Tanaland: an imaginary country in response to sexist and misogynist insults

Called "Tana", a new fashionable insult on social networks, female influencers are hijacking the expression to create an imaginary country called "Tanaland". A world forbidden to men, to counter cyber-bullying of women.

Tana is short for putana, Spanish for prostitute. For a few weeks now, the insult has been swarming over the word "p*te", now banned on the platform. " I was doing an advert for a dating app, and I got around 800 comments from 800 different men shouting 'tana tana'. People don't realize how serious misogyny is on social networks. As a content creator on TikTok, the misogyny people spew out is traumatizing. I get the impression that there's really a return to the past, there are a lot of masculinists, there's a tendency to talk about "bodycount "... says Carla Ghebali, influencer on Tik Tok.

Tana is used exclusively to criticize content posted by women. Because here, it's not the content that's at stake, but the gender of those who post. " We get called a p*te all year round for anything and everything. A woman who wears make-up: Tana! A woman who dances: Tana! A woman who breathes: Tana! " laments tiktokeuse Polska. A term in vogue among rappers, notably in Niska's "Ah Bon", which has become the soundtrack of the Tanaland movement.

Tanaland, misogyny at its own game

It all started with a video from tiktokeuse Hadja (@hadja_bh2) in which we see the young woman with her suitcase, accompanied by the message, " Moi qui quitte la France pour Tanaland comme on est toutes des Tanas."

The term quickly became popular and, to illustrate and denounce the daily harassment and insults to which they are subjected, many women have since posted videos with the message: " En route pour Tanaland" ("On the way to Tanaland ").

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To combat this umpteenth manifestation of sexism on social networks, the women are appropriating the Tana insult "Boomerang-style" to imagine a safe place for women. " We decided to reappropriate the word to show that we don't care and that no man will ever put pressure on us again," says Polska. She continues: " To be against this movement is just to give reason to all those misogynists who would like to see us cry at every Tana dropped as a comment with the aim of persecuting us."

"Liberté, Egalité, Tanacité": welcome to Tanaland

Tanaland is a fictional world inspired by Barbie's universe, a country where everything is pink and the sun always shines (for a real Tana tan). This micro-state, 100% Girl Power and forbidden to men, already has a flag (pink), a passport (pink), a capital "Tana-City", its own metro line (which doesn't smell of pee) and its motto "Liberté, Egalité, Tanacité".

Aya Nakamura was mentioned as a possible Prime Minister, and for the national anthem, some of Tanaland's female citizens suggested Santa Fe by rapper Shay to illustrate Tanaland's mood: " I represent the bitches who choose to be alone. I represent the bitches, the ones who choose to be alone.. "

Tanaland: a "No men's land" to combat sexism

On TikTok, nearly 18 million female citizens have already joined Tanaland. At the head of this virtual world are two female presidents, tiktokers Toomuchlucile and Polska. " It made me laugh to be appointed president," says Toomuchlucile. " The downside is that I've become a target for critics of the movement. They don't understand that Tana is no longer an insult, on the contrary. "

Because more than a country, Tanaland is above all a movement. It's a response to the daily "slut shaming" to which women are subjected. In other words, being stigmatized because of one's gender, appearance or allegedly provocative behavior. " To be a Tana is simply to want to live quietly. It's living without the gaze of men to restrict us in our actions and call us names, " Toomuchlucile sums up. " All women can come to the country and be a tana, since we all get insulted. " Tanaland is a quasi-political response to sexism and toxic masculinity. " The idea is to denounce men's misogynistic behavior and use it as a force. We turn their weapon against them to turn it into a strength and show them that it doesn't affect us," says Toomuchlucile. According to Anaïs Loubère, founder of Digital Pipelettes: " Tanaland is the response of female content creators to sexism. Obviously we don't belong in your society because we're never good enough, so we're going to create this world that will be only for women, and it will be a safe place where we'll finally have peace."

The phenomenon is such that a surge of sisterhood is blowing through the networks, with groups of women meeting and uniting via WhatsApp or Instagram to exchange ideas and help each other. There are even plans to organize women-only Tanaland evenings. Recently, an appeal was launched for female billionaires to bring this utopian country to life by buying an island, for example.

Tanaland vs Charoland, when men still don't get it

In response to Tanaland, some men are proposing the creation of Charoland, an " imaginary country full of women... where men can act as they wish. " An initiative that drew (yellow) laughter from many women for whom this country already exists, since they live there every day. " Charoland exists, it's just the world we live in. It illustrates the real world we live in, and only confirms why Tanaland was invented. The only answer they have to Tanaland is to represent all the oppression we denounce," points out Marie, content creator under the pseudonym Niemesia.

Tanaland exists, it's called Umoja

In Kenya, women didn't wait for Tanaland. Over the past 30 years, Umoja, a village reserved exclusively for women, has come into being (only boys under 18 are allowed to live there with their mothers). This matriarchal village has become a refuge for women from the Samburu ethnic group, victims of gender-based violence and sexual abuse. Traditionally, among the Samburu, "a woman cannot stand when a man is sitting. She cannot speak before he does. And if her husband wants to kill her, well, he can ", explains Naguei, one of the village founders, to Jeune Afrique magazine.