Why women should tell the stories of humanity | Jude Kelly

Translator: Montse Venrell Ferré Reviewer: carme cloquells

Why do we think

Per què pensem

that stories by men are deemed to be of universal importance,

que les històries d'homes es consideren d'importància universal,

and stories by women are thought to be merely about women?

i les històries de dones es consideren senzillament de dones?

My grandmother left school when she was 12.

La meva àvia va deixar l'escola quan tenia 12 anys.

She had 14 children.

Va tenir 14 fills.

My mother left school when she was 15.

La meva mare quan en tenia 15.

She was a secretary.

Va ser secretària.

I graduated from university to become a theater director,

Jo em vaig graduar a la universitat per ser directora de teatre,

and that progress is entirely to do with the fact that people I'll never meet

i aquest progrés està totalment lligat al fet que gent que mai coneixeré

fought for women to have rights,

va lluitar per les dones i els seus drets,

get the vote, get education, have progress.

per aconseguir votar, per aconseguir educació, per progressar.

And I'm determined to do the same, and obviously you are, too.

I estic decidida a fer el mateix, i evidentment vosaltres també.

Why not?

Per què no?

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

So I started a festival called WOW, Women of the World, seven years ago,

Per això vaig iniciar un festival, el WOW ("Dones del Món"), fa 7 anys,

and it's now in 20 countries across five continents.

i ara es fa a 20 països dels 5 continents.

And one of those countries is Somaliland in Africa.

I un d'aquests països és Somàlia, a l'Àfrica.

So I traveled there last year,

Vaig viatjar fins allà l'any passat,

and part of the joy I had in going there was going to these caves.

i part del plaer d'haver anat fins allà va ser anar a unes coves.

The Laas Geel caves.

Les coves Laas Geel.

Now, these caves contain some of the oldest cave paintings in the world.

En aquestes coves trobem algunes de les pintures rupestres més antigues del món.

These paintings are thought to be round about 9,000 to 11,000 years old.

Es diu que aquestes pintures podrien tenir entre 9000 i 11000 anys d'antiguitat.

Art:

L'art:

what humanity has done ever since it evolved.

el que la humanitat ha fet des que va evolucionar.

It's how we speak about ourselves,

És com parlem de nosaltres mateixos,

how we understand our identity,

de com entenem la nostra identitat,

how we look at our surroundings,

de com mirem el que ens envolta,

who we find out about each other

de quant ens coneixem els uns als altres

because of the meaning of our lives.

per donar significat a les nostres vides.

That's what art is for.

L'art és per a tot això.

So look at this little picture.

Mireu aquest petit dibuix.

I think it's a little girl.

Jo crec que és una nena.

I thought it was a bit like me when I was a little girl.

Vaig pensar que s'assemblava una mica a mi quan era petita.

And I thought, well, who painted this joyful, youthful figure?

I vaig dir-me: "Qui va pintar aquesta feliç i juvenil figura?".

And I asked the curator of the caves.

Ho vaig demanar al conservador de les coves.

I said, "Tell me about the men and women who painted these."

Vaig dir-li: "Parli'm dels homes i les dones que van pintar això".

And he looked at me absolutely askance, and he said,

Ell em va mirar amb desconfiança, i va dir:

"Women didn't paint these pictures."

"Les dones no van pintar-ho".

And I said, "Well, it was 11,000 years ago."

I vaig respondre: "Bé, això va ser fa 11000 anys."

I said, "How do you know?"

Vaig preguntar: "Com ho sap?".

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

And he said, "Women don't do these things.

I ell va dir: "Les dones no fan aquestes coses."

Men made these marks. Women don't."

"Els homes van fer aquests dibuixos, no pas les dones".

Now, I wasn't really surprised,

Bé, doncs, la resposta no em va sorprendre gaire

because that's an attitude that I've seen continuously

perquè aquesta és una actitud que he vist repetidament

all my life as a theater maker.

durant tota la meva vida com a autora de teatre.

We are told that divine knowledge comes down through the masculine,

Ens diuen que el coneixement diví prové de la masculinitat,

whether it be to the imam, the priest, the rabbi, the holy man.

tant si és un imam, un capellà, un rabí o un sant.

Similarly, we're told that creative genius resides in the masculine,

I també ens diuen que la genialitat creativa es troba en el gènere masculí,

that it is the masculine

que és el gènere masculí

that will be able to tell us about who we really are,

el que ens dirà qui som realment,

that the masculine will tell the universal story

que el masculí ens explicarà la història universal

on behalf of all of us,

en nom de totes nosaltres,

whereas women artists will really just talk about women's experiences,

mentre que les dones artistes només ens parlaran de les experiències de dones,

women's issues only really relevant to women

d'assumptes femenins només rellevants per a dones

and of passing interest to men --

de poc interès per als homes,

and really only some men.

o només per a alguns homes.

And it's that conviction,

I és aquesta convicció,

that that we are taught,

tot el que ens ensenyen,

that I think colors so much of whether we're prepared to believe

que crec que influeix si estem preparats per creure

that women's stories really matter.

que les històries de dones realment importen.

And unless we're prepared to believe that women's stories really matter,

I si no estem preparats per creure que les històries de dones importen,

then women's rights don't really matter,

que els drets de les dones importen,

and then change can't really come.

el canvi no podrà arribar.

I want to tell you about two examples of stories

Us vull donar dos exemples d'històries

that are thought to be of universal importance:

que creiem que són d'importància universal.

"E.T." and "Hamlet."

"E.T." i "Hamlet".

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

So I took my two children when they were little --

Quan els meus fills eren petits,

Caroline was eight and Robby was five --

la Caroline tenia 8 anys i en Robby, 5,

to see "E.T."

vaig endur-me'ls a veure "E.T."

And it's a fantastic story of this little alien

És una història fantàstica sobre aquest petit alienígena

who ends up in an American family

que acaba amb una família americana,

with a mum, two brothers and a sister,

amb una mare, dos fills i una filla,

but he wants to go home.

però que vol tornar a casa.

Not only that, but some really bad scientists

No només això, sinó que alguns científics dolents

want to do some experiments on him,

volen fer experiments amb ell,

and they're looking for him.

i el busquen.

So the children have a plot.

I els nens dissenyen un pla.

They decide they're going to take him back to his spaceship

Decideixen portar-lo de nou a la seva nau tan aviat com puguin,

as soon as they can,

and they plop him in a bicycle basket,

i el posen a la cistella de la bicicleta i comencen l'aventura.

and off they ride.

But unfortunately, the baddies have found out, and they're catching up

Desafortunadament, els dolents ho descobreixen i els persegueixen

and they've got sirens and they've got their guns,

i tenen sirenes i tenen pistoles i tenen megàfons,

they've got the loud-hailers, it's terribly frightening,

És realment aterridor, i envolten els nens,

and they're closing up on the children,

i els nens no ho aconseguiran.

and the children are never going to make it.

I de sobte, per art de màgia, les bicicletes s'enlairen al cel,

And then all of a sudden, magically, the bikes fly up in the air,

over the clouds,

per sobre els núvols,

over the moon,

per sobre la lluna,

and they're going to save "E.T."

i aconseguiran salvar l'E.T.

So I turn to see my children's faces,

I em giro per mirar les cares dels meus fills,

and Robby is enraptured, he's there with them, he's saving E.T.,

el Robby està captivat, ell és amb els nens, està salvant l'E.T.,

he's a happy boy.

és un nen feliç.

And I turn to Caroline, and she's crying her eyes out.

I em giro cap a la Caroline, i ella està plorant desconsoladament.

And I said, "What's the matter?"

Li vaig preguntar: "Què passa?"

And she said, "Why can't I save E.T.? Why can't I come?"

I va dir: "Per què no puc salvar l'E.T.? Per què no puc anar-hi?"

And then all of a sudden I realized:

I tot d'una me'n vaig adonar:

they weren't children;

no eren criatures;

they were boys --

eren nens,

all boys.

tots eren nens.

And Caroline, who had invested so much in E.T.,

I la Caroline, involucrada totalment en la història de l'E.T.,

well, she wasn't invited to save him,

no havia estat convidada a salvar-lo,

and she felt humiliated and spurned.

i es va sentir humiliada i rebutjada.

So I wrote to Steven Spielberg --

Vaig escriure a l'Steven Spielberg

(Laughter) (Applause)

(Rialles) (Aplaudiments)

and I said, "I don't know if you understand

i li vaig dir: "No sé si has entès

the psychological importance of what's happened,

la importància psicològica del que m'ha passat,

and are you prepared to pay for the therapy bills?"

estàs preparat per pagar les factures de la teràpia?"

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

Twenty years later, I haven't had a word back from him,

Vint anys després, encara no he rebut cap resposta d'ell,

but I'm still hopeful.

però encara tinc esperança.

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

But I thought it was interesting,

Vaig pensar que era interessant,

because if you read reviews of what he intended with E.T.,

perquè si llegiu les crítiques del que volia dir amb "E.T.",

he says very specifically,

diu molt específicament:

"I wanted the world to understand

"Volia que el món entengués

that we should love and embrace difference."

que hem d'estimar i acollir la diferència".

But somehow he didn't include the idea of girls' difference

Però d'alguna manera no va incloure la idea de la diferència femenina

in this thinking.

en la seva consideració.

He thought he was writing a story about all humanity.

Va pensar que estava escrivint una història per a la humanitat.

Caroline thought he was marginalizing

La Caroline va pensar que ell marginava

half of humanity.

la meitat de la humanitat.

He thought he was writing a story about human goodness;

Va pensar que escrivia una història sobre la bondat humana;

she thought he was writing a lad's heroic adventure.

ella va pensar que escrivia una aventura heroica de nens.

And this is common.

Això és molt comú.

Men feel they have been given the mantle for universal communication,

Els homes creuen que se'ls ha donat la tasca de la comunicació universal,

but of course, how could they be?

i és clar, com ho fan si no?

They are writing from male experience through male's eyes.

Escriuen des de l'experiència masculina, des dels ulls d'un home.

We have to have a look at this ourselves.

Hem de mirar-nos a nosaltres mateixes.

We have to be prepared to go back through all our books and our films,

Hem d'estar preparades per rellegir tots els nostres llibres i pel·lícules,

all our favorite things,

els nostres preferits,

and say, "Actually, this is written by a male artist --

i dir: "De fet, això està escrit per un artista home,

not an artist.

no un artista."

We have to see that so many of these stories

Hem de veure que moltes d'aquestes històries

are written through a male perspective.

s'escriuen amb una perspectiva masculina.

Which is fine,

Que està bé,

but then females need to have 50 percent of the rights

però les dones també han de tenir un 50% dels drets

for the stage, the film, the novel,

d'accedir a l'escenari, una pel·lícula, una novel·la,

the place of creativity.

al seu lloc en la creativitat.

Let me talk about "Hamlet."

Deixeu-me parlar sobre "Hamlet".

To be or not to be.

Ser o no ser.

That is the question.

Aquesta és la qüestió.

But it's not my question.

Però no és la meva qüestió.

My question is: Why was I taught as a young woman

La meva pregunta és: "Per què se'm va ensenyar com a noia

that this was the quintessential example of human dilemma

que això era la quinta essència del dilema humà

and human experience?

i de l'experiència humana?

It's a marvelous story,

És una història meravellosa,

but actually, it's about a young man fearful that he won't be able to make it

però tracta d'un jove poruc que no aconseguirà res

as a powerful figure in a male world

com a figura poderosa en un món d'homes,

unless he takes revenge for his father's murder.

si no es venja de l'assassinat del seu pare.

He talks a great deal to us about suicide being an option,

Ens parla moltíssim del suïcidi com a opció,

but the reality is that the person who actually commits suicide, Ophelia,

però en realitat, la persona que se suïcida, Ofèlia,

after she's been humiliated and abused by him,

després de ser humiliada i abusada per ell,

never gets a chance to talk to the audience about her feelings.

no pot parlar mai al públic sobre els seus sentiments.

And then when he's finished with Ophelia, he turns on his mum,

I quan ja ha acabat amb Ofèlia, li toca el rebre a la mare,

because basically she has the audacity to fall in love with his uncle

perquè té l'atreviment d'enamorar-se de l'oncle de Hamlet

and enjoy sex.

i gaudir del sexe.

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

It is a great story,

És una gran història,

but it is a story about male conflict, male dilemma, male struggle.

però és una història sobre conflictes, dilemes i lluites masculins.

But I was told this was the story of human beings,

Però em van dir que era una història d'éssers humans,

despite the fact that it only had two women in it.

tot i que només hi apareixen dues dones.

And unless I reeducate myself,

Llevat que em reeduqui a mi mateixa,

I am always going to think

sempre pensaré

that women's stories matter less than men's.

que les històries de dones importen menys que les d'homes.

A woman could have written "Hamlet,"

Una dona podria haver escrit "Hamlet",

but she would have written it differently,

però l'hauria escrit de manera diferent,

and it wouldn't have had global recognition.

i no hauria tingut el reconeixement global.

As the writer Margaret Atwood says,

Com va dir l'escriptora Margaret Atwood,

"When a man writes about doing the dishes,

"Quan un home escriu sobre rentar els plats,

it's realism.

és realisme.

When a woman writes about doing it,

Quan una dona escriu sobre el mateix,

it's an unfortunate genetic disposition."

és una desafortunada disposició genètica".

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

Now, this is not just something that belongs to then.

Ara bé, això no és una cosa que sigui del passat.

I mean, when I was a young girl,

Quan jo era jove

wanting desperately to be a theater director,

desitjava ser directora de teatre,

this is what my male lecturer said to me:

i això és el que em va dir un professor:

"Well, there are three women directors in Britain," he said, "Jude."

"Mira, hi ha tres directores dones al Regne Unit, Jude".

"There's Joan Knight, who's a lesbian, there's Joan Littlewood, who's retired,

"Hi ha la Joan Knight, lesbiana, la Joan Littlewood, ja jubilada,

and there's Buzz Goodbody, who's just killed herself.

i la Buzz Goodbody, que acaba de suïcidar-se.

So, which of those three would you like to be?"

Com quina d'elles t'agradaria ser?"

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

Now, leaving aside the disgusting slur on gay women,

Deixant a banda l'insult de mal gust sobre les lesbianes,

the fact is, he wanted to humiliate me.

el fet és que ell volia humiliar-me.

He thought it was silly that I wanted to be a director.

Va pensar que era estúpid que jo volgués ser directora.

And I told my friend Marin Alsop, the conductor, and she said,

Vaig dir-ho a la meva amiga Marin Aslop, directora d'orquestra,

"Oh yes, well, my music teacher said exactly the same.

i em va dir: "El meu professor de música va dir exactament el mateix.

He said, 'Women don't conduct.'"

Va dir-me: 'Les dones no dirigeixen'".

But all these years later, we've made our mark.

Uns quants anys més tard, ho hem aconseguit.

You think, "Well, it'll be different now."

Potser penseu: "Bé, ara serà diferent".

I'm afraid it's not different now.

Em sap greu, però no ho crec.

The current head of the Paris Conservatoire

L'actual director del Conservatori de París

said recently, "It takes great physical strength

ha dit recentment: "Demana una gran força física

to conduct a symphony,

dirigir una simfonia,

and women are too weak."

i les dones són massa febles".

(Laughter)

(Rialles)

The artist George Baselitz said,

L'artista George Baselitz va dir:

"Well, the fact is women can't paint.

"És un fet que les dones no poden pintar.

Well -- they can't paint very well."

Bé, no poden pintar gaire bé".

The writer V.S. Naipaul said two years ago,

L'escriptor V. S. Naipaul va dir fa dos anys:

"I can read two paragraphs and know immediately if it's written by a woman,

"Puc llegir dos paràgrafs i saber immediatament si ho ha escrit una dona,

and I just stop reading, because it's not worthy of me."

i parar de llegir perquè no val la pena per a mi.

Audience: Whoa!

Públic: "Ohhhh!"

And it goes on.

I podríem continuar...

We have to find a way

Hem de trobar la manera

of stopping young girls and women

que noies i dones deixin de pensar que les seves històries no importen

feeling not only that their story doesn't matter,

but they're not allowed to be the storyteller.

i que no tenen permís per explicar històries.

Because once you feel that you can't stand in the central space

Perquè quan sents que no pertanys a l'espai central

and speak on behalf of the world,

i que no pots parlar de part del món,

you will feel that you can offer your goods up to a small, select group.

llavors sents que el que pots oferir només va a un petit i selecte grup.

You will tend to do smaller work on smaller stages,

I intentaràs fer petites obres en petits escenaris,

your economic power will be less,

el poder econòmic serà més baix,

your reach of audiences will be less,

l'impacte al públic serà més baix,

and your credit will be less as an artist.

i el reconeixement serà menys com a artista.

And we do finally give artists these incredible, prominent spaces

I nosaltres donem als artistes aquests espais increïbles i importants

in the world,

because they are our storytellers.

perquè són els nostres narradors.

Now, why should it matter to you if you're not an artist?

Però què us pot interessar això si no sou artistes?

Supposing you're an accountant or an entrepreneur or a medic

Suposeu que sou comptables o empresàries o metgesses

or a scientist:

o científiques:

Should you care about women artists?

Us haurien d'importar les artistes femenines?

Absolutely, you must,

Sí, sense dubte,

because as you can see from the cave paintings,

perquè tal com podeu veure des d'aquelles pintures a la cova

all civilizations,

totes les civilitzacions,

all of humanity

tota la humanitat

have relied upon artists to tell the human story,

ha confiat en els artistes per explicar la història de l'home,

and if the human story is finally told by men,

i si la història de la humanitat és explicada per homes,

take my word for it,

escolteu-me bé,

it will be about men.

serà sobre homes.

So let's make a change.

Canviem-ho.

Let's make a change to all our institutions,

Canviem-ho en totes les institucions,

and not just in the West.

No només a Occident.

Don't forget -- this message of incapability of women

No ho oblideu, aquest missatge sobre la incapacitat de les dones

to hold creative genius

per ser genis creatius

is being told to girls and women in Nigeria, in China, in Russia,

s'ha dit a noies i dones a Nigèria, a la Xina, a Rússia i a Indonèsia.

in Indonesia.

All over the world, girls and women are being told

A tot el món, es diu a noies i a dones

that they can't finally hold the idea of creative inspiration.

que no estan capacitades per a la inspiració creativa.

And I want to ask you:

I jo us vull preguntar:

Do you believe that?

Us ho creieu?

Do you believe that women can be a creative genius?

Creieu que les dones no poden ser genis creatius?

(Applause and cheers)

(Aplaudiments i ovacions)

Well then, please go forward,

Vinga doncs, tirem endavant,

support women artists,

donem suport a dones artistes,

buy their work,

comprem el seu art,

insist that their voices are heard,

insistim que la seva veu sigui escoltada,

find platforms on which their voices will be made.

cerquem plataformes en les quals les seves veus puguin crear-se.

And remember this:

I recordeu això:

that in a sense, if we're going to get past this moment

d'alguna manera, si hem de superar aquest moment

of a world where we know that we are unequal,

en el qual sabem que el món és desigual,

it's artists who have to imagine a different world.

són els artistes els que han d'imaginar un món diferent.

And I'm calling on all artists, women and men,

Faig una crida als artistes, dones i homes,

to imagine a gender-equal world.

a imaginar un món amb igualtat de gènere.

Let's paint it. Let's draw it.

Pintem-lo. Dibuixem-lo.

Let's write about it. Let's film it.

Escrivim sobre aquest món. Gravem-lo.

And if we could imagine it,

I si el podem imaginar,

then we would have the energy and the stamina

llavors tindrem l'energia i la resistència

to work towards it.

per lluitar i aconseguir-lo.

When I see this little girl,

Quan veig aquesta nena,

11,000 years ago,

de fa 11000 anys,

I want to know that the little girl now

vull saber que aquesta nena

can stand there and think she's entitled to her dreams,

ara pot estar aquí i pensar que té dret a realitzar els seus somnis,

she's entitled to her destiny

que té dret al seu destí

and she's entitled to speak on behalf of the whole world,

i que té dret a parlar en nom del món sencer,

be recognized for it

i ser reconeguda per això

and applauded.

i aplaudida.

Thank you.

Moltes gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)