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This concept enables us to understand the ideas, values, ideals and emotions that empower a narrative, just like deep ocean currents direct more superficial currents.
This tool enables us to observe how narratives are constructed based on fragments (messages, stories) that come from different sources and in different forms. When uniting these fragments and viewing the entire mosaic they create, we have a much richer view of how they fit together and what their strength is.
Enables us to see which parts of a story are extracted and taken out of context to create, exacerbate or “validate” narratives. When we learn about its existence, we can break the frame to see a broader perspective.
Try not to think about an “elephant”. We all evoke the concepts of every word that we know as soon as we hear it. This visualization will depend on our context. Often, it’s not necessary for the narratives to be expressed literally, since these are being prompted by related concepts which, upon being mentioned, reproduce them.
Tool to identify the powers and interests that are behind the creation, spread or strengthening of narratives, from what’s highly visible to what’s invisible.
ROBERTO
Roberto is an AFAB trans man (assigned female at birth). He was born with female reproductive organs, but during his adolescence he decided he identified as male.
Accepting it and bringing it up with his family took great effort and it wasn’t received as he had hoped for. He explains that he doesn’t identify as female and accepting his identity brings calm.
His parents, who didn’t know much about all this, thought that Robert was mentally ill and needed help to “correct him”. “Trans man? That doesn’t exist! You’re sick!” Like his parents, society generally doesn’t understand Roberto either.
As he gets older, Roberto observes how the fact that people like him exist isn’t even common knowledge, and that hardly anyone talks about them. They’re not recognized with their ID documents (neither their current name, nor their gender identity) and this has impeded Roberto from getting a formal job. They always say no, regardless of his skills, since: “What you’re saying doesn’t match your national ID-card. It’s not formal.”
“Sure, if we don’t even exist for the people close to us, how to expect the State to acknowledge us... and that’s why it’s as if we don’t have any rights. We also need to work, study, live in dignity, we need human rights like everyone else.” He is even made fun of every time someone sees the national ID-card assigned to him.
In addition, Roberto has received a large amount of sexual abuse; he always gets told that his identity will get “corrected” through aggression or that his gender identity doesn’t exist…
When he was about to lose all hope, Roberto finds a transmen collective. “We offer psychological support in the face of violence; we have educational spaces to offer information about the trans community and allied organizations that support our initiatives,” Marino tells him, a companion that invites him to join their organization.
“One of the things we do is political advocacy. Knowing our rights is the foundation for demanding those rights are respected; to know who takes decisions and succeed in establishing alliances to change laws; for people to also support us out in the streets: that’s how we can leave a legacy which protects the entire community, for nobody else to be denied their rights.”
Roberto is very excited; he’s been with the collective and has never felt better. Despite the difficulties, to have a space where he is understood and can also fight for a better society has helped him to forget his sorrows and save him from falling into depression. “Today, we’ll all go to the Gay Pride Parade together! It’s my first march!”
Roberto has seen many brands join in on this important day, but he doesn’t remember them having raised awareness of LGTBIQ+ people during any other time of the year; some have even fired or discriminated people from the community… “Perhaps we only matter when they talk about colors or so they can sell us things?”
Roberto starts to lose heart. Marino approaches him, smiling, and he tells him: “Roberto, I’ve just talked to a Member of Congress from the progressive party; she’s at the march and knows about our issues and saw our logo. I’ve landed a meeting with her next week, let’s go! There, we can talk about the Gender Identity Law and all of the other things we want to achieve. So glad we came to the march with our banner!”
“For our rights we are going to continue fighting, and to continue fighting we need you to know us, to know that we exist, there is still much to do”.
the PDF version here
