Royal Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales has issued a public apology after kissing soccer champion Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth. Rubiales kissed Hermoso—without consent—during the gold medal ceremony held after Spain won the Women’s World Cup against England on Sunday, August 20.
Following immediate and widespread backlash, Rubiales posted a video stating that there was no “bad faith” in the kiss. Here’s CNN’s translation:
There’s an event, which I have to regret, which is everything that happened between the player and I, with a magnificent relationship between the two of us, the same as with the others. And well, I surely made a mistake, I have to recognize that. In a moment of elation, without any intention of bad faith, well, what happened happened—I think in a very spontaneous way. I repeat, there was no bad faith between either of the two of us. Here, we didn’t understand it because we saw something natural, normal and in no way, I repeat, with bad faith. But outside of the bubble, it looks like it has turned into a storm and so, if there are people who have felt offended, I have to say I’m sorry.
Hermoso’s response was more succinct: “Hey, I didn’t like it.”
While it’s tempting to demonize Rubiales for the kiss and the self-serving apology, it’s also important to remember that this kind of thing happens all the time. There’s a reason Rubiales felt comfortable doing it in the first place.
Women’s bodies are still considered public property
This incident reminds me of a much older, much more celebrated unwilling kiss: V-J Day in Times Square. This photo, widely considered a classic, shows a sailor passionately kissing a nurse (later determined to be a dental assistant) in Times Square after the end of World War II was announced. For decades, the photo was seen as romantic and celebratory—until the woman, Greta Zimmer Friedman, revealed during a Library of Congress interview that she and the sailor had been complete strangers, and the kiss had been nonconsensual. “It wasn’t my choice to be kissed,” she stated. “The guy just came over and kissed or grabbed.”
Even after several waves of the feminist movement, women’s bodies are still considered public property. Feel like kissing someone? Just help yourself to the closest woman. Who cares if she wants it or not?
Hermoso speaks for countless women who have been kissed, grabbed, groped, or otherwise touched without their consent. Hey—we don’t like it.
(via CNN, featured image: Oscar J. Barroso / AFP7 via Getty Images)
