Unwittingly becoming a global symbol in the fight for gender equality after being forcibly kissed by former Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales during Spain’s World Cup victory on August 20, Jenni Hermoso was elected woman of the year 2023 by the Spanish edition of the prestigious American magazine GQ.
On this occasion, she returned for the first time to this “difficult” episode, which she said she managed to overcome thanks to the help of a psychologist. “I want to be remembered as a person who wanted to take Spain to the top, but above all as a person who tried to change mentalities,” she declared in the preamble.
“I had to assume the consequences of an act that I did not provoke, that I did not choose or premeditate. I even received threats, and it’s something you never get used to,” explains the 33-year-old player, who filed a complaint for “sexual assault” against Luis Rubiales.
The actions of the former president of the Spanish Football Federation, who ended up resigning after weeks of trying to justify what he presented as “a little consensual kiss”, caused an international shock wave. And the Spanish players, who went on strike to support their teammate by demanding immediate changes within their federation, received the support of many personalities from the sporting and cultural world.
“A new era” for women’s sport
“With everything that’s happened, I think many of us have come to realize what the word feminism really means. We, the footballers, have experienced the fight for equality up close, assures Hermoso. We were called capricious. People said we wanted to be paid like the boys, but that wasn’t true. »
The top scorer in the history of the Spanish selection says she is “very angry” at the findings which remind us that women’s football “does not generate as much income as men’s football. » “We know that and we never asked to be paid like them. We simply wanted the essentials: a minimum salary, respect and the possibility of doing something great” summarizes Jenni Hermoso.
The playmaker from Pachuca, Mexico, who made a triumphant return to La Roja last October, says she now wants to “enjoy her sport”. Jenni Hermoso also hopes that the feminist movement #SeAcabo (“It’s over”), born to support her, will open “a new era” for women’s sport. And “if I have to add my two cents to change things, I won’t hesitate,” she concludes.