The Madrid Feminist Movement filed a complaint with Spanish state media this week, asking for the song to be withdrawn. According to the organization, the song is offensive to women because of the meaning of the word zorra.
But that meaning is not so clear, says Spain correspondent for RTL News Richard Hogenkamp. “And that’s the whole problem.”
Vos of bitch?
“According to the Spanish dictionary, the word means ‘female fox’, but it is also used with ‘bitch’ as the meaning. That immediately leads to the whole discussion: what meaning do you give to it? Zorra can therefore be used in a derogatory way but also to describe a woman who has a lot of power,” says Hogenkamp.
The masculine variant of the word, zorro, also has several meanings. In addition to ‘fox’, the word is also used as a synonym for womanizer, or a crook, “and then in a way that people can appreciate.”
According to the singer of the singing duo Nebulossa, the song is in defense of women. The text describes how a woman is called a zorra no matter what she does. The song would actually use the word as a kind of protest. “I have often felt marginalized and mistreated. That word accompanied me for a long time, until I decided to take control,” the singer told Spanish news agency Efe.
But the Feminist Movement says it is ‘absurd’ to say that the ‘persistent repetition’ of the word could empower.
Premier
Even Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez has now joined the discussion: he defended the song on Spanish television. “It seems to me that feminism is not only fair, but can also be fun,” he says. “The Prime Minister also calls himself a feminist, even before the release of the Eurovision Song Contest song,” says Hogenkamp. Other politicians have also spoken out about it in recent days.
Watch the video of the Eurovision Song Contest song during the national final below:
Most Spaniards are not very concerned with the controversy, says Hogenkamp. “What they actually find more interesting is that Spain finally has a song with which they could do well at the Eurovision Song Contest. It is a catchy melody and the whole of Europe is already talking about it.” The song is currently number fifteen on Spotify’s national charts.
Spain generally does not do very well at the song festival. The country has only won twice, and that was 55 and 56 years ago.
It looks like the song will be sung in May. “The song won the national Eurovision Song Contest according to the rules. For a while it was still questionable whether the Eurovision Song Contest would censor the song.” The word zorra appears forty times in the song. But the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the competition, has now approved Spain’s entry.
2024-02-09 18:12:50
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