TEDWomen 2010
Liza Donnelly: Drawing on humor for change
Liza Donnelly: dibujando humor para el cambio
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La caricaturista de la revista New Yorker, Liza Donnelly, comparte un portafolio de sus sabias y graciosas caricaturas sobrea la vida moderna y habla de cómo el humor puede empoderar a las mujeres para cambiar las reglas.
Liza Donnelly - Cartoonist
New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly tackles global issues with humor, intelligence and sarcasm. Her latest project supports the United Nations initiative Cartooning For Peace. Full bio
New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly tackles global issues with humor, intelligence and sarcasm. Her latest project supports the United Nations initiative Cartooning For Peace. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:17
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
00:24
I was afraid of womanhood.
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Tenía miedo a la feminidad.
00:27
Not that I'm not afraid now,
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No que ahora no tenga,
00:29
but I've learned to pretend.
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pero he aprendido a fingir.
00:31
I've learned to be flexible.
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He aprendido a ser flexible.
00:33
In fact, I've developed some interesting tools
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De hecho, he desarrollado algunas herramientas interesantes
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to help me deal with this fear.
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para ayudarme a lidiar con este miedo.
00:37
Let me explain.
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Permítanme explicarles.
00:39
Back in the '50s and '60s, when I was growing up,
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En los años 50 y 60, cuando estaba creciendo,
00:41
little girls were supposed to be kind and thoughtful
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se suponía que las niñas eran amables y consideradas
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and pretty and gentle and soft,
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y bonitas y gentiles y suaves.
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and we were supposed to fit into roles
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Y se suponía que encajábamos en roles
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that were sort of shadowy --
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que eran poco claros.
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really not quite clear what we were supposed to be.
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Realmente no estaba claro qué se suponía que debíamos ser.
00:52
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
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There were plenty of role models all around us.
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Había muchos ejemplos a nuestro alrededor.
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We had our mothers, our aunts, our cousins, our sisters,
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Teníamos a nuestras madres, tías, primas, hermanas
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and of course, the ever-present media
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y, desde luego, los medios siempre presentes,
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bombarding us with images and words,
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bombardeándonos con imágenes y palabras,
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telling us how to be.
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diciéndonos cómo ser.
01:09
Now my mother was different.
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Bueno, mi madre era dferente.
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She was a homemaker,
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Era ama de casa,
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but she and I didn't go out and do girlie things together,
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pero ella y yo no salíamos a hacer cosas de chicas juntas.
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and she didn't buy me pink outfits.
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Y no me compraba conjuntos rosas.
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Instead, she knew what I needed, and she bought me a book of cartoons.
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En cambio, sabía lo que yo necesitaba y me compró un libro de caricaturas.
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And I just ate it up.
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Y yo lo devoré.
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I drew, and I drew,
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Dibujé y dibujé
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and since I knew that humor was acceptable in my family,
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y dado que sabía que el humor era aceptable en mi familia,
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I could draw, do what I wanted to do,
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podía dibujar, hacer lo que quería hacer,
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and not have to perform, not have to speak --
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y no tener que acutar, no tenía que hablar.
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I was very shy --
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Era muy tímida...
01:33
and I could still get approval.
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y aun así podía obtener aprobación.
01:36
I was launched as a cartoonist.
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Me lancé como caricaturista.
01:40
Now when we're young,
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Ahora, cuando eres joven
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we don't always know. We know there are rules out there,
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no siempre sabes... Sabemos que hay reglas allá afuera,
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but we don't always know --
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pero no siempre sabemos...
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we don't perform them right,
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No las cumplimos correctamente,
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even though we are imprinted at birth
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a pesar de ser estampadas al nacer
01:51
with these things,
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con esas cosas,
01:54
and we're told
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y se nos dice
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what the most important color in the world is.
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cuál es el color más importante del mundo.
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We're told what shape we're supposed to be in.
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Se nos dice qué figura debemos tener.
02:02
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
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We're told what to wear --
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Se nos dice qué vestir...
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(Laughter)
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(Risas)
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-- and how to do our hair --
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y cómo arreglarnos el pelo...
02:11
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
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-- and how to behave.
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y cómo comportarnos.
02:19
Now the rules that I'm talking about
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Ahora, las reglas de las que hablo
02:21
are constantly being monitored by the culture.
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son constantemente controladas por la cultura.
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We're being corrected,
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Se nos corrige.
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and the primary policemen are women,
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Y las principales policías son mujeres,
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because we are the carriers of the tradition.
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porque somos las portadoras de la tradición.
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We pass it down from generation to generation.
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Y la pasamos de generación en generación.
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Not only that --
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No únicamente
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we always have this vague notion
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tenemos siempre esta vaga idea de
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that something's expected of us.
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que se espera algo de nosotras.
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And on top of all off these rules,
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Sino que encima todas esas reglas
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they keep changing.
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cambian continuamente.
02:45
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
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We don't know what's going on half the time,
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No sabemos qué está pasando la mitad del tiempo,
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so it puts us in a very tenuous position.
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así que nos pone en una situación delicada.
02:55
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
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Now if you don't like these rules,
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Ahora, si no te gustan esas reglas,
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and many of us don't --
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y a muchas de nosotras no nos gustan...
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I know I didn't, and I still don't,
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Yo sé que no me gustaban y todavía no me gustan,
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even though I follow them half the time,
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a pesar de que las sigo la mitad del tiempo,
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not quite aware that I'm following them --
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sin ser consciente de que las estoy siguiendo,
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what better way than to change them [than] with humor?
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¿qué mejor manera de cambiarlas que con humor?
03:13
Humor relies on the traditions of a society.
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El humor se basa en las tradiciones de una sociedad.
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It takes what we know, and it twists it.
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Toma lo que sabemos y lo tuerce.
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It takes the codes of behavior and the codes of dress,
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Toma los códigos de conducta y los códigos de vestir
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and it makes it unexpected,
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y los convierte en lo inesperado,
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and that's what elicits a laugh.
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y eso es lo que provoca la risa.
03:25
Now what if you put together women and humor?
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Ahora, ¿qué pasa si juntas mujeres y humor?
03:28
I think you can get change.
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Pienso que obtienes cambio.
03:30
Because women are on the ground floor,
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Porque las mujeres están al principio
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and we know the traditions so well,
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y conocemos las tradiciones tan bien,
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we can bring a different voice to the table.
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que podemos traer una voz diferente a la mesa.
03:36
Now I started drawing
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Ahora, comencé a dibujar
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in the middle of a lot of chaos.
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envuelta en mucho caos.
03:40
I grew up not far from here in Washington D.C.
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Crecí no lejos de aquí, en Washington D. C.,
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during the Civil Rights movement, the assassinations,
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durante el movimiento de Derechos Civiles, los asesinatos,
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the Watergate hearings and then the feminist movement,
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el juicio de Watergate y entonces el movimiento feminista.
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and I think I was drawing,
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Y creo que dibujaba
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trying to figure out what was going on.
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tratando de entender qué pasaba.
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And then also my family was in chaos,
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Mi familia también estaba en caos en ese entonces.
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and I drew to try to bring my family together --
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Y dibujé para tratar de mantener unida a mi familia...
03:58
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
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-- try to bring my family together with laughter.
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Ttrataba de unir a mi familia con risa.
04:06
It didn't work.
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No funcionó.
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My parents got divorced, and my sister was arrested.
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Mis padres se divorciaron y a mi hermana la arrestaron.
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But I found my place.
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Pero encontré mi lugar.
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I found that I didn't have to wear high heels,
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Descubrí que no tenía que usar tacones,
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I didn't have to wear pink,
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que no tenía que vestirme de rosa,
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and I could feel like I fit in.
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y podía sentir que encajaba.
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Now when I was a little older, in my 20s,
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Cuando fui un poco mayor, en mis 20,
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I realized there are not many women in cartooning.
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me di cuenta de que había muchas mujeres dibujantes.
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And I thought, "Well, maybe I can break
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Y pensé: "Quizá pueda romper
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the little glass ceiling of cartooning,"
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el pequeño techo de cristal".
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and so I did. I became a cartoonist.
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Y así lo hice; me convertí en dibujante.
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And then I thought -- in my 40s I started thinking,
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Y entonces pensé, a los 40 comencé a pensar:
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"Well, why don't I do something?
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"Bueno, ¿por qué no hago yo algo?
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I always loved political cartoons,
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Siempré amé la caricatura política,
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so why don't I do something with the content of my cartoons
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así que ¿por qué no hacer algo con el contenido de mis caricaturas
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to make people think about the stupid rules that we're following
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para hacer pensar a la gente sobre las estúpidas reglas que seguimos
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as well as laugh?"
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y también para hacerlas reír?".
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Now my perspective
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Bien, mi perspectiva
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is a particularly --
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es particularmente...
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(Laughter)
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(Risas)
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-- my perspective is a particularly American perspective.
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Mi perspectiva es particularmente estadounidense.
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I can't help it. I live here.
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No puedo evitarlo, vivo aquí.
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Even though I've traveled a lot,
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Aun cuando he viajado mucho,
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I still think like an American woman.
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todavía pienso como una mujer estadounidense.
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But I believe that the rules that I'm talking about
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Pero creo que las reglas de las que hablo
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are universal, of course --
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son universales, desde luego
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that each culture has its different codes of behavior
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que cada cultura tiene diferentes códigos de conducta
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and dress and traditions,
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y vestido y tradiciones,
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and each woman has to deal with these same things
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y cada mujer tiene que lidiar con esas mismas cosas
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that we do here in the U.S.
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que hacemos aquí en EE. UU.
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Consequently, we have.
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Por consiguiente, tenemos que...
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Women, because we're on the ground, we know the tradition.
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Las mujeres, porque están al inicio, conocemos la tradición,
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We have amazing antennae.
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tenemos asombrosas antenas.
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Now my work lately
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Bien, mi último trabajo
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has been to collaborate with international cartoonists,
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ha sido colaborar con caricaturistas internacionales,
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which I so enjoy,
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de lo cual disfruto mucho.
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and it's given me a greater appreciation
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Y me ha aportado una mayor comprensión
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for the power of cartoons
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del poder de la caricatura
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to get at the truth,
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para llegar a la verdad,
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to get at the issues quickly and succinctly.
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para exponer esas cuestiones rápida y sucintamente.
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And not only that, it can get to the viewer
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Y no sólo eso: pueden llegar al lector
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through not only the intellect, but through the heart.
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no sólo a través del intelecto, también a través del corazón.
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My work also has allowed me to collaborate
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Mi trabajo también me ha permitido colaborar
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with women cartoonists from across the world --
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con mujeres caricaturistas de todo el mundo:
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countries such as Saudi Arabia,
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países como Arabia Saudita,
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Iran, Turkey,
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Irán, Turquía,
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Argentina, France --
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Argentina, Francia...
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and we have sat together and laughed
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y nos hemos sentado juntas y reído
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and talked and shared our difficulties.
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y hablado y compartido nuestras dificultades.
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And these women are working so hard to get their voices heard
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Y esas mujeres están trabajando duro para hacer escuchar sus voces
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in some very difficult circumstances.
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en circunstancias muy difíciles.
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But I feel blessed to be able to work with them.
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Pero me siento bendecida por poder trabajar con ellas.
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And we talk about
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Y hablamos de
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how women have such strong perceptions,
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cómo las mujeres tienen tan fuertes percepciones
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because of our tenuous position
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debido a nuestra débil posición
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and our role as tradition-keepers,
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y a nuestro rol como guardianas de la tradición,
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that we can have the great potential
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pero también tenemos el gran potencial
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to be change-agents.
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para ser los agentes del cambio.
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And I think, I truly believe,
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Y pienso, realmente creo,
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that we can change this thing
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que podemos cambiar esto,
06:31
one laugh at a time.
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risa a risa.
06:33
Thank you.
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Gracias.
06:35
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Liza Donnelly - CartoonistNew Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly tackles global issues with humor, intelligence and sarcasm. Her latest project supports the United Nations initiative Cartooning For Peace.
Why you should listen
When Liza Donnelly joined The New Yorker in 1982, she was the youngest cartoonist on staff and one of only three women at the time to draw cartoons for the magazine. She’s still there. In 2005, Donnelly wrote the definitive book about her colleagues: Funny Ladies: The New Yorker’s Greatest Women Cartoonists and Their Cartoons. She’s been part of many other books, including Sex and Sensibility, Cartoon Marriage (about her life with fellow New Yorker cartoonist Michael Maslin) and a popular series of dinosaur books for kids. Her latest is Women on Men.
In 2007, Donnelly joined the United Nations initiative Cartooning for Peace. She travels worldwide to speak out about freedom of speech, world peace, and other global issues. Along with her New Yorker cartoons, Donnelly writes a column for Forbes, and draws a weekly political cartoon for Medium. She's a founding member of the US branch of the international organization FECO, and has taught at Vassar College and The School of Visual Arts. She received an honorary PhD from the University of Connecticut and is a cultural envoy for the US State Department, traveling to speak about women's rights, freedom of expression and cartoons.
Liza Donnelly | Speaker | TED.com