Living in this world in a body that was assigned female at birth brings a lot of both challenges and delights, and Dear Body edited by Lea Bordier shares twelve stories of different AFAB experiences.
Note: at least one of the people featured in the twelve short, illustrated essays seems to be non-binary, but in general this book is presented as being by and about women. There’s not a lot of biographical info about the authors outside of what they include in their essays, but none of them appear to be trans women, which I consider to be a big oversight in a book about “women’s” bodies, but I don’t know if it was an intentional oversight or if they were limited by who responded to their call for stories.
The twelve people who present essays in this book range in age from 14 to 71, with the majority of them being in their 20s and 30s. They share their experiences with their bodies, covering topics that include: aging, puberty, fatphobia, eating disorders, racism, sexual assault, disability, injury, child birth, pregnancy loss, and more. While many of the experiences shared here are common, I appreciated that there was also discussion of less common topics, such as a woman who was injured in a mass shooting, and another woman who has vestibulodynia (a condition that causes pain during penetrative sex).
Each essay is fully illustrated, graphic novel style, by a different artist. There are some very unique art styles on display here and each one seems well selected to fit the tone and topic of the essay. Each essay is also rather short, resulting in a book around the same size, if not smaller, than your average six-issue comic trade paperback.
Obviously, twelve essays can’t cover the full breadth of what it’s like to be perceived as a woman. As mentioned before, I would have liked to see at least one trans woman included. I was also a bit surprised that a collection specifically themed around AFAB bodies didn’t have an essay about menopause. Despite these lacks, I do feel like the book offers a pretty diverse look at the AFAB experience. I think many readers will find at least one essay that resonates with their experience, or the experience of someone they care about, and some of these essays have messages that go far beyond assigned sex or perceived gender and can have value for anyone who inhabits a body.
Note: Dear Body was originally published in French under the title Cher Corps. This edition was adapted by translator Ivanka Hahnenberger, and I found the translation to be well-done, with language that still felt natural and had different voices in the different essays.
CWs and TWs: In addition to the topics mentioned throughout this review, the book contains some artistic, non-sexualized nudity. It is tagged as being for Mature Readers. I do think that mature teens, especially AFAB ones, could benefit from a lot of the topics covered here, but I would hesitate to give this book to a tween or young teen, when I am sure there are more age-appropriate resources for younger and more sensitive readers.
Format and Source: I read this as a physical paperback which I purchased at Outsider Comics and Geek Boutique.
Book Bingo Prompts
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): For a Short Attention Span. As mentioned before, each of these essays is quite short. They also were each illustrated by a different artist, so every single one is its own unique experience, perfect for a short attention span.
SAL/SPL Adult Summer Reading: Body Liberation. A lot of these essays are about liberating yourself and your body from society’s expectations of things like what size you are, how you perform gender, and how you live with your own injuries and disabilities. It models a lot of different ways to have a body.
Book Bingo Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 19 out of 25 prompts complete. 3 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 16 out of 25 prompts complete. 2 bingos.
SAL/SPL Adult Summer Reading: 17 out of 23 prompts complete, 4 bingos.
SBTB Summer Romance: 5 out of 24 prompts complete, 0 bingos.
Donation for Palestine: I bought this book sometime in 2023, maybe even 2022, so it counts for my Physical TBR Challenge and thus also another $50 donation to a family in Palestine. For this book, I chose to donate to the Shanab family. Hat tip to Aubrey Smalls/Dwarfism History on IG for highlighting this campaign. Visit this post for a full write-up on my challenge and links to all of the families I have donated to so far. I am now at 7 books out of my 12 book goal.