Misogyny and the Death of a Canadian Blogger

Renée Wathelet was a Canadian blogger who was brutally murdered the other day in Mexico.

And now it turns out she may have blogged about her killer.

Wathelet wrote of “Jose’s” kindness and humour, as he answered her numerous questions about local history, landmarks and politics. She called him a “veritable encyclopedia” and even suggested she would begin a special blog feature where she would share his stories, titled Jose Tells Me.

And what was one of the stories Jose told her?

Les Xtabay sont des très très belles femmes, bien habillées, elles portent des hipils merveilleusement brodés, de beaux bijoux, elles sont parfumées … et très dangereuses à rencontrer pour un homme : si tu rencontres une Xtabay, elle va t’attirer, te séduire, te promettre de merveilleux moments en sa compagnie, en fait elle te promet tout ce que tu voudras. Et si tu la suis, si tu l’écoutes, tu te réveilleras tout seul, au milieu de nulle part, loin de ton chemin, dans un champ rempli de cactus et de buissons épineux. Et bien sûr la Xtabay ne t’aura rien donné de ce qu’elle t’a promis. Juste des problèmes. Ce sont de vraies démones que l’on peut rencontrer partout à travers la péninsule… Il vaut mieux les éviter, bien sûr, mais tu connais les hommes…

The Xtabay are very very beautiful women, nicely clothed, they wear marvellously embroidered hipils( Mayan dresses), beautiful jewels, they are perfumed...and very dangerous for men to meet. If you meet an Xtabay, she will attract you, seduce you, promise you marvellous moments in her company, promise you everything you want. And if you follow her, if you listen to her, you will wake up all alone, in the middle of nowhere, far from your path, in a field full of cactuses and prickly bushes. And of course the Xtabay will not have given you anything she promised. Just problems. They are real demons that you can find all over the peninsula. It's best to avoid them, but you know men...

Oh yes we know them. And the misogyny of the ages. Women as seductive temptresses who must be shunned....or KILLED.

Scary isn't it?

Poor gentle Renée was enchanted by the story.

When it should have been a WARNING.

But now it's too late. Her ashes are going into the sea she loved so much. The misogyny monster rears its bloody head again.

And the real demons still roam the earth...