“A Woman’s Body” shows that there is much more to be done to change the way we view the female body

WOMEN – ” In sixth grade, I remember boys making fun of me when I ran because my (chest) was swinging.”, recalls 40-year-old Alex. In response, Nora, age 12, who is part of her family, says that it is in her backyard college ” guys never get comments about their looks, while all girls do “. A generation has passed and nothing has changed, as shown in the video, taken from the documentary at the top of this article.

Alex and Nora are among ten women aged 12 to 80 who talk about how they see their body in the documentary the body of a woman, broadcast this Wednesday evening at 22:45 on France 2 and on the france.tv website.

Changes in the body through life stages

In front of director Delphine Dhilly’s camera, each of the women testifies alone and tells her story. From puberty to postmenopause, they talk about periods, first sexual intercourse, miscarriages, pregnancies and the aging of the body.

Grandmothers, mothers and daughters are related on the one hand the passage of time and the relationships they have experienced on their bodies, and on the other hand the prohibitions imposed by the society they are faced with. ” I found myself in relationships where I wasn’t good, but they (boys, op.a.) made me beautiful. I recently told myself “I’m beautiful for myself” », explains for example Lise-Leïla, 27 years old.

While Marie-Hélène, 72, assures that she has “ I always dreamed of old age. You no longer depend on your desire, on your sexuality, it is no longer a relationship with the female body, only with the aging body. »

Things are changing, but there is still work to be done

If older women acknowledge advances in terms of equality, legal rights and sexual liberation, the testimonies of their descendants clearly show that certain situations are struggling to change in our society today.

So Luna (24) recounts one of the first times she experienced sexual harassment. ” I didn’t want to think about my cleavage or what I was causing, I just wanted to feel good in my beautiful dress. “, he explains to the camera.

Minutes later, her mother Nanette, 49, a rape victim as a teenager, expressed her fear of being attacked in public places during Luna’s adolescence. ” Hitchhiking is prohibited. I told him, “I’m ready to pick you up even at 3 in the morning, whenever you want, but you’re not going with a stranger,” I bothered him with that.”she says with fear.

These poignant testimonies are interspersed with video archives and moments of life between grandmothers, mothers, sisters, grandchildren. Together they look at family photos from the past, symbols of the passing time. They were also filmed on the beach, at the pool, letting the camera reveal their bodies, which they learned to love through the documentary.

See also HuffPost :