Soutif, mon amour
(Bra, my love) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
Sophie Carquain, author and journalist committed to women’s rights – she is notably the ambassador for the newly formed association “Je suis une femme et j’existe” created in April 2023 – offers us a poetic feminist manifesto written for teenage girls to share the maelstrom of emotions that accompany the transformation of the body during puberty. It brings together assertive texts that encourage girls to assert their identity and personality, disregarding the opinions of others and embracing complete gender freedom.
Edited by: Université Sorbonne Paris Nord
Comment:
This book discusses self-esteem and self-acceptance, ignoring the traditional standards of female beauty that still persist today, as well as the rejction of harassment, consent (a very sensitive topic), and sisterhood. It pays tribute to the women of past generations who fought for greater freedom, to those who are still fighting today, the #MeToo movement, Iranian women (Baraye, a poem echoing Shervin Hajipour’s Persian song, which became the anthem of the uprising during the 2022 protests), and marriage at puberty for young girls in certain societies is also denounced.
Kim Consigny’s illustrations strike just the right tone to accompany the words.
[Summary and comment by Pascale Joncour, published in February 2024 in La Revue des livres pour enfants].