(Riures)
(Laughter)
Jo tenia por de la femineïtat. No que no tingui por ara, però he après a fingir. He après a ser flexible De fet, he desenvolupat unes ferramentes interessants per ajudar-me a superar aquesta por. Permetin-me que els expliqui. Als anys 50 i 60, quan jo estava creixent, les nenes petites es suposava que havien de ser amables i considerades i boniques i gentils i dolces. I es suposava que haviem d'encaixar dins uns rols que no estaven gens clars. No estava gens clar el que es suposava que haviem de ser.
I was afraid of womanhood. Not that I'm not afraid now, but I've learned to pretend. I've learned to be flexible. In fact, I've developed some interesting tools to help me deal with this fear. Let me explain. Back in the '50s and '60s, when I was growing up, little girls were supposed to be kind and thoughtful and pretty and gentle and soft, and we were supposed to fit into roles that were sort of shadowy -- really not quite clear what we were supposed to be.
(Riures)
(Laughter)
Hi havia moltíssims models exemplars al nostre voltant. Teníem les nostres mares, ties, cosines, germanes, i per suposat, la sempre present premsa bombardejant-nos amb imatges i paraules, diguent-nos com ser. Ara, la meva mare era diferent. Ella era mestressa de casa, però ella i jo no sortiem a fer coses de noies juntes. I no em va comprar vestits roses. En comptes d'això, ella sabia el que jo necessitava, i em va comprar un llibre de dibuixos. I el vaig devorar. Vaig dibuixar i dibuixar, i com sabia que l'humor era acceptable a la meva família podia dibuixar, fer el que volgués, i no haver d'interpretar, no haver de parlar- jo era molt tímida- i encara podia aconseguir aprobació. I em vaig llençar com caricaturista. Ara bé, quan som joves, no sempre sabem-sabem que hi ha regles allí fora però no sempre sabem- no les seguim correctament, tot i que som gravades des del neixement amb aquestes coses, i se'ns diu, quin és el color més important al món. Se'ns diu quina forma es suposa que hem de tenir. (Riures) Se'ns diu com ens hem de vestir- (Riures) -i com ens hem de pantinar- (Riures) - i com ens hem de comportar.
There were plenty of role models all around us. We had our mothers, our aunts, our cousins, our sisters, and of course, the ever-present media bombarding us with images and words, telling us how to be. Now my mother was different. She was a homemaker, but she and I didn't go out and do girlie things together, and she didn't buy me pink outfits. Instead, she knew what I needed, and she bought me a book of cartoons. And I just ate it up. I drew, and I drew, and since I knew that humor was acceptable in my family, I could draw, do what I wanted to do, and not have to perform, not have to speak -- I was very shy -- and I could still get approval. I was launched as a cartoonist. Now when we're young, we don't always know. We know there are rules out there, but we don't always know -- we don't perform them right, even though we are imprinted at birth with these things, and we're told what the most important color in the world is. We're told what shape we're supposed to be in. (Laughter) We're told what to wear -- (Laughter) -- and how to do our hair -- (Laughter) -- and how to behave.
Ara bé, les normes de les que parlo són constantment vigilades per la cultura. Estem sent corregides. Les principals policies són dones, perquè som les portadores de la tradició. La passem de generació en generació. No només, tenim sempre aquesta idea vaga de que s'espera alguna cosa de nosaltres. I a sobre de totes aquestes normes, continuen canviant. (Riures) La meitat del temps no sabem què és el que está passant, i això ens posa dins una situació delicada.
Now the rules that I'm talking about are constantly being monitored by the culture. We're being corrected, and the primary policemen are women, because we are the carriers of the tradition. We pass it down from generation to generation. Not only that -- we always have this vague notion that something's expected of us. And on top of all off these rules, they keep changing. (Laughter) We don't know what's going on half the time, so it puts us in a very tenuous position.
(Riures)
(Laughter)
Ara bé, si no els agraden aquestes normes, i a moltes de nosaltres no ens agraden- jo sé que a mi no m'agradaven, i encara no m'agraden, tot i que les segueixo la meitat del temps, sense ser del tot conscient d'estar seguint-les- quina manera millor de canviar-les que amb humor? L'humor es basa en les tradicions d'una societat. Pren el que coneixem, i ho distorsiona. Pren el codis de comportament i els codis de vestimenta, i els fa inesperats, i això és el que provoca riures. Ara bé, què passa si ajuntem la dona i l'humor? Jo penso que podem obtenir un canvi. Perquè les dones estan a la planta baixa, i coneixem les tradicions tan bé, podem portar una veu diferent a la taula
Now if you don't like these rules, and many of us don't -- I know I didn't, and I still don't, even though I follow them half the time, not quite aware that I'm following them -- what better way than to change them [than] with humor? Humor relies on the traditions of a society. It takes what we know, and it twists it. It takes the codes of behavior and the codes of dress, and it makes it unexpected, and that's what elicits a laugh. Now what if you put together women and humor? I think you can get change. Because women are on the ground floor, and we know the traditions so well, we can bring a different voice to the table.
Bé, jo vaig començar a dibuixar en mig de molt de caos. Vaig créixer no molt lluny d´aquí a Washington D.C. durant el moviment dels Drets Civils, els assassinats, el judici de Watergate i el moviment feminista. I crec que jo dibuixava, per intentar entendre el que estava passant. I a la vegada, la meva família estava en caos llavors. I dibuixava per intentar mantenir unida la família- (Riures) -intentar unir la meva família amb riures. No va funcionar. Els meus pares es van divorciar, i a la meva germana la van arrestar. Però vaig trobar el meu lloc. Vaig descobrir que no havia de portar tacons, no havia de vestir de rosa, i podia sentir que encaixava.
Now I started drawing in the middle of a lot of chaos. I grew up not far from here in Washington D.C. during the Civil Rights movement, the assassinations, the Watergate hearings and then the feminist movement, and I think I was drawing, trying to figure out what was going on. And then also my family was in chaos, and I drew to try to bring my family together -- (Laughter) -- try to bring my family together with laughter. It didn't work. My parents got divorced, and my sister was arrested. But I found my place. I found that I didn't have to wear high heels, I didn't have to wear pink, and I could feel like I fit in.
Ara bé, quan vaig ser una mica més gran, als 20, Em vaig adonar que no hi ha gaires dones dins el món de la caricatura. I vaig pensar, "Bé, potser puc rompre el petit sostre de vidre del món de la caricatura." I així ho vaig fer; em vaig fer dibuixant. I llavors vaig pensar, als 40 vaig començar a pensar "Bé, per què no faig alguna cosa? Sempre m'havia agradat la caricatura política, així que, ¿per què no faig alguna cosa amb el contingut de les meves caricatures per fer reflexionar a la gent sobre les normes estúpides que estem seguint a més de fer riure?"
Now when I was a little older, in my 20s, I realized there are not many women in cartooning. And I thought, "Well, maybe I can break the little glass ceiling of cartooning," and so I did. I became a cartoonist. And then I thought -- in my 40s I started thinking, "Well, why don't I do something? I always loved political cartoons, so why don't I do something with the content of my cartoons to make people think about the stupid rules that we're following as well as laugh?"
Ara la meva perspectiva és particularment- (Riures) - la meva perspectiva és particularment una perspectiva americana. No ho puc evitar. Visc aquí. Tot i que he viatjat moltíssim, encara penso com una dona americana. Però crec que les normes de les que parlo són universals, és clar- cada cultura té els seus diferents codis de conducta i de vestimenta i tradicions, i cada dona ha de lluitar amb aquestes mateixes coses que fem aquí als EE.UU Com a conseqüència, tenim- dones, perquè estem de peus a terra, coneixem la tradició- tenim una antena impressionant.
Now my perspective is a particularly -- (Laughter) -- my perspective is a particularly American perspective. I can't help it. I live here. Even though I've traveled a lot, I still think like an American woman. But I believe that the rules that I'm talking about are universal, of course -- that each culture has its different codes of behavior and dress and traditions, and each woman has to deal with these same things that we do here in the U.S. Consequently, we have. Women, because we're on the ground, we know the tradition. We have amazing antennae.
Ara, últimament la meva feina ha estat col.laborar amb caricaturistes internacionals, que de fet m'encanta I m'ha aportat una apreciació major pel poder de les caricatures per arribar a la veritat, per arribar als problemes ràpida i succintament. I no només això, pot arrivar a l'espectador a través, no només de l'intel.lecte, sinò també del cor. El meu treball també m'ha permès col.laborar amb caricaturistes dones de tot el món- països com Aràbia Saudí, Iran, Turquia, Argentina, França- i ens hem assegut juntes i hem rigut i parlat i compartit les nostres dificultats. I aquestes dones estan treballant tan de debò per aconseguir que les seves veus siguin escoltades en circumstàncies molt difícils. Però em sento afortunada de poder treballar amb elles.
Now my work lately has been to collaborate with international cartoonists, which I so enjoy, and it's given me a greater appreciation for the power of cartoons to get at the truth, to get at the issues quickly and succinctly. And not only that, it can get to the viewer through not only the intellect, but through the heart. My work also has allowed me to collaborate with women cartoonists from across the world -- countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Argentina, France -- and we have sat together and laughed and talked and shared our difficulties. And these women are working so hard to get their voices heard in some very difficult circumstances. But I feel blessed to be able to work with them.
I parlem de com les dones tenen aquestes percepcions fortes degut a la nostra posició tènue i el nostre rol com a conservadores de la tradició, que podem tenir el gran potencial de ser portadores del canvi. I jo penso, crec de veritat, que canviem això riure a riure.
And we talk about how women have such strong perceptions, because of our tenuous position and our role as tradition-keepers, that we can have the great potential to be change-agents. And I think, I truly believe, that we can change this thing one laugh at a time.
Gràcies.
Thank you.
(Aplaudiments)
(Applause)