Tamara De Anda Prieto (born August 6, 1983 in Mexico City, Mexico), also known by her pen name Plaqueta, is a Mexican blogger and journalist. She received international attention after an incident of harassment involving a taxi driver, and was subsequently the target of online harassment and trolls. She previously blogged for El Universal, and published the 2018 book #Amigadatecuenta, along with fellow activist Andrea Arsuaga [es]. In 2017 she was named among BBC's 100 Women.

Tamara De Anda
A young woman with curly red hair wearing a jacket stands in front of a pink-painted brick wall with her arms partially outstretched and her palms facing upward.
De Anda in 2017
Born
Tamara De Anda Prieto

(1983-08-06) August 6, 1983 (age 41)
Mexico City, Mexico
Alma materNational Autonomous University of Mexico
OccupationJournalist
Known forBBC's 100 Women (2017)

Biography

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De Anda studied communications at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.[1]

In 2013, De Anda posted to social media about an Aeroméxico casting call that had been sent to her. It stated that people with dark skin (morenos) would not be allowed to audition for roles, and that they wanted only actors of "'a white complexion' and a 'Polanco look'".[2][a] Aeroméxico later apologized when Mexican news outlets wrote about her tweets.[4]

In 2017, a male taxi driver catcalled De Anda, whistling and calling "Eh, guapa", literally "hey beautiful".[5] This escalated into a heated exchange, until De Anda reported the man to a passing police officer.[6][7] The taxi driver was fined. He refused to pay and instead chose to spend a night in jail.[7] The incident received international coverage when her tweets about the event went viral.[6] Since the incident, she has received both death and rape threats.[8] In a joint statement to the 38th meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, Association for Women's Rights in Development, and others identified the criticism, mockery, and "threats of physical aggression, sexual content and sexist jokes" directed toward De Anda as "emblematic of a broader trend" of online harassment of women human rights defenders.[9]

In the days following the Westminster attack and the later the Manchester Arena bombing pictures of Anda circulated on social media posts claiming that she was a victim of the attacks.[10] At the time of the attack, De Anda was in Mexico City participating in a Facebook Live interview with the New York Times.[11][12] She stated that this was a form of harassment, by internet trolls, retaliating against her, for her actions toward the taxi driver.[10][8] Speaking with the British newspaper i:

I’ve been the target of Mexican trolls for days since I made a street harasser pay a fine. This is their new attack. It was special and newsworthy because in Mexico the authorities always dismiss women's version and harassers and even murderers never get any kind of punishment. And nobody knows the law. So I ‘discovered’ this way of proceeding, which is simpler, and I cannot believe something so, I don't know, ‘small’ is a big deal. But it is. I broke Mexican internet.[11]

Anda wrote a blog for El Universal until 2017.[13] She has also worked as a reporter for Canal Once, host of the show Radio Formula, and been a contributor to the website Maspormas.[14]

She was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women during 2017[15] and was a part of an anti-harassment campaign in Mexico City.[16]

In 2018 she and fellow activist Andrea Arsuaga published #Amigadatecuenta, a book about feminism and women's health.[17]

Selected publications

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  • De Anda, Tamara (September 19, 2011). "Nuestra violencia México (in Spanish)". Gatopardo. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  • De Anda, Tamara (January 10, 2018). "In Transit: Mexico City". Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  • Andonella; Plaqueta (August 23, 2018). #Amigadatecuenta. Grupo Planeta – México. ISBN 978-607-07-5129-5.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Polanco" here being a reference to Polanco, Mexico City, a mostly white and affluent neighborhood[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Tamara De Anda". El Universal. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Smith, Paul Julian (January 1, 2017). Dramatized Societies: Quality Television in Spain and Mexico. Liverpool University Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-78138-372-8.
  3. ^ Licon, Adriana Gomez (August 16, 2013). "Mexico airline apologizes for light-skin casting". Yahoo! Finance. Associated Press. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  4. ^ Rodriguez, Cindy R. (August 18, 2013). "Aeromexico: Sorry for casting call excluding dark-skinned people". CNN. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  5. ^ "The fake news swirling around the Westminster attack". France 24. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Trolls target journalist over harassment by taxi driver". Mexico News Daily. March 25, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Tamara de Anda 'Plaqueta' explica por qué un piropo no es un halago sino una forma de acoso". Verne (in Mexican Spanish). March 22, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Wendling, Mike (June 29, 2017). "Grenfell 'miracle baby': Why people invent fake victims". BBC News. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  9. ^ ISHR, Amnesty International, APC, AWID, FORUM-ASIA and OMCT on behalf of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (June 2018). "The impact of violence against women human rights defenders and women's organisations in digital spaces: Joint oral statement at the Human Rights Council 38th session". Association for Progressive Communications. Retrieved November 8, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b Cresci, Elena (May 26, 2017). "The story behind the fake Manchester attack victims". The Guardian. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Saul, Heather (March 22, 2017). "Tamara de Anda: trolls target Mexican journalist in Westminster attack hoax". iNews. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Interview (in Spanish). The New York Times en Español. Via Facebook Live.
  13. ^ "Tamara De Anda". El Universal (in Spanish). May 25, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  14. ^ Lanza, Edison. "Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2017 VOLUME II". Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  15. ^ "BBC 100 Women: Who is on the list?". BBC News. November 1, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  16. ^ Deb, Sopan; Franco, Marina (March 31, 2017). "'Penis Seat' Causes Double Takes on Mexico City Subway". The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  17. ^ "#Amigadatecuenta: un libro sobre feminismo, salud sexual, adicciones y más". Verne (in Mexican Spanish). August 21, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
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