Raquel Córcoles (Reus, 37 years old) is Moderna de Pueblo, illustrator and comic book author who has just republished her book Buds do not give flowers (Editorial Zenith), first published 10 years ago. The idea was to do it as is, but when he read it he realized that the vignettes did not pass his own filter, that there were many approaches that seemed obsolete to him and that his vision of society, couple relationships and the role of The woman had changed so much that she couldn’t publish it as it was. So he has done it by adding comments (and criticisms) to what he drew in 2013. Starting with the title, in which he has crossed out the “no”.
Ask. How has your way of seeing the world changed?
Answer. My intention when I published the book for the first time was to create a genre that fascinated me and that served as lexatin: a romantic comedy. It seems to me that it was well focused and that it had a lot of reality, but all the focus of my life was on the search for a partner, on adapting to the guy on duty so that he would like me. That is what has been totally outdated. I think that now we have many more tools to see ourselves in a different way. There are many stories beyond “a guy doesn’t listen to me, I’m a loser.” And many references that are nothing like Bridget Jones or Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in New York.
P. Did you expect to be so critical of your own comic?
R. I don’t usually re-read a book once it’s published, but I had the intuition that it hadn’t aged well. For example, I published a cartoon on social networks in which Moderna and her roommate hug each other for having managed to install a program on the computer, and I received criticism. Justly. The cliché of “oh, how clumsy we are, how little we orient ourselves,” harms us. And it’s not even real, although it may be the particular experience of some of us.
P. He says that the theory has taken a radical turn with the rise of feminism and movements like Me Too. And the practice?
R. Many women have done quite profound personal growth work. But then relationships are complicated. I have learned the theory very well, but maybe if I stayed single now I would go back to my old ways with many things.
P. The Internet barely appears in his book, but now he draws the “coons” of Instagram.
R. Everything has changed a lot. Now we have, for example, liker. Before there were men who called you pretty on the street. Their partners, of course, did not witness it. Now there’s that kind of man who gives a like to every post from every pretty woman on social media. This is much more public than the street compliment, and causes problems. When couples complain, liker turns it around and complains about too much control. We have gone from street slug to digital slug.
P. How has masculinity changed in these ten years?
R. Healthy masculinity exists and is very cool, and there are many men reflecting on gender roles and what they want their relationships to be like. But on the other hand I also see others who, in reaction to feminism, go to a very dark, very misogynistic place, like those men that I have taken from real conversations on the internet in a vignette and who conclude that they have to go look for foreign women to have girlfriends. submissive
P. You use humor and parody in your reflections, but you often receive a lot of criticism for generalizing.
R. Many feel attacked, but I’m not talking about the men, I’m talking about the assholes. And I’m not saying at all that all men are, nor do I want to make a fight between sides. What I like most about Moderna are the debates that arise around an issue that I put on the table. Sometimes I share topics on which I do not have a 100% formed opinion and then I myself learn from people’s comments. On the other hand, I also try to understand the complexity of the educational burden that we all carry, including a man who behaves in a certain way.
P. And what about the cocoons?
R. Of course there are, I do not defend the perfection of women. And, furthermore, it is a sign of equality that there are. But, as an author, I put the focus elsewhere: on the men I have encountered and their behaviors.
P. The book also talks about another phenomenon: men who find it difficult to maintain relationships with women who are more successful, with more power, with more money.
R. For me, my partner has always pushed me to improve, even though this has meant dedicating a lot of time to my career. But there are those who push just in the other direction, who pretend that you want to get less because you don’t pay attention. And when you have someone next to you who only complains, that leads you to shrink or separate yourself.
P. What do we end up with then, do the buds give flowers or not?
R. Of course, it is not a sign with which you can identify love and romance, although we have seen it a thousand times in romantic comedies. You have to stop focusing on the wrong details.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits
_