Historic Demonstration with the slogan: YES for Women and ALSO for Men

Hundreds of people in Madrid vindicate femininity and masculinity "in the face of feminism that pits men and women against each other".

–       At the event, which was organized by the 'Women of the World" platform and was supported by 51 associations from 21 countries, slogans such as "woman and man, complement are", "femininity, maternity", "mother and father, do not miss" were chanted.

–       Leonor Tamayo: "Today we try to associate men with violence while motherhood is cornered. We want to be full women and we need virile and chivalrous men".

MADRID, MARCH 10, 2019. This Sunday morning hundreds of people have gathered for the first time in the center of the capital of Spain for the first time to to vindicate femininity and masculinity "in the face of feminism that pits men and women against each other".

The event has been convened by the platform Women of the World chaired by Leonor Tamayo and has been supported by 51 associations from 21 countries. The participants departed from the Plaza de Isabel II (Opera) to end at the Puerta del Sol. At the head of the demonstration, a large banner reflected the main motto: 'In Female Yes. In Male also'.

Already at the Puerta del Sol, and to the rhythm of epic music, the journalists Javier Villamor and Inmaculada Fernández presented the event, which began with the exhibition of the manifesto '8M', i.e. 8 Lies + 8 Motives + 8 Measures + 8 Ways read by four women.

Among the lies that have been denounced, the following stand out "that women are always victims and men are always violent. and potential abusers.

Among the reasons that have led the organizers to organize the demonstration are that "women are discriminated against in the labor market because they are mothers, not because they are women". It has also required the "repeal of gender laws that do not respect and recognize the female identity and the complementarity of the sexes", as well as the "elimination of quotas and affirmative action.

Tribute to the men

For her part, the writer Alicia Rubio, author of the book 'Cuando nos prohibieron ser mujeres y os persiguieron por ser hombres' (When they forbade us to be women and persecuted us for being men), stated that "in Spain women are not in a situation of inferiority or discrimination. Moreover, many people are beginning to feel that it is men who are being discriminated against by the law."

The closing Leonor Tamayo, who assured that she is not a "feminist" and does not "want to be one" because she is not a "feminist". "Feminism today means confrontation, struggle, contempt for men. And I want a society where men and women are equal before the law but where the wonderful differences between the two are recognized and valued."

The most moving moment came at the end of Tamayo's speech, when he invited the audience to render "a tribute to men". As ten men took the stage, the president of Women of the World addressed them in these terms: "Don't stop being who you are. We need you to be masculine, virile, gentlemanly. We love you like this and we like you like this".

50 associations from 20 countries

Among the associations that have joined the initiative are the Spanish associations Abogados Cristianos, HazteOir.org, Enraizados, Familia y Dignidad Humana, Feminidisidencia, Familias Numerosas de Madrid, Remar, Genmad, Instituto de Política Familiar, Temps de Dones and Profesionales por la Ética. Among the foreigners, Asociación Cívica Femenina (Mexico), Canada Silent NoMore, Femina Europa (France), Moms For America (United States), Unidos por la Vida (Colombia), and Woman Attitude (Belgium).

At the head of the demonstration, carrying the banner with the slogan, were the president of Women of the World, Leonor Tamayo, the writer Alicia Rubio and representatives of member associations, such as Mª Ángeles Eyries and Miguel Gómez de Agüero. (Professionals for Ethics), Gádor Joya (platform Right to Live), José Castro (association Rooted), Marcos Chicharro (Rowing), Lola Velarde (Family Policy Institute), Antonia Carrasco (Genmad) and Teresa García-Noblejas (HazteOir.org).

Images of the demonstration here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/womenworldplatform/albums/72157707932653914

LEONOR TAMAYO'S COMPLETE SPEECH

I am a woman, I am a wife, I am a mother and I am a professional. And I am not a feminist.

I defend femininity, motherhood and the dignity of women, but I am not a feminist.

I want a work environment that values and recognizes the added value that motherhood brings to our professional careers, that does not penalize us for wanting to reduce the workday to be on time to pick up the children from school, for taking a leave of absence or for wanting to have more children.

I don't want us to be ignored or humiliated, or condemned to social death if we choose for a time, or forever, to dedicate ourselves exclusively to our family. Invisible women, the ones no one talks about, have been the mortar of our society for years. And even today these invisible women continue to silently build families and hearts without the slightest social recognition.

I am not a feminist because I am a mother of boys and girls and I want justice to be equal for both. Of course I want my daughters to be able to walk quietly at night, but I also want my sons not to be prejudged just because they are men. I want my daughters to achieve their dreams because of their effort and their worth, not because they are women, and I want my sons to be able to enjoy watching their children grow up.

I am not a feminist, and I don't want to be, because feminism TODAY, means confrontation, struggle, contempt for men. And I want a society in which men and women are equal before the law but in which the wonderful differences between the two are recognized and valued.

I want to be feminine, fully female, proud of my abilities and the qualities proper to my sex and in need of you, our dear men, to be masculine.

Today, masculinity is associated with violence and chivalry with machismo. And that is why we also vindicate and celebrate masculine identity.

Dear men: you are the other side of the scale, our counterbalance, where we find reciprocity. You are our partners, our perfect complement.

You are our support in difficult moments, the reason for our greatest anger and our greatest joy. You are the ones who sometimes clash the most with us and sometimes it even seems that there is an abyss that separates us because we are so different.

You are the ones who know how to give us the other point of view, the ones who show us the other side of the coin so that the vision is complete.

You are sometimes coarse or with a sensitivity incomprehensible to us.

You are the ones who lend us your coat when it's cold, open the door for us and let us in naturally.

You are men, different from us, complementary and united in reciprocity both at home and at work, in politics and in culture... You are half of the world, the other half that completes the circle.

Dear men, do not stop being who you are. We need you masculine, virile, gentlemanly. We love you like this and we like you like this.