Breathe
By Brenda Macias
The Center for Research and Gender Studies (CIEG) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) left a significant mark at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) 2024 with the presentation of its most recent work: Por mis calzones! Narratives of liberation and shamelessness. This book, the product of the academic and creative work of students of the course Gender, Violence and Community Ethics of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (FFyL), is configured as a space of resistance, denunciation and feminist exploration.
From the classrooms to the pages: a demand made reality.
The subject that gave rise to this book did not come out of nowhere; it is the direct result of the demands of the Organized Women of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (MOFFYL). In 2019, in their pliego petitorio, specifically in point number 7, they demanded the creation of courses and subjects with a feminist perspective, as part of their struggle to guarantee an academic environment free of violence.
Thus, Gender, Violence and Community Ethics was born as an institutional response to this student mobilization, becoming a space for reflection and creation that now transcends the classroom to reach the general public.
The title of the book, provocative and loaded with symbolism, uses panties as a literary and political pretext. In plural, panties become a discursive tool to challenge puritanism, punitive norms and structural violence that affect women and dissidents in various contexts. This everyday, private and "inner" garment becomes a metaphor of resistance and un-shame, as indicated by the coordinators of the work: Marisa Belausteguigoitia, director of the CIEG and full-time professor at the FFyL; Valeria Romero, student of Pedagogy; and Sthefany Canales, student of Hispanic Letters.
The book, edited by CIEG's Publications Department under the direction of Modesta García, presents stories that explore emotions such as fear, rage and shame, and how these become engines of change and creation. Each text is a poetic and political gesture that does not evade passion, desire and enjoyment, but claims them as essential elements to imagine futures free of violence.
A collective manifesto
Por mis calzones! is not just a book; it is a manifesto. Each narrative contained in its pages is an invitation to question the norms that repress and to construct alternative ways of inhabiting the world. The texts, written during a period marked by the pandemic and social restrictions, also reflect the battles waged against the "unhealthy distance" imposed by COVID-19 isolation. In this context, the panties are presented as a symbol that defies the normalization of control and violence, claiming the autonomy of bodies and emotions.
CIEG's participation in the FIL not only stands out for the presentation of this book, but also for its role as a reference in gender and feminist studies in Mexico. The work joins a tradition of publications that seek to make visible the experiences and struggles of women and dissidents, and that reaffirm UNAM's commitment to the advancement of these discussions in the academic and social spheres.
By bringing such a powerful and risky proposal as Por mis calzones! to the FIL, CIEG puts urgent questions about violence, community ethics and feminist resistance at the center of public debate. This book is not only a literary and academic contribution; it is a reminder that student struggles can be transformed into concrete actions that challenge the status quo and propose more just ways of inhabiting the world.
With this publication, CIEG demonstrates once again that the feminist perspective is not only alive, but continues to be an essential tool for social transformation. The narratives that make up Por mis calzones! are an invitation to creative disobedience, to enjoyment without guilt and to the construction of a future where violence is no longer the norm. A proposal that will undoubtedly continue to resonate beyond the walls of the FIL and the corridors of academia.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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