Guta Garatuja: learn all about the feminist comics that are successful on the internet

You may have already read about how important feminism is and checked out some of the achievements that women have achieved thanks to it. In order to spread this idea even further and with the aim of fighting against the machismo that surrounds us on a daily basis, administrator Karina Aguiar, 30 years old, created the Guta Garatuja strips – and they are incredible!

According to the author of the project, the character was “born” in October 2015 and the idea came after a discussion with a colleague who usually has a very sexist speech. “I kept thinking about the things I would have liked to say, but I didn’t, because I felt it would be useless, since he wasn’t willing to listen to me”, remembers Kaká. “So I decided to create a strip that portrayed that situation, in a relaxed way, and that I could post on my social network without giving too much away that it was about that person. While I was creating the first strip, I already had several ideas for others. When I saw it, I had already created seven strips in a row and the anger I felt during the discussion had passed. I had fun with Guta from the first moment. When I finished a strip, I thought: ‘Man, this Guta is awesome! She doesn’t take shit home“, account.

For the mission to bring Guta to life, comic strips were chosen, thanks to the didactic and relaxed character with which the format can convey a message, even if it is about a subject as heavy and that hurts us as much as machismo. As far as the production process is concerned, the idea, the text and the illustrations are all tasks of Kaká, who works during business hours and dedicates himself to Guta in his spare time. “In topics like feminism, content is more relevant than aesthetics. After the comic strips started to be successful, I went to find out more about illustration programs and things like that and, soon, Guta will have a better resolution, as this is a constant request from my followers”, he comments.

“In the beginning, I only posted on my personal page, Guta’s page didn’t exist, so only my friends received it. The reaction was immediate. I received several messages from friends who identified with the situation, saying ‘Wow, I’m glad you understand me’, or ‘I thought it was just me that this happened to’. I saw a purpose there: to show these women that they are not alone, that this oppression they suffer, we suffer together. This sense of togetherness makes us stronger and braver.,” recalls the author. “I love to see the audience’s reaction. Many women tag their partners in the posts to give a (in)direct and this ends up raising constructive discussions. In other cases, followers tag their friends and fill Guta’s page with sisterhood🇧🇷 This is the part I like the most!”, celebrates.

Although many strips are completely autobiographical, others are based on situations that happened to Kaká’s friends or even to readers, but even so, the author always puts her point of view in each of her creations. “Every sexist situation is a potential comic strip. Since I started publishing, I’ve received countless contacts from friends with ideas. It even became a routine: when a friend witnesses machismo, she comes to tell me about it as an idea for a comic strip. In this process, I connect with women who I wasn’t very intimate with and I have the opportunity not only to create a comic strip on the subject, but also to help them when they need it.“, points out. In addition, Kaká is inspired by several renowned cartoonists. “The main one is Sarah Andersen, she’s great. But I am influenced by several others, such as Laerte, Tom Fonder and Franziska Becker, among others”, he exemplifies.

With nearly 40,000 followers on Facebook, 98% of whom are women and 87% between the ages of 13 and 25, Karina says that the only objective of the project, at the moment, is to reach the greatest number of people and problematize everyday sexist attitudes🇧🇷 🇧🇷I want women to identify with the situation and feel empowered to fight day-to-day machismo. I want the comic strips to show how absurd some situations are and bring a sense of urgency to fight them. Men, on the other hand, can also identify oppressions that they themselves commit or witness and, by understanding why this is a problem, they can help us fight this issue, “she explains.

However, despite the character’s success, Karina says she has no intention of becoming a public figure for several reasons. “First, as a woman addressing a topic that generates a lot of controversy on social media, I prefer to keep my identity preserved to avoid any aggression. Second, I don’t like to impersonate Guta. She is not me. She doesn’t even take my name. Guta is all of us and, therefore, I like to let her speak. she represents me“, ends.