Home of famous Mexico, production televisionbroke an audience record of over 4.2 million people who met 14 celebrities over the course of two and a half months, while exposing various forms of violence committed by residents, drivers and industry.
This reality show It stood out with the participation of Wendy Guevara, the first trans woman with the largest presence on Mexican television, as well as other “controversies” that culminated in sexist violence, transphobia and mental health minimization.
Consulted by experts List agree that what for many viewers or participants may be a “show”, “game” or “content creation”, the aggressive expressions displayed in La Casa de los Famosos are nothing but a portrait of a country with a high level hate crimes, femicides and suicides.
Visibility Wendy doesn’t fight transphobia
The home of the famous Mexico began on June 4 with the first transphobic statement by Poncho de Nigris, who, along with Wendy, said: “This will make me snuggle (…) we both have erections.”
Added to this were expressions such as “There are three women left, one with chili, but she is a woman” by Sergio Mayer; “The team of hell shows this loyalty between them and (that) they are men”, Galilee Montijo; “There is a transgender woman, very beautiful, but similar to a woman”, Emilio Osorio; and “If you want to feel like a spider, a fish, anything but children” by Barbie Juarez and many others.
Raul Cruz, a journalist and media critic, notes that while it is true that this is the first time a trans person, coming from a context of racial and marginalization, has taken a “leading” place in a program like this, one has to wonder if it is worth it. really represents a positive step for the community.
“It is very important to have an understanding of the transgender issue, but an understanding that does not address the complexity and multiple versions of the transgender experience of many people. Wendy is perceived as a transgender caricature in many ways, she is not talked about as a trans woman, she is talked about as a caricature,” she says.
Cruz recalled that there were moments reality in which people previously accused of misogynistic acts, such as Sergio Mayer and Poncho de Nigris, “protected” Wendy Guevara from transphobic comments, only to resort to “subtle” transphobic violence themselves immediately thereafter.
The same thing happened outside of La Casa de los Famosos, that is, among the audience, but this does not mean that there is an acceptance of the trans community, but of Wendy Guevara as a character, according to the media specialist.
“It’s about Wendy’s bigotry, a kind of performative alliance for transgender rights, but the reality is that most people who are Wendy’s fans don’t question their own transphobic and misogynistic actions, and they will continue to train constantly and daily,” he said. He. mourns.
“That’s how we get along” and “she doesn’t get offended” are some of the arguments that La Casa de los Famosos México residents like Poncho de Nigris and Barbara Torres used to justify their transphobic comments towards Wendy. Among the audience there were people who remembered that Guevara herself stated that she had no problems with her name.
Le Periodiste points out that the perception of Wendy Guevara is the product of systematic misogyny and transphobia. “This is internal violence within the trans community, which should be pointed out, she has the absolute right to call herself what she wants, call herself and live her trans experience as she wants, but other people should not use this as an argument for continuing to use violence ‘, Cruz emphasizes.
According to a report by civil organization Letra Ese, 2022 was the most violent year for the LGBTI+ community in Mexico, with 87 murders. Transgender women were the most numerous victims, with 48 cases of transfemicide, and most of the crimes (32%) were committed on public roads.
Added to this, Raúl Cruz points out, that 96% of transgender people in Mexico are unemployed, only 84% have access to higher education and 98% live below the wealth line, so what does transgender visibility mean? man like Wendy?
“I believe that Wendy’s fame is not an asset to the trans community, especially in a program that has consistently tolerated and practiced transphobic violence (…). trans people, especially for those who do not enjoy the privilege of the media,” he notes.
This is not micromachism, this is violence
“He goes there in a thong (bikini) and I’m uncomfortable”, “I’m not going to argue with you, you are a woman”, “It doesn’t matter if you are a woman: give love and ask for respect”, there were some misogynistic expressions that were broadcast in La House of the Famous Mexico.
What may appear to be “micromachism” ─ covert, daily or normal violence, actually has a negative impact on the lives of women, girls and adolescents.
Wendy Figueroa, director of the National Refuge Network (RNR), regrets that the content reality had such a scope because it was this sexist violence that was replicated as a “joke”, “game” or as a “simple comment”.
“I do not believe that (La Casa de los Famosos) contributes to building an egalitarian society free from violence,” he muses.
But in addition, Figueroa exposes that reducing daily violence against women to “micromachism” only exacerbates the problem and makes the victims invisible.
“Talking about micromachism minimizes the everyday naturalized violence that perpetuates gender stereotypes, macho and misogynistic acts, as well as situations of oppression, the objectification of female bodies, and even the deaths of hundreds of women,” he says.
The “joke” of the misogynistic comment ends when an average of 10 femicides are committed in Mexico every day. In addition, in 2022, RNR assisted 449 women victims of sexual violence and 141 women victims of attempted feminicide.
According to the Network, only 6% of women who are victims of sexist violence condemn their aggressors, and this is largely due to distrust of the authorities and fear of how society might perceive them.
Profits with mental health
“Maybe it’s not her menopause or she’s crazy, at least she’s a great actress”, “If she has bipolar disorder, then she should lose, not us”, “Let her take her rivotril”, “You just have to ignore her,” these were some of the comments from the residents of La Casa de los Famosos México when comedian Barbara Torres had an emotional crisis.
Despite the state in which Torres was ─crying out of anger and anguish— the production, the conductors and other members of La Casa reduced it to a simple hormonal problem or to the fact that it was part of their comedy.
“It is very common for society to put off mental health or crisis situations (…) There is a ‘culture’ and ‘education’ in our country that mental health is the last thing. We are not trained to deal with the emotions of others,” says Irma Marimon, PhD in psychology.
The way some of the inhabitants of La Casa de los Famosos felt about Barbara’s crises was that they simply ignored her. This, according to Miramon, could have an even more negative impact on people’s emotional stability.
“There are people who tell them, ‘Well, I think it’s time to see a doctor, she’s crazy, she’s in a crisis, don’t mind her, let her pass.’ The crisis will not go away on its own, especially when a person is in a long-term imprisonment,” he explains.
But it’s not just about Barbara Torres. The specialist explains that any of the participants in this species reality show ─experiencing prolonged confinement under cells 24 hours a day, 7 days a week─ prone to mood swings, anxiety, anger and insecurity, which can later lead to depression and paranoia.
“In a situation like Celebrity House, everyone sees your real face, and it’s not easy for them to see your real face. It creates a lot of insecurity, fear of what they will say, what they will think about me, about my career, about what my career will be from now on, ”he notes.
Another aspect that drew attention reality It was then that some participants revealed that the production provided them with medication to treat anxiety attacks or insomnia.
In this sense, Irma Miramon refers to the fact that in case the production of La Casa de los Famosos acted ethically and responsibly, they should have requested medication from a mental health professional.
“However, in a crisis situation, yes, I can send you a pill, but this will only serve to contain the crisis at that moment, then I will need to conduct at least one or two interviews to find out what your medical history is. what emotional situation you are experiencing, what medicine can I give you.
“It is dangerous to treat people when you don’t know what they are going through, because in this case you see it through the camera, but you don’t know what is behind their condition. An antidepressant can cause a person to have suicidal thoughts,” says Miramon.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), in 2021 alone, there were 8,447 completed suicides in Mexico, which is 6.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.
For Irma Miramon production of this type reality show It does not prioritize the mental health of its members, but rather capitalizes on it.
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