The House of the Famous It is the most watched program in recent times in Mexico. On social networks, the reality show Televisa’s show has had more than 6.5 billion views, a historic event for national television. However, within its camera-covered walls, events have occurred that have alerted not only the audience, activists and organizations, but also the authorities. The most recent occurred last Sunday, when the influencer Ricardo Peralta was accused of “’using the homophobia card’ as a ‘strategy’ to generate empathy and disqualify other participants,” according to a statement from Círculo Diverso, a human rights organization focused on LGBTTTIQ+ diversity.
What happened to Ricardo Peralta
During the night of selections—an activity in which participants choose the person they want to be expelled from the house and explain the reasons for their choice—Peralta said he felt discriminated against by actor Arath de la Torre, who allegedly criticized his clothing. “You made a very inappropriate comment to me,” he said. influencer to the television host. In addition, he suggested that what happened on the show had been a homophobic act, although he did not mention the word as such. “My sexual orientation is homosexual and it is also linked to gender identity, my gender identity is gender fluid, not binary (…) I know that perhaps you can tell me (…) ‘he only meant that he didn’t like her clothes’. No. I know perfectly well that you didn’t mean that, because I don’t exist for you in this house either,” he added.
Only a few minutes had passed into the broadcast when the reactions began. Diverse Circle He described the statements of the influencer as “conduct that undermines and invalidates the struggle that LGBTTTIQ+ people have sustained to defend our identities, our expressions, our rights and existences (…) the rights of LGBTTTIQ+ people are not a wild card for convenient use in a television contest and Ricardo Peralta does not represent and is not, nor will he be, a spokesperson for people of sexual diversity.”
Ricardo Peralta on the show ‘The House of the Famous’.
Natalia Lane, sex worker and trans women’s rights activist, wrote in X that what Peralta, also known as Torpecillo by his username on social media, did “is serious in many ways. But what is most infuriating is that he instrumentalizes non-binary and gender fluid people in a television competition—a population that has fought so hard to be visible and named within LGBT activism—, confusing concepts/experiences of gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.”
Discrimination or conflict?
It all happened as a result of a comment made by Arath de la Torre a few weeks ago about Ricardo Peralta’s outfit. “Ricardo, please take off that outfit, you make me nervous. Teacher Canuta is going to beat the shit out of you,” said the television host jokingly. Upon receiving the accusation of discrimination from Peralta, he denied that the comment had been in that sense. “Ricardo, I think you’re making a mistake (…) I think you’re trying to confuse people and things, I respect you and I have always respected you (…) Don’t try to turn people on me like that. It’s not fair, don’t play like that, don’t play dirty,” he explained.
In a video posted on Instagram, Luis Ruiz, from Group Huga dissemination and support project with a perspective queershared a reflection on the event in which he analyzed the difference between conflict and abuse, citing the book Conflict Is Not Abuse (Conflict is not abusein Spanish), by Sarah Schulman. The author explains that there is a tendency to label conflicts and disputes as abuse or violence, which, from her perspective, can be problematic, counterproductive and ends up inhibiting communication and problem solving. For her, an approach is needed that allows conflicts to be managed constructively, recognizing that disagreement is a natural and even healthy part of human relationships and communities.
Replicate violence
The above explains why there was discomfort in the reactions to what Ricardo Peralta said in The House of the Famous“This is a person who is distorting, to a certain extent, a cause that is genuine and that is also a reflection of how being part of diversity and being part of a movement does not take away your prejudices,” trans activist and host Zoe Joffre told EL PAÍS.
Joffre adds that Peralta, although he showed some inclusive and gender-based perspectives on social media, has reproduced sexist and violent stereotypes. “For example, last week we heard him argue with Adrián Marcelo about how feminism does not exist, that there are codes between men and very misogynistic conversations (…) This reminds us that in the LGBT community there are many gay CIS men who replicate patriarchal violence,” she explained.
Authors such as Audre Lorde, Angela Davis and bell hooks have explored in their work how patriarchal structures affect all people and can be reproduced even within movements such as LGBTTTIQ+, feminist, anti-patriarchal, to name a few. But they have also incorporated other variables, such as racism, power dynamics derived from class and social inequalities.
Glossary: gender identity and expression and sexual orientation
Another highly questioned aspect of Peralta’s speech was the confusion between concepts such as gender expression and identity, sexual orientation, gender fluid and non-binary person. Gender identity refers to the internal and deep sense that a person has of their own gender, which may or may not coincide with their biological sex. It is how a person identifies themselves in terms of gender, whether as a man, a woman, a combination of both, neither, or any other gender identity. This can flow and transform; this is where gender fluidity emerges. This identity is part of the gender spectrum and reflects the idea that gender is neither fixed nor necessarily binary.
Gender expression is the way a person expresses their gender identity through their appearance, behavior, clothing, and other external aspects. This can include how a person dresses, how they behave, and how they present themselves to others.
Ricardo Peralta at Azteca Studios.Media and Media (Getty Images)
Finally, sexual orientation refers to the sexual, emotional and/or affective attraction that one person feels for another. Within this spectrum are heterosexuality (attraction towards people of the opposite gender); homosexuality (attraction towards people of the same gender); bisexuality (attraction towards people of more than one gender); pansexuality (attraction towards people regardless of their gender), among others.
To say, as Ricardo Peralta stated, that orientation is linked to gender identity and expression “involves a limitation within the range of diversity that exists. The fact that a person has a gender expression considered feminine does not make them homosexual (for example),” the specialized media indicated. Homosensual.
Meanwhile, The House of the Famous remains one of the shows The show is one of the most watched television shows despite the controversy. Previously, another of the cast members, Adrián Marcelo, was widely criticized for the gender violence and stigmatization of mental health that he amplified in the program. Even the Secretariat of Women of Mexico City asked the production of the show to reality show expel the youtuber. So far, Televisa, the production company, has not made any statements regarding the messages that have appeared on the program.
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