ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Liza Donnelly - Cartoonist
New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly tackles global issues with humor, intelligence and sarcasm. Her latest project supports the United Nations initiative Cartooning For Peace.

Why you should listen

When Liza Donnelly joined The New Yorker in 1982, she was the youngest cartoonist on staff and one of only three women at the time to draw cartoons for the magazine. She’s still there. In 2005, Donnelly wrote the definitive book about her colleagues: Funny Ladies: The New Yorker’s Greatest Women Cartoonists and Their Cartoons. She’s been part of many other books, including Sex and Sensibility, Cartoon Marriage (about her life with fellow New Yorker cartoonist Michael Maslin) and a popular series of dinosaur books for kids. Her latest is Women on Men.

In 2007, Donnelly joined the United Nations initiative Cartooning for Peace. She travels worldwide to speak out about freedom of speech, world peace, and other global issues. Along with her New Yorker cartoons, Donnelly writes a column for Forbes, and draws a weekly political cartoon for Medium. She's a founding member of the US branch of the international organization FECO, and has taught at Vassar College and The School of Visual Arts. She received an honorary PhD from the University of Connecticut and is a cultural envoy for the US State Department, traveling to speak about women's rights, freedom of expression and cartoons.

More profile about the speaker
Liza Donnelly | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2010

Liza Donnelly: Drawing on humor for change

Liza Donnelly: Desenho sobre o humor para a mudança

Filmed:
1,435,431 views

A cartunista novaiorquina Liza Donnelly apresenta um portfólio de seus desenhos inteligentes e engraçados sobre a vida moderna - e fala sobre como o humor pode capacitar as mulheres a mudar as regras.
- Cartoonist
New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly tackles global issues with humor, intelligence and sarcasm. Her latest project supports the United Nations initiative Cartooning For Peace. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

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(Laughter)
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I was afraid of womanhood.
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Eu tinha medo da feminilidade.
00:27
Not that I'm not afraid now,
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Não que eu não esteja com medo agora,
00:29
but I've learned to pretend.
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mas eu aprendi a fingir.
00:31
I've learned to be flexible.
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Eu aprendi a ser flexível.
00:33
In fact, I've developed some interesting tools
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Na verdade, eu desenvolvi algumas ferramentas interessantes
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to help me deal with this fear.
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para me ajudar a lidar com esse medo.
00:37
Let me explain.
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Deixe-me explicar.
00:39
Back in the '50s and '60s, when I was growing up,
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Nos anos 50 e 60, quando eu estava crescendo,
00:41
little girls were supposed to be kind and thoughtful
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as meninas deviam ser amáveis e pensativas
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and pretty and gentle and soft,
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e bonitas, gentis e suaves.
00:46
and we were supposed to fit into roles
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E nós deveríamos nos encaixar nesses papéis
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that were sort of shadowy --
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que eram uma espécie de sombra.
00:50
really not quite clear what we were supposed to be.
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Realmente não estava muito claro o que deveríamos ser.
00:52
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:56
There were plenty of role models all around us.
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Havia uma abundância de modelos ao nosso redor.
00:58
We had our mothers, our aunts, our cousins, our sisters,
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Nós tivemos nossas mães, nossas tias, nossos primas, nossos irmãs,
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and of course, the ever-present media
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e, claro, os meios de comunicação sempre presente
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bombarding us with images and words,
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que nos bombardeava com imagens e palavras,
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telling us how to be.
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nos dizendo como deveríamos ser.
01:09
Now my mother was different.
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Minha mãe era diferente.
01:11
She was a homemaker,
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Ela era uma dona de casa,
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but she and I didn't go out and do girlie things together,
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mas ela e eu não saíamos para fazer coisas de meninas juntas.
01:15
and she didn't buy me pink outfits.
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Ela não me comprava roupas cor de rosa.
01:17
Instead, she knew what I needed, and she bought me a book of cartoons.
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Em vez disso, ela sabia que eu precisava, e ela me comprou um livro de cartoons.
01:20
And I just ate it up.
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E eu o devorei.
01:22
I drew, and I drew,
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Eu desenhei, e eu desenhei,
01:24
and since I knew that humor was acceptable in my family,
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e desde que me lembro, o humor era aceitável na minha família,
01:27
I could draw, do what I wanted to do,
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Eu poderia desenhar, fazer o que eu queria fazer,
01:29
and not have to perform, not have to speak --
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e não teria que representar, não teria que falar --
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I was very shy --
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eu era muito tímida --
01:33
and I could still get approval.
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e ainda podia obter aprovação.
01:36
I was launched as a cartoonist.
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Estava me lançando como cartunista.
01:40
Now when we're young,
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Quando somos jovens,
01:42
we don't always know. We know there are rules out there,
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nem sempre sabemos -- sabemos que existem regras,
01:45
but we don't always know --
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mas nem sempre sabemos --
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we don't perform them right,
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como fazer direito,
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even though we are imprinted at birth
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ainda que sejamos marcados desde o nascimento
01:51
with these things,
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com essas coisas,
01:54
and we're told
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e nos dizem
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what the most important color in the world is.
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qual é a cor mais importante no mundo.
01:59
We're told what shape we're supposed to be in.
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Nos dizem que forma nós devemos ter.
02:02
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
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We're told what to wear --
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Nos dizem o que vestir --
02:07
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
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-- and how to do our hair --
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-- como fazer o cabelo --
02:11
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
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-- and how to behave.
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-- como se comportar.
02:19
Now the rules that I'm talking about
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Agora as regras que eu estou falando
02:21
are constantly being monitored by the culture.
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estão sendo constantemente monitoradas pela cultura.
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We're being corrected,
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Estamos sendo corrigidos.
02:25
and the primary policemen are women,
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E as primeiras policiais são as mulheres,
02:28
because we are the carriers of the tradition.
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porque nós somos as portadoras da tradição.
02:30
We pass it down from generation to generation.
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Nós as passamos de geração em geração.
02:34
Not only that --
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Não só isso,
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we always have this vague notion
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sempre temos esta vaga noção
02:38
that something's expected of us.
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que algo é esperado de nós.
02:40
And on top of all off these rules,
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E ainda por cima, todas essas regras,
02:43
they keep changing.
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estão sempre mudando.
02:45
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
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We don't know what's going on half the time,
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Nós não sabemos o que está acontecendo na metade do tempo,
02:52
so it puts us in a very tenuous position.
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isso nos coloca em uma posição muito frágil.
02:55
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
02:57
Now if you don't like these rules,
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Agora, se você não gosta destas regras,
02:59
and many of us don't --
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e muitos de nós não gostam --
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I know I didn't, and I still don't,
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eu sei que eu não gostava, e ainda não gosto,
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even though I follow them half the time,
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apesar de eu segui-las a metade do tempo,
03:06
not quite aware that I'm following them --
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não completamente consciente do porquê as estou seguindo --
03:08
what better way than to change them [than] with humor?
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que melhor maneira de mudá-las que com bom humor?
03:13
Humor relies on the traditions of a society.
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O humor se baseia nas tradições de uma sociedade.
03:16
It takes what we know, and it twists it.
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É preciso que nós a saibamos, para torcê-la.
03:19
It takes the codes of behavior and the codes of dress,
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Pega-se os códigos de comportamento e os códigos de vestimenta,
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and it makes it unexpected,
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e os torna inesperados,
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and that's what elicits a laugh.
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e é isso que provoca uma gargalhada.
03:25
Now what if you put together women and humor?
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Agora e se você juntar as mulheres e humor?
03:28
I think you can get change.
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Eu acho que você pode começar a mudança.
03:30
Because women are on the ground floor,
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Porque as mulheres estão no piso térreo,
03:32
and we know the traditions so well,
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e conhecemos as tradições tão bem,
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we can bring a different voice to the table.
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podemos trazer uma voz diferente para a mesa.
03:36
Now I started drawing
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Comecei a desenhar
03:38
in the middle of a lot of chaos.
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no meio do caos.
03:40
I grew up not far from here in Washington D.C.
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Eu cresci, não muito longe daqui, em Washington DC
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during the Civil Rights movement, the assassinations,
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durante o movimento dos direitos civis, os assassinatos,
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the Watergate hearings and then the feminist movement,
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audiências do caso Watergate e do movimento feminista.
03:48
and I think I was drawing,
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E eu acho que eu estava desenhando,
03:50
trying to figure out what was going on.
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tentando descobrir o que estava acontecendo.
03:52
And then also my family was in chaos,
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Também minha família estava um caos.
03:55
and I drew to try to bring my family together --
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Eu desenhei para tentar unir a minha família --
03:58
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
04:03
-- try to bring my family together with laughter.
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-- tentar unir a minha família no riso--
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It didn't work.
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Não funcionou.
04:08
My parents got divorced, and my sister was arrested.
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Meus pais se divorciaram, e minha irmã foi presa.
04:11
But I found my place.
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Mas eu encontrei o meu lugar.
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I found that I didn't have to wear high heels,
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Achei que eu não tinha que usar salto alto,
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I didn't have to wear pink,
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que não tinha que usar rosa,
04:17
and I could feel like I fit in.
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e me sentir como se estivesse inserida.
04:20
Now when I was a little older, in my 20s,
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Agora, quando eu tinha um pouco mais de 20 anos,
04:23
I realized there are not many women in cartooning.
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percebi que não há muitas mulheres nos cartoons.
04:26
And I thought, "Well, maybe I can break
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E eu pensei: "Bem, talvez eu possa quebrar
04:28
the little glass ceiling of cartooning,"
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o teto de vidro dos cartoons.
04:30
and so I did. I became a cartoonist.
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E assim eu fiz, me tornei uma cartunista.
04:32
And then I thought -- in my 40s I started thinking,
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E então eu pensei, com 40 anos eu comecei a pensar,
04:35
"Well, why don't I do something?
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"Bem, por que não fazer alguma coisa?
04:37
I always loved political cartoons,
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Eu sempre amei charges,
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so why don't I do something with the content of my cartoons
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então, por que não posso fazer algo com o conteúdo dos meus cartoons
04:42
to make people think about the stupid rules that we're following
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para fazer as pessoas pensarem sobre as regras estúpidas que estamos seguindo
04:45
as well as laugh?"
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bem como rir? "
04:48
Now my perspective
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Agora minha perspectiva
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is a particularly --
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é particular --
04:52
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
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-- my perspective is a particularly American perspective.
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-- minha perspectiva é particularmente americana.
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I can't help it. I live here.
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Eu não posso evitar. Eu moro aqui.
04:59
Even though I've traveled a lot,
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Mesmo tendo viajado muito,
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I still think like an American woman.
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eu ainda penso como uma mulher americana.
05:03
But I believe that the rules that I'm talking about
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Mas acredito que as regras que eu estou falando
05:05
are universal, of course --
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são universais, é claro --
05:07
that each culture has its different codes of behavior
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que cada cultura tem seus diferentes códigos de comportamento
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and dress and traditions,
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de vestir e tradições,
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and each woman has to deal with these same things
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e cada mulher tem de lidar com essas mesmas coisas
05:14
that we do here in the U.S.
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que temos aqui nos EUA
05:16
Consequently, we have.
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Consequentemente, nós temos --
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Women, because we're on the ground, we know the tradition.
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mulheres, porque nós estamos no chão, sabemos a tradição --
05:21
We have amazing antennae.
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temos uma antena surpreendente.
05:24
Now my work lately
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O meu trabalho ultimamente
05:26
has been to collaborate with international cartoonists,
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tem sido colaborar com os cartunistas internacionais,
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which I so enjoy,
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o que eu gosto muito.
05:31
and it's given me a greater appreciation
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Isso me deu uma maior valorização
05:33
for the power of cartoons
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para o poder dos cartoons
05:35
to get at the truth,
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para chegar à verdade,
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to get at the issues quickly and succinctly.
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para chegar aos problemas de forma rápida e sucinta.
05:42
And not only that, it can get to the viewer
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Não só isso, ele pode atrair o leitor
05:44
through not only the intellect, but through the heart.
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através não só o intelecto, mas através do coração.
05:47
My work also has allowed me to collaborate
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Meu trabalho também me permitiu colaborar
05:50
with women cartoonists from across the world --
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com as mulheres cartunistas de todo o mundo --
05:52
countries such as Saudi Arabia,
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países como a Arábia Saudita,
05:54
Iran, Turkey,
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Irã, Turquia,
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Argentina, France --
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Argentina, França --
05:58
and we have sat together and laughed
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nós sentamos e rimos juntas
06:00
and talked and shared our difficulties.
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conversamos e compartilhamos nossas dificuldades.
06:02
And these women are working so hard to get their voices heard
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Essas mulheres estão trabalhando duro para ter suas vozes ouvidas
06:05
in some very difficult circumstances.
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em circunstâncias muito difíceis.
06:08
But I feel blessed to be able to work with them.
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Mas me sinto abençoada por poder trabalhar com elas.
06:12
And we talk about
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Falamos sobre
06:14
how women have such strong perceptions,
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como as mulheres têm percepções tão forte,
06:16
because of our tenuous position
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por causa da nossa posição tênue
06:18
and our role as tradition-keepers,
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e nosso papel como guardiãs da tradição,
06:21
that we can have the great potential
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que podemos ter o grande potencial
06:24
to be change-agents.
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de ser agentes de mudança.
06:26
And I think, I truly believe,
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E eu acho, eu realmente acredito,
06:29
that we can change this thing
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que mudaremos isso
06:31
one laugh at a time.
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um riso por vez.
06:33
Thank you.
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Obrigada.
06:35
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Jeff Caponero
Reviewed by Fers Gruendling

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Liza Donnelly - Cartoonist
New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly tackles global issues with humor, intelligence and sarcasm. Her latest project supports the United Nations initiative Cartooning For Peace.

Why you should listen

When Liza Donnelly joined The New Yorker in 1982, she was the youngest cartoonist on staff and one of only three women at the time to draw cartoons for the magazine. She’s still there. In 2005, Donnelly wrote the definitive book about her colleagues: Funny Ladies: The New Yorker’s Greatest Women Cartoonists and Their Cartoons. She’s been part of many other books, including Sex and Sensibility, Cartoon Marriage (about her life with fellow New Yorker cartoonist Michael Maslin) and a popular series of dinosaur books for kids. Her latest is Women on Men.

In 2007, Donnelly joined the United Nations initiative Cartooning for Peace. She travels worldwide to speak out about freedom of speech, world peace, and other global issues. Along with her New Yorker cartoons, Donnelly writes a column for Forbes, and draws a weekly political cartoon for Medium. She's a founding member of the US branch of the international organization FECO, and has taught at Vassar College and The School of Visual Arts. She received an honorary PhD from the University of Connecticut and is a cultural envoy for the US State Department, traveling to speak about women's rights, freedom of expression and cartoons.

More profile about the speaker
Liza Donnelly | Speaker | TED.com