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This Woman's Work
A profound and personal exploration of the intersections of womanhood, femininity, and creativity
This Woman’s Work is a powerfully raw autobiographical work that asks vital questions about femininity and the assumptions we make about gender. Julie Delporte examines cultural artifacts and sometimes traumatic memories through the lens of the woman she is today—a feminist who understands the reality of the women around her, how experiencing rape culture and sexual abuse is almost synonymous with being a woman, and the struggle of reconciling one’s feminist beliefs with the desire to be loved. She sometimes resents being a woman and would rather be anything but.
Told through beautifully evocative colored pencil drawings and sparse but compelling prose, This Woman’s Work documents Delporte’s memories and cultural consumption through journal-like entries that represent her struggles with femininity and womanhood. She structures these moments in a nonlinear fashion, presenting each one as a snapshot of a place and time—trips abroad, the moment you realize a relationship is over, and a traumatizing childhood event of sexual abuse that haunts her to this day. While This Woman’s Work is deeply personal, it is also a reflection of the conversations that women have with themselves when trying to carve out their feminist identity. Delporte’s search for answers in the turmoil created by gender assumptions is profoundly resonant in the era of #MeToo.
This Woman’s Work is a powerfully raw autobiographical work that asks vital questions about femininity and the assumptions we make about gender. Julie Delporte examines cultural artifacts and sometimes traumatic memories through the lens of the woman she is today—a feminist who understands the reality of the women around her, how experiencing rape culture and sexual abuse is almost synonymous with being a woman, and the struggle of reconciling one’s feminist beliefs with the desire to be loved. She sometimes resents being a woman and would rather be anything but.
Told through beautifully evocative colored pencil drawings and sparse but compelling prose, This Woman’s Work documents Delporte’s memories and cultural consumption through journal-like entries that represent her struggles with femininity and womanhood. She structures these moments in a nonlinear fashion, presenting each one as a snapshot of a place and time—trips abroad, the moment you realize a relationship is over, and a traumatizing childhood event of sexual abuse that haunts her to this day. While This Woman’s Work is deeply personal, it is also a reflection of the conversations that women have with themselves when trying to carve out their feminist identity. Delporte’s search for answers in the turmoil created by gender assumptions is profoundly resonant in the era of #MeToo.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
November 9, 2019
“Whenever anything was poorly done, my father would joke, ‘Must be a woman’s handiwork’”--Delporte
I’d only so far, until now, read Julia Delporte’s Everywhere Antennas, and liked it. It’s unique and lovely and interesting. Ethereal, in a way. This one, This Woman’s Work, is a series of personal reflections about being a woman and artist in a man’s world. It’s kinda ethereal, too.
It’s not exactly a memoir and it’s not really a narrative. It’s meandering and elliptical. It’s a kind of journal, I think, the heart of which is one feminist’s thoughts about gender. She struggles with the space between rage and desire as she considers misogyny and her desire to be loved.
“How old was I when I started feeling cheated, just because I was a girl?”
There’s dreams, too, of the beguines, of bears, of children.
And a reflection on language:
“The grammar I was taught still hurts” (In French, the masculine takes precedence.)
There’s a brief discussion of her sexual assault by a cousin that stays with her to this day:
“I feel like I’m carrying the weight of an old family story, but really it’s the story of all women.”
Part of the book is about a cartoonist she admires and researches, Tove Jansson (Moomin) and her own struggles with being a woman. At one point her therapist asks her, “What would Tove do?” I might have liked a whole book from her about Jansson, but maybe this is enough; she's mostly researching her to reflect on herself.
Delporte sometimes wishes she weren’t a woman, and sometimes she is very proud of it. The art, colored pencil drawings, not bordered, are illustrations, not comics, and are lovely and promote reflection. I think the whole project is very open and will just help people think about some of her questions about gender and feel more deeply about them with her. I did that, though I think this may have been written 1) primarily for herself and 2) secondarily, for women, in solidarity. Then maybe men, she might hope.
I’d only so far, until now, read Julia Delporte’s Everywhere Antennas, and liked it. It’s unique and lovely and interesting. Ethereal, in a way. This one, This Woman’s Work, is a series of personal reflections about being a woman and artist in a man’s world. It’s kinda ethereal, too.
It’s not exactly a memoir and it’s not really a narrative. It’s meandering and elliptical. It’s a kind of journal, I think, the heart of which is one feminist’s thoughts about gender. She struggles with the space between rage and desire as she considers misogyny and her desire to be loved.
“How old was I when I started feeling cheated, just because I was a girl?”
There’s dreams, too, of the beguines, of bears, of children.
And a reflection on language:
“The grammar I was taught still hurts” (In French, the masculine takes precedence.)
There’s a brief discussion of her sexual assault by a cousin that stays with her to this day:
“I feel like I’m carrying the weight of an old family story, but really it’s the story of all women.”
Part of the book is about a cartoonist she admires and researches, Tove Jansson (Moomin) and her own struggles with being a woman. At one point her therapist asks her, “What would Tove do?” I might have liked a whole book from her about Jansson, but maybe this is enough; she's mostly researching her to reflect on herself.
Delporte sometimes wishes she weren’t a woman, and sometimes she is very proud of it. The art, colored pencil drawings, not bordered, are illustrations, not comics, and are lovely and promote reflection. I think the whole project is very open and will just help people think about some of her questions about gender and feel more deeply about them with her. I did that, though I think this may have been written 1) primarily for herself and 2) secondarily, for women, in solidarity. Then maybe men, she might hope.
December 17, 2019
Sometimes you pick up the right book at the right time -- this sensitive, understated graphic novel about being in your early 30s, childlessness, and the echoes of sexual trauma all speak to me very strongly right now. Delporte's drawings are unusual and beautiful: they appear to have been drawn using coloured pencil, and use few lines and a depth of strong colour to achieve their effect. There are elements of collage as well as line-drawing. She never uses direct speech, but her images evoke the mood and pick up on the emotions of the story she's telling. She also includes lots of references to Moomins, and to Tove Jansson. It all fit beautifully for me, and I really enjoyed reading it.
March 20, 2023
this is exactly the kind of comic i want to make someday
March 13, 2019
I enjoyed the artwork and most of the story, especially the pieces where the author is trying to figure out her balance between being an independent woman and desiring love, but it's a bit stream of consciousness, which is never my favorite thing. I read it once - loved it at the beginning and finished kind of confused. Skimmed it a second time and it started to come together more for me. I think I'd have reacted differently if I'd gone in knowing that the book was meant to be read as snippets and flashes rather than a linear story.
April 6, 2018
Des dessins magnifiques, des réflexions nécessaires, un livre qui écorche.
J'ai été très touchée par ce livre, mais j'ai été déstabilisée par la structure/la trame narrative.
Il faudrait peut-être que je le relise pour l'apprécier pleinement.
J'ai été très touchée par ce livre, mais j'ai été déstabilisée par la structure/la trame narrative.
Il faudrait peut-être que je le relise pour l'apprécier pleinement.
May 15, 2019
In 2014 graphic memoirist Julie Delporte arrived in Helsinki intent on beginning her planned biography of the writer, painter, and popular cartoonist, Tove Jansson. Reflecting on the choices Jansson made to affirm her independence and to place her art at the center of her life, Delporte’s work morphed over the next four years into a meditative journal recording her deepening engagement with feminist themes.
“This Woman’s Work” offers brief, loosely connected vignettes ranging from vivid dream sequences to memories of childhood trauma, from travel logs to appreciations of feminist artists who have influenced her, from ambivalence about the possibility of becoming a mother to anger about the potential cost to her art if she does so. Her reflections, captured in loose and colorful cursive, float across the page like clouds over multi-colored illustrations rendered with a quick hand on white backgrounds. These stylistic touches--the scrawling words, the roughly executed and brightly colored images--underscore the intimacy and the vulnerability implicit in these deeply personal reflections as they appear as open and guileless as the art of a dreamy child.
I will admit that I was disappointed that Delporte did not write more about Tove Jansson, not only as one of the first widely popular female cartoonists, but also for her fierce independence and her devotion to her art. This work would have been much more satisfying and more unified if more biographical insights into Jansson had replaced the multiple scattershot shout-outs to female artists that offered little more than their names without much context provided.
February 25, 2025
Moi aussi je voulais l’emporter. Je voulais être un petit garçon, un animal, une plante, mais je ne voulais pas être une petite fille. Je trouvais que c’était trop compliqué d’être une fille, que c’était trop contraignant je crois. J’ai encore du mal à enfiler le gros manteau de femme, alors je dis que je suis une meuf, mais maintenant j’aime un peu mieux l’être.
Merci pour ces mots et ces dessins magnifiques ❤️
Merci pour ces mots et ces dessins magnifiques ❤️
February 2, 2018
Julie Delporte possède une poésie rare. Moi aussi je voulais l’emporter, c’est un hymne à la force et à la vulnérabilité. Une douce caresse hivernale qui promet chaleur et réconfort.
October 6, 2022
Incroyable. Encore une fois, j'ai été profondément touchée par le travail de Julie Delporte. C'est tendre, c'est profond, c'est intime, c'est émouvant. Ça parle d'elle d'une façon qui parle de nous toutes. J'ai envie de réciter le titre comme un mantra.
Chaque page est une nouvelle surprise, une nouvelle invitation. Les couleurs sont éclatantes et douces en même temps. C'est comme un bonbon, parfois amer, parfois sucré. Je l'ai dévoré.
Chaque page est une nouvelle surprise, une nouvelle invitation. Les couleurs sont éclatantes et douces en même temps. C'est comme un bonbon, parfois amer, parfois sucré. Je l'ai dévoré.
January 29, 2020
La calligraphie de l'autrice m'a renversée et ses couleurs m'ont bercées tout au long de la bd.
April 28, 2025
vraiment super et relatable si j'avais 30 ans
December 21, 2024
Doux, touchant, juste, beau, simple ❤️
August 31, 2019
Honestly just beautiful. There are so many pages within this book that I want to rip out and frame.
February 7, 2018
Depuis que je l'ai découverte avec son "Journal", j'adore le travail de Julie Delporte, ses dessins aux crayons de couleur faussement maladroits et sa manière de raconter pudiquement des choses très intimes. Sa nouvelle bédé parle de féminisme, ce qui ne pouvait pas mieux tomber dans le contexte actuel, entre le mouvement Time's Up triomphant et l'odieuse tribune sur la "liberté d'importuner". De Bruxelles où elle essaie de faire un enfant puis se ravise, craignant de se retrouver enfermée dans le rôle de mère, jusqu'à Montréal qui est son port d'attache, en passant par Helsinki où elle part sur la trace de Tove Jansson (la créatrice des Moomins et un des rares modèles féminins forts à ses yeux), l'auteure se remémore l'agression sexuelle dont elle fut victime enfant et le silence familial qui entoura l'événement. Elle repense à la façon dont, enfant, elle s'est toujours sentie floué d'être une fille, notamment à cause de cette fichue règle de grammaire qui veut que le masculin l'emporte sur le féminin (d'où le titre de l'album). Elle s'interroge sur la représentation des femmes - leur absence dans la sélection du festival d'Angoulême ou parmi les artistes d'une exposition, alors que c'est si souvent leur corps qui est mis en scène. Elle se rebelle contre l'idée d'être aliénée au désir des hommes, considérée comme finie dès lors qu'elle ne le suscitera plus. Au fur et à mesure de sa prise de conscience, elle en vient à se demander si elle pourra encore avoir un amoureux. "Quel homme va supporter une féministe? Quel homme vais-je pouvoir supporter?" Une réflexion personnelle pleine de sensibilité, d'émotion et de justesse.
Mon blog lecture: https://l4nn3x3.blogspot.fr/
Mon blog lecture: https://l4nn3x3.blogspot.fr/
October 3, 2023
ça fait drôle de lire l'oeuvre de Julie Delporte de manière anti-chronologique. j'ai commencé par la fin, avec Corps Vivante, et maintenant je remonte. comme d'habitude : les dessins sont percutants, les mots simples sont saisissants. il y a un certain plaisir à voir que certaines de ses interrogations ont trouvé des réponses <3
June 30, 2019
I fell into this book and didn’t come out until I was done.
December 5, 2022
"This woman's work" is a very different kind of graphic novel from anything I've read. It has an extremely non-linear narrative style filled with small vignettes spanning themes from feminism, identity, trauma, and womanhood.
The art style is compelling. The text and art consists entirely of colored pencil drawings and I found I had to read it slowly (so slowly) due to the difficult to read font style. Although that may be a drawback, i also enjoyed that because the text is so limited being forced to read it slowly helped me take it in and process without flying through.
I was really moved by the vignette on the authors sexual trauma at a young age. And her reflection on feeling as if as a woman you hold the pain of all women.
I did feel as though some portions were somewhat distracting. The interlude on the Finnish painter/author was kind of random. I know this was a figure that inspired the author greatly so I tried to take in what she was trying to get across from including these portions. I did like the description of the moomins: "happy idiots who forgive one another and never realize they're being fooled".
LOVED the Cameo mention of Rey from "the force awakens" because she was such a huge inspiration to me when I was younger and her strength meant so much to me.
Overall, I found "this woman's work" extremely moving. I felt like so much of it was relatable and the prose was honest and commanding. This is a definite must read.
Quotes/pages I wanted to remember...
"How old was I when I started feeling cheated simply by being a girl"
"I feel like I'm carrying the weight of an old family story, but really it's the story of all women."
The narwhal, gentle warrior vignette, amazing
"I never considered that I might still be making relevant art at that age...as though I'd be totally obsolete once men no longer desired me."
The art style is compelling. The text and art consists entirely of colored pencil drawings and I found I had to read it slowly (so slowly) due to the difficult to read font style. Although that may be a drawback, i also enjoyed that because the text is so limited being forced to read it slowly helped me take it in and process without flying through.
I was really moved by the vignette on the authors sexual trauma at a young age. And her reflection on feeling as if as a woman you hold the pain of all women.
I did feel as though some portions were somewhat distracting. The interlude on the Finnish painter/author was kind of random. I know this was a figure that inspired the author greatly so I tried to take in what she was trying to get across from including these portions. I did like the description of the moomins: "happy idiots who forgive one another and never realize they're being fooled".
LOVED the Cameo mention of Rey from "the force awakens" because she was such a huge inspiration to me when I was younger and her strength meant so much to me.
Overall, I found "this woman's work" extremely moving. I felt like so much of it was relatable and the prose was honest and commanding. This is a definite must read.
Quotes/pages I wanted to remember...
"How old was I when I started feeling cheated simply by being a girl"
"I feel like I'm carrying the weight of an old family story, but really it's the story of all women."
The narwhal, gentle warrior vignette, amazing
"I never considered that I might still be making relevant art at that age...as though I'd be totally obsolete once men no longer desired me."
August 30, 2021
A profoundly moving book that I’m going to ruin with clodhopping attempts to articulate some of its power. But despite being about what it means to be a woman artist, a feminist and - ostensibly - about Tove Jansson, it’s universal in the message and beauty of the words and images. There’s been an explosion of books about mental health within comics, because it’s a genre that allows for a certain spontaneity and complete control over words and images. This may not directly be a book about mental health but there’s so much wisdom and warmth and thoughtfulness in here that I think it more than belongs in that hallowed company. A really beautiful book
June 8, 2025
écrite et dessinée sous la forme d’un journal intime, Julie Delporte nous confie son voyage sur les traces de Tove Janson, créatrice des Moomins, qui devient un voyage d’introspection. qu’est-ce qu’être une femme ? qu’est-ce qu’être une artiste ? comment vivre avec ses traumatismes ?
œuvre émouvante et étonnante, elle est subjuguée par des dessins colorés, des traits évanescents, du flou et de nombreuses références à des tableaux, films, femmes artistes. une bande dessinée puissante et profondément intime.
œuvre émouvante et étonnante, elle est subjuguée par des dessins colorés, des traits évanescents, du flou et de nombreuses références à des tableaux, films, femmes artistes. une bande dessinée puissante et profondément intime.
August 31, 2021
Ce livre, c’est une petite œuvre d’art. Un mélange de roman graphique, de poésie et d’illustrations magnifiques.
A travers un regard féministe, Julie Delporte nous transporte dans ses réflexions de femme et d’artiste.
C’est doux, c’est beau, c’est puissant et touchant.
« Je voudrais écrire un livre pour dire que … ça fait mal les règles de grammaire. »
A travers un regard féministe, Julie Delporte nous transporte dans ses réflexions de femme et d’artiste.
C’est doux, c’est beau, c’est puissant et touchant.
« Je voudrais écrire un livre pour dire que … ça fait mal les règles de grammaire. »
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July 1, 2019The art is lovely and while I love the exploration of how women have come to carve out their own spaces in making and creating (art, other humans, space, etc), I couldn't entirely connect with this one. It's not bad, but it is a bit all over the place.
October 25, 2020
J'ai hésité sur les étoiles. Se lit très vite et pas de réel fil conducteur.
Touché par l'histoire qui m'a parlé. Quelle est la place de notre vie lorsque l'on devient mère ?
Touché par l'histoire qui m'a parlé. Quelle est la place de notre vie lorsque l'on devient mère ?
July 29, 2025
'¿De qué imágenes somos prisioneras?'
¿Qué nos salva? ¿Cómo navegamos un mundo moldeado para|por hombres? ¿Cómo transitamos un espacio en el que seamos libres de ser?
La respuesta nos llega a cada una, a su tiempo, el acercamiento a las historias de otras mujeres y las nuestras propias.
¿Qué nos salva? ¿Cómo navegamos un mundo moldeado para|por hombres? ¿Cómo transitamos un espacio en el que seamos libres de ser?
La respuesta nos llega a cada una, a su tiempo, el acercamiento a las historias de otras mujeres y las nuestras propias.
May 11, 2019
j'avais hâte de lire depuis que c'est sorti. bien heureux.se d'avoir enfin pu le tenir entre mes mains. j'aimerais admiré les dessins et relir chaque ligne pendant 10 ans. 💗
Read
February 28, 2020gorgeous
June 9, 2024
4.5!
Loved the Tove Jansson pieces, the incorporation of dreams, and scenes of camping in the St. Lawrence
Loved the Tove Jansson pieces, the incorporation of dreams, and scenes of camping in the St. Lawrence
Read
December 10, 2021Ack so beautiful. Something to aspire to. Love the mood of the drawings, love the mixture of memoir, biography and more "academic" type writing
October 22, 2024
Loved the drawings! A beautiful exploration of what it means to be a woman outside of getting married, buying a house and having children. Picks out so many things that we accept without question and celebrates female creativity and independence without ignoring the challenges, contradictions and times of crisis.
May 31, 2021
A beautiful peace I would gift to every woman I know if I could!
February 22, 2018
j’ai pleuré
Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews