Today, as a Crew Manager, I know that I am considered as competent as a man and that my identity and gender do not devalue my work or my salary. We have to work to banish prejudices and sexist comments, of which men do not have a monopoly by the way. The new generation seems to me to be more liberated and determined to break free from norms. Complexity and ambivalence of individuals is more and better represented in society and in some companies this day.
Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Yes, I couldn’t consider myself not as a feminist. I had a negative image of feminism, which for a long time I used to have a negative image of feminism back then, because I considered it as an antin-men movement. I do not like to give in to antagonisms which I find reductive in their depiction of the other. Unfortunately, changes often requires revolt, the gathering of an army of activists and the coercion of laws before geting a collective awareness. Raising arms is really the last resort, for those who have nothing left to lose. I am not one of them, but I support them with my fist raised.
Is there any work that has inspired or touched you as a woman?
The painter Georgia O’keeffe! Traditionally, men have always exercised their artistic vision freely, which has often manifested itself visually in monumental representations of a phallic nature. That’s why I mention O’Keeffe, a painter who uses a very evocative color palette to represent the origin of earthly life: the blossoming flower and the vagina, the first window to the world.
Thank you Sydonie!
