DesSeins

by Olivier Pont

Olivier Pont signe son grand retour à la BD avec 7 portraits de femmes magnifiques. Sept histoires courtes magnifiquement racontées par Olivier Pont, l'auteur d'Où le regard ne porte pas. Une lycéenne mal dans sa peau; une femme au foyer qui, en 1968, va s'émanciper sur les barricades ; la responsable d'une petite boutique de sous-vêtements qui lutte contre les grandes enseignes ; une femme qui décide de poser nue comme modèle pour une raison très personnelle ; etc.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Comics, Fiction, Feminism, Graphic Novels Comics, Ebooks

98 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2015

Reviews

[Kirsty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story 1: Some girls talk about their boobs. Another girl with small boobs hits a girl with big boobs.

Story 2: Woman leaves husband and burns bra, showing boobs.

Story 3: Actress known as 'Perfect-Breasts' (guess this got lost in translation) doesn't want to do a topless scene (don't worry, we still see her boobs).

Story 4: Woman suffocates cheating husband with her boobs.

There are more stories, but I'm not reading them as I've already had my fill of male-illustrated boobs for the year. 2 stars because the art is lovely - just a shame it's mostly boobs.

In summary: boobs boobs did you know the most important thing about women is BOOOOOOOOOBS

[Manon the Malicious · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


“This is a collection of portraits of 7 women, of all different ages, backgrounds, circumstances and eras. Each one of them is facing a defining moment in her life. They are bound together by the symbol of their femininity: their breasts.”

I’m not how else I can summarize this and that’s part of my problem with this book.
I seriously hate the social construct that is “femininity” and their breasts?! Really?!
And of course, this was written by a man.
The women in it made no sense, the stories had no satisfying ending and it just seemed wrong on so many levels.
I was and am very annoyed with this book.
However, I was excpecting it to be much worse.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this collection of short stories is the first thing that is lost in the translation of this French collection. I'm not sure why it is called "Fragment of Femininity" in the English version. If anything, it insults the stories themselves. The original edition, was called Dessein, Intention, which actually makes more sense, as each of these stories is about what the woman intends to do.

Now granted, the thing that she intends to do has to do with her breasts, but then again, this is a steries of short stories written by a French man, so what do I expect.

The first story in the collection almost made me stop reading. The second, not much better. The third, really. If not for the last two of three stories, I would have rated this collection much much lower. I mean, really, killing your cheating husband with with breasts? Give me a break.

The first of the two that I liked involved a woman who was having a radical mosectomy, so decides to pose as a model one last time before she has her breasts removed, and asks the artists for their drawings, so she can see how she used to look. Not that I know any women who would do that, but the thought was sort of sweet.

The last story, about a woman who sells bras and panties to the women in town, and listens to them, and makes them feel feminine, was again, sweet, but rather odd. I am not that much into lacy bras, but perhaps there are women out there who are, and find it gratifying to wear them.

But, mostly this book is an excuse to see women shirtless.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Laura U · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say that I disliked this. The first stories don't make much sense to me. I would've rated this lower if it wasn't for the last two. The last two actually have serious subjects at their core. In the first stories I felt like this book actually does what it's not supposed to do, which is to treat women like objects. Hopefully, it redeemed itself for me. I'm glad I read this, but I don't recommend the first stories to anyone.

[Katrina Southern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I said at the beginning of the year that I wanted to read more graphic novels and I've stumbled upon some great ones on Netgalley. I have to say that this is one of my favourites though! Women's breasts are such a taboo subject, and honestly, it's a real shame. They are a natural part of the life cycle after all and should never be considered 'disgusting', 'offensive' or 'rude'. They are more than just the object of sexual desire, they are a beautiful, liberating part of a woman's body that have actual purpose. These little story snapshots did a wonderful job of illustrating that.

My favourite story was Faith's, deeply touching and sad but empowering at the same time. That's what all of these stories are really, they perfectly encapsulate how breasts make us feel. They can be sources of frustration and insecurity, but also allow us to express ourselves. All the stories here were deeply powerful and different too. I loved the diversity in Pont's art, and Croix's colouring was perfect in each panel. There was room here, I feel, for a story on motherhood and the role of breastfeeding in that instance. I'd have liked to have seen something on that particular subject as it's something I feel strongly about. That being said, this contained some gorgeous illustrations and it's good to see more work like this on taboo topics!

[Koen Claeys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wat een mooie verzameling kortverhalen. Vaak worden in strips (net als bij veel andere kunstvormen) vrouwenboezems op de cover ingezet met het oog op betere verkoopcijfers, een stel getekende borsten blijkt vanaf de puberteit voor striplezers te zijn wat snoepgoed is voor kinderen. Het is een sterke prestatie van Pont, om op zo'n integere wijze enkele kortverhalen over dit onderwerp te maken. Het zijn geen spannende verhalen die je op het puntje van je stoel doen zitten maar mooie, intieme schetsen. Prachtig uitgegeven door Dargaud.

[Gabriel Infierno · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really dislike this book, I think that the author doesn't know any woman, he has no idea about the reality of been a woman I don't feel touch I fell disrespect and I think that this book in this time is a disgrace

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and intimate short stories about women's breasts. Olivier Pont delivers us something wonderful here with full integrity to the subject.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fragments of Feminity is a graphic novel about seven women. The common theme between them is their breasts. I thought that might be interesting as there is so much to do with this topic.

You only get a snippet of the life of each of the women, none of which I found particularly believable as a woman myself. The fact that it was just a little snippet meant that I didn't really get attached to any of them nor did I really care. It just fell flat. Some of the stories are downright stupid, such as the one of the obese woman who murders her cheating husband with her breasts... really? It could have been so much more. I was also disappointed not to find a single breastfeeding story in there, as it's an important moment in a woman's life as a mother if she chooses to, and can, breastfeed. It is written by a man though, so I can't blame him for not understanding what a woman feels about her breasts.

The translation of the title is pretty bad as well, though that's not Olivier Pont's fault. In French, DesSeins has several meanings:

- dessein, to have the will to do something (most of the women do)
- des seins, breasts
- dessin (pronounced exactly the same), drawing, it's a graphic novel after all.

Something is lost there and I wonder if it might also be the case with the text in the graphic novel.

The only thing that made me finish it is that I found the artwork nice to look at, especially the use of colours, which are quite soft and neutral. That was interesting. The rest, not so much, I wouldn't bother.

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics.

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http://camillesbookishadventures.com

[Karolane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a collection of short stories following 7 different women and it explores themes of feminism, femininity, sexuality and other related themes.

When I read it, I really enjoyed the content without really giving attention to the content's intentions. I overall enjoyed the different women (some more than others) and I thought it was overall entertaining. The art was very lovely to look at so I had a good time going through it.

After reading it, I hoped on Goodreads to review it and I checked the description of the book and something bothered me. Here is one of the sentences used to describe this book : ''They are bound together by the symbol of their femininity: their breast.''
How confused I was after reading this. Was that the intention behind the content of this book? After looking back on it I realized the breasts of the women did indeed take a big part of the stories told.

My one simple question is this : Why?

I don't think there's anything else to say. I just wished I wouldn't have read that description. I was about to give this book a 3 stars rating. It was pretty good and it wasn't my favorite thing in the world but it was enjoyable. But after seeing this and thinking it over in my brain I have made this conclusion : this book did put a lot of importance on the breasts of the women, which is fine, we all have boobs, it's part of who we are. The thing that bothers me is that it mainly focuses on boobs and nothing else. We don't get to see their personalities and that's a little annoying.

[Jeff James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Net Galley.

This collection of short stories about women and their breasts wants to have it both ways. It aspires to be both a very French, very male appreciation of topless women in all their variations and a thoughtful exploration of the feminine soul.

Doing that combination well would be a tall order for just about any writer, and this book isn’t really up to the task. Instead, it’s too self-serious to be smutty and too shallow to be insightful.

The art is pretty decent, though. I would probably be willing to read another book drawn by Pont, but his writing just isn’t up to to the task.

These stories are uniformly slight and wan, and the overall impression is almost entirely superficial. Which is, perhaps, unsurprising for a book of stories about women’s breasts written by a man.

[Duda Klein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think my disappointment with this book is related to the high expectation I had about it.

The graphic novel is about seven women and each of theirs stories is told individually. The representation here is great: there is an african and a fat old woman. But I really had a hard time connecting to them.

The only one I cared about was Sylvia - the fat and old one. I could read an entire book about her story.

About the rest of them: I couldn't relate and in the first chapters I didn't even understand.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oliver Pont does a phenomenal job with these vignettes, each offering a glimpse of a woman's life.

[Noa Velasco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este. Por el título y la cubierta esperaba una feminidad más profunda y menos superficial, menos centrada en los pechos, menos… bueno, digamos menos centrada en una perspectiva masculina.
De primeras, fue al abrirlo cuando me fijé en que es autor y no autora. Y fue al cerrarlo cuando descubrí que el título original parece ser un juego de palabras entre "diseños" y "los senos". Supongo que vendía más en la cubierta la promesa feminista de este título que algo raro y más honesto como DiSenos (la ilustración ya muestra suficiente), pero todo se entiende mucho mejor así.
Así pues, aquí se reúnen varios relatos de mujeres cuya conexión es el pecho. Algunos relatos son anodinos e impostados y otros, sobre todo al final, tienen un toque emotivo más auténtico. El último es el mejor sin duda. Si venías buscando un retrato profundamente feminista, que sepas que emosido engañado. Si vienes buscando pechos, historias femeninas para hombres satisfechos de saberse aliados del feminismo e ilustraciones hermosas, aquí tienes.

La edición es muy buena, mención especial a las cubiertas de tapa dura con papel tela.

[Jessica Di Salvio · Rating 1 out of 5]

J’ai DNF après la 4ème histoire où une femme tue son mari infidèle en l’etouffant avec sa poitrine en mettant ça sur le dos qu’il n’aime plus ses formes… vraiment ?

Je m’attendais à une BD intéressante sur la féminité, mais au final ce n’est qu’un homme qui se plait à dessiner des seins dans des histoires sans queue ni tête et qui n’ont comme rôle que de sexualiser la femme ou de les faire paraître comme des osti de folle.

No thanks.

[Ranil Dev K S · Rating 4 out of 5]

FRAGMENTS OF FEMININITY by OLIVER POINT : turned out to be an erotic euphoria for me with 7 different short stories annexed in the perceptions of the female personalities who liberates themselves from the insecurities of shame and
free will.

[Madame F · Rating 4 out of 5]

7 Einblicke in das Leben von Frauen mit dem Fokus auf den weiblichen Körper und verknüpften Themen wie Sexualisierung, Normschönheit, Veränderung durch Krankheit, feministisches Aufbegehren und weibliche Solidarität. Manchmal scharf an der Grenze zur Objektifizierung, aber dennoch überwiegt für mich der sensible Blick auf diese fantastischen, selbstbestimmten Frauen. Ich mag außerdem Pont’s Zeichenstil sehr, die Zeichnungen sind liebevoll, behutsam und lebendig.

[Fanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une belle bande dessinée tout en féminité.
Des portraits de femmes attachantes et dans un sens révolutionnaires.
Mon avis en détail : https://pagesversicolores.wordpress.c...

[Viedefun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Des histoires de femmes, des anecdotes, à travers différentes époques, sur ce qui touche l'essence même de leur féminité : leurs seins.
Cette BD est très révélatrice sur la manière dont la plupart des femmes "se jugent" et se "jaugent" par rapport à leur poitrine....

[Yasmina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une vraie ode à la femme, dans ses luttes, ses traditions, ses fragilités, ses états, son Histoire.... mais il est surtout question des ses seins ! Voila en début d'année qui commence en toute légèreté :)

[Critterbee❇ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was not a fan of the artwork, liked the colors used throughout.
Seven stories about feminism with different women, all relayed from the exterior lens of a man.
I was not a big fan of this work.
Not recommended.

*eARC Netgalley*

[Anaïs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Génial.
Une bédé de femmes pour les femmes (avec des balls), traitant de leur anticipation et leur révolution.
j'ai particulièrement aimé les chapitres de Fanny et Fleur.

[Paul Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven stories about women and how they view their breasts, and how they think others view them.
Chloe: Women can be ever more vicious in the locker room than men. The protagonist is not who we think at the beginning, which is a clever touch. Easy to see how she lost control when even other women buy into the myth of bigger is better. Still, you have to figure something happened earlier—that this had to be the culmination—for her to blow up so big.
Mathilde: Middle-aged woman leaves her boring husband and kids to be with her lesbian lover and ends up in a bra-burning nude protest. Despite her long letter to her husband, there wasn’t enough background to really get how she so quickly moved on.
Alison: Famous exploitation actress wants to do serious movies. Rather than let the director screw her over by forcing her to do yet another nude scene when her contract says it’s not supposed to happen, she quits not just the movie but her career. This one’s my fave.
Sylvia: Older woman sees photos of her husband with a much younger lady. But rather than go for the divorce, she takes care of him in a fitting way, though I have to say it wasn’t all that much of a surprise.
Faith: A woman goes to an art school to see if she can pose nude, forgoing payment in favor of keeping a few of the results. At this point—being a photographer, I’ve been asked to do this before—I knew where it was going, but it was still a sad realization at the end. Of all the stories, though, I think this one is the most fitting with the topic.
Elikya: Woman in Northern Africa escapes her arranged marriage and gets lost in the desert until saved by an apprentice sculptor/witch doctor. The town is dying and badly needs rain, so he uses her to model a new talisman. If you like anthropology at all, this is for you.
Fleur: She runs a lingerie shop, insisting that her customers are more like friends. She has a diverse clientele, including a stripper who tests out all the new merch. In the end all those friends come in handy when her store gets firebombed.
Obviously some were better than others, but all told intriguing stories. What makes this book all the more interesting is it was written by a man.

[J Earl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like Fragments of Femininity a lot more but other than decent drawings from Olivier Pont I felt let down.

I can certainly appreciate minimalist stories (I am speaking strictly of the narratives here, not the art) and, when done well, they can create as much or more impact than a story that shows every single emotion. But even a minimalist story needs something to hold it together, usually character, maybe scene or action, just something for the reader to then fill in the space around. The characters were supposed to be the glue but each one was largely a caricature being put through a scenario to elicit a response from the reader. I did, in a couple of the stories, find enough individuality in the character to care more than the base level we all care about people. But the story did little to help me fill in the spaces. I tried and even created some interesting back stories of my own, but these were not from what the story either offered or withheld but rather from my desperate attempt to find more to care about.

I think the ideas behind the book and the stories was interesting but perhaps Pont would have done well to get someone else to write the copy and stick to the drawings for his contribution.

I would refrain from making any recommendation to someone about this book. I think there will be people who will both appreciate the book more than I did and connect with the women better than I did, but I have no idea who those people might be.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Caprice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendide travail ! La finesse de ces personnages, de leurs histoires... J'ai particulièrement apprécié les histoires de Chloé, Fanny et Fleur.
Dans une société dans laquelle les filles veulent être femmes bien trop tôt et où les femmes veulent avoir toujours les seins les plus beaux, les seins plus ronds, les seins les plus gros, ceux qui tiennent bien même sans soutien-gorge et qui ne changent pas malgré les années (maternité, vieillesse, maladie...)... je pense que cette BD est nécessaire.
J'ai vraiment cru ouvrir une bande-dessinée dont le sujet allait uniquement être les seins féminins... Et bien, finalement, ce n'est pas vraiment le cas. Il s'agit de femmes, et d'un extrait de leur vie de femmes. Un homme a écrit et dessiné cette BD, et je ne peut que le féliciter. Il s'agit d'une belle œuvre que je n'oublierai pas.

EDIT : Je vois certains commentaires qui expriment un avis négatif, voire choqué. Certains ont l'air de considérer cette BD comme une insulte aux femmes et à leurs corps, en disant que l'auteur n'a probablement jamais vue une femme nue. Selon moi... Ces reviewers sont complètement à côté de la vérité. Le corps féminin y est choyé et... beau. Je n'ai pas d'autre mot pour exprimer ce que je ressens après ma lecture. Certes, toutes ces petites histoires ne m'ont pas autant touchées les unes que les autres ; j'imagine que leur efficacité dépend de la perception et de la sensibilité de chacun...

[Andreu B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este cómic. La premisa es: 7 historias de 7 mujeres diferentes con 7 cuerpos distintos y su relación con ellos. Una aproximación a los diferentes estereotipos que han perseguido el cuerpo (y la feminidad) de la mujer en distintos tiempos y culturas. El cuerpo femenino, siempre estereotipado bajo la mirada (y el yugo) masculino.

Pero tengo la sensación que el autor pasa muy por encima de lo que intenta contar en cada historia y muchas de ellas quedan casi vacías de significado o crítica. Creo que intenta contar relatos de cuerpos a los que la sociedad les impone su manera de ser y estar en ella. Los pechos como hilo conductor de todas las historias y que las enmarcan como elementos de opresión, pero también de libertad; de juventud, pero también de madurez; de cosificación, pero también de rebelión y rechazo a lo establecido.

Eso es lo que yo creo que quería contar Olivier Pont. Pero, intentando encontrar la sororidad como nexo de unión entre todas sus historias, acaba cayendo en simplicidad y el paternalismo hacia las mujeres.

Mis 2 estrellas son no únicamente por creer en el trasfondo que pienso intentaba llegar el autor (sin conseguirlo), sino, especialmente, por el arte de los dibujos que sí me ha parecido muy bonito.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 5 out of 5]

21×28 ¦ D.L. 10/2015 ¦ prix DA81 = eo(noté)
→Cover: 4cm wide band on spine side

For all women who read "Fragments of Femininity":
You may not be aware that the ACTUAL title translates as "SomeBreasts"- with the wordplay of combining them to form the word for "drawings"! So it is ABOUT breasts- not only focusing on them as the summation of a woman. I understand that the English digital translation, leaving the chests out and making it seem to be about "femininity" in general, was incredibly foolish- also being unfair to Pont's 'literary femintegrity' because...

the domestic reviews are my best lesson in "title" power.
The swing in how they perceive what they are reading is harsh because instead of witnessing a celebration of breasts- they are understandably FURIOUS that a man is defining "femininity" through them and surely these ladies won't touch other works of his like his two tome "Worlds Unseen" (English digital) title, with an excellent female main character, that I believe they could love!

Narrative: *****

Visual: ***


I'm so interested in how females perceive their chests, in general but also for a specific reason below, because us men may be incredibly interesting in how we see our genitals (mine is like its own person named with a title)- but our rigs are mostly hidden from view by our legs instead of perpetually going through variants of public display that still reveal their breasts' shapes and size even if covered completely. Tiny wiener guys can be unknown, but not a flat chest, which brings me to the size obsession, on both sides, that has often blown my mind, being a small breast enthusiast, who's never believed to be, from issues that make so many feel it impossible for one to prefer them as less- even though breasts aren't responsible for filling space towards pleasure like ours. Then, having to manage the whims of a faucet chest for months must be bizzarge.
So such curiosity (and↓€ as always) got me another French bd in my library titled the same, without the wordplay, that I've only done an art read on so far, that's aggressively autobioboobistic:
"des seins" by Lucile Gomez [2006 Le Cycliste (Métro)]
https://www.bedetheque.com/BD-Des-sei...

[Annette Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very mixed bag, this graphic novel tells the story of seven very different women, of different ages and from a variety of backgrounds , including a young student, an older woman who is being cheated on by her husband and a housewife who is literally burning her bra. Each woman's story is different, but the unifying element in the collection is the focus on breasts, in all their variety and glory. The first couple of stories really didn't blow me away, but the story of artist's model Faith was so poignant and moving, and I also thought the story of actress Alison was particularly timely in the current climate. The illustrations and color palette used throughout was another element that added to the cohesion of the book as a whole.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.

[Montse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vivencias de 7 Mujeres que disfrutan más o menos de su cuerpo, como se relacionan con él y como lo comparten:
La agresiva Chloe queriendo mantener su intimidad en los vestidores del instituto.
La apagada Mathilde liberada junto a causas revolucionarias.
La admirada Alison intentando empezar de nuevo, lejos de un sector que la objetivizó.
La celosa Sylvia queriendo ser querida, poseer o poseída.
La valentia de Faith al despedirse hermosamente de parte de lo que fué y le agradaba.
La desobediente Elikya apartandose de obligaciones que no escogió para llenar su camino de vida.
Uniéndose todas, como pasa en la pequeña tienda de Fleur. Unas confesiones en la intimidad que nos unen para salir adelante.
Aunque no debería dar tanto miedo hablar de tetas, ese fragmento de feminidad, define enteramente a sus protagonistas.

[Marcel Alamán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reconozco que ocupar los pechos hilo conductor y ejemplo de femineidad puede ser un cliché. Tambien hay que estar conscientes que el autor es varón. Ahora bien, lo rescatable a mi parecer dentro de la historia es un lucha por revalorizar, pues los dibujos son muy buenos.
En todas las historias los pechos juegan un papel importante, en la primera son los pechos la causa de inhibición de la joven, descubriendo de forma algo burda que su tamaño no le resta feminidad. Así en cada una de las historias, se presentan mujeres que se sienten disminuidas por el concepto de mujer imperante en su sociedad, en todas en común pasan de objetos a personas, aunque sútil y leve, considero que existe una crítica al concepto de mujer.