The League of Super Feminists

by Mirion Malle, Aleshia Jensen (Translator)

Overview

This primer on feminism and media literacy teaches young readers why it matters

The League of Super Feminists is an energetic and fierce comic for tweens and younger teens. Cartoonist Mirion Malle guides readers through some of the central tenets of feminism and media literacy including consent, intersectionality, privilege, body image, inclusivity and more; all demystified in the form of a witty, down-to-earth dialogue that encourages questioning the stories we're told about identity. Malle’s insightful and humorous comics transport lofty concepts from the ivory tower to the eternally safer space of open discussion. Making reference to the Bechdel test in film and Peggy McIntosh’s dissection of white privilege through the metaphor of the “invisible knapsack,” The League of Super Feminists is an asset to the classroom, library, and household alike.

Knights and princesses present problems associated with consent; superheroes reveal problematic stereotypes associated with gender; and grumpy onlookers show just how insidious cat-calling culture can be. No matter how women dress, Malle explains, there seems to always be someone ready to call it out. The League of Super Feminists articulates with both poise and clarity how unconscious biases and problematic thought processes can have tragic results.

Why does feminism matter? Are feminists man-haters? How do race and feminism intersect? Malle answers these questions for young readers, in a comic that is as playful and hilarious as it is necessary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770464025
Publisher:	Drawn & Quarterly
Publication date:	10/13/2020
Pages:	60
Sales rank:	1,074,307
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Mirion Malle is a French cartoonist and illustrator who lives in Montreal. She studied comics at the École Superieure des Arts Saint-Luc in Brussels before pursuing a Masters degree in sociology specializing in gender and feminist studies, via Paris Diderot and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Malle has published three books. The League of Super Feminists was her first book to be translated into English and was nominated for the 2020 Prix Jeunesse at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Editorial Reviews

11/16/2020

This short, spirited primer on feminism presents playfully illustrated breakdowns of a wide range of feminist topics, from media stereotypes to intersectionality. Regarding privilege: “In a system of oppression, there are two groups of people: those who benefit from it, and those who suffer under it.” There’s no narrative to speak of; a nameless white teen with a pink hair streak talks about various concepts with a younger Black girl and white boy, who ask questions such as “Does that mean we can’t watch princess movies anymore?” Though Malle doesn’t often go deep, her strengths are in clarifying and defining the implications of certain constructs: for example, the way that girls are encouraged to prioritize love and romance because obedient wives deliver free labor to a patriarchal, capitalist society. She defies the archaic “unfunny feminist” stereotype with games (“Connect the happy vulva to what it likes and the grumpy vulva to what it doesn’t like”) and advice (“If someone makes fun of how you look... fart in their face!”). Without pulling punches, these illustrated mini essays take readers beyond “girl power” and into the true meaning of intersectional feminism. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Malle distills complicated feminist theory into easy-to-understand explanations without ever talking down to readers."—Quill and Quire

"The year’s most important child-friendly comic about feminist theory... The League Of Super Feminists is a sharp, smart and funny tour through the ideas that underpin feminism... [that] makes decades of sociological theory not merely accessible, but compelling, which Malle ascribes to her desire to get around the loftier language of university departments, and convey instead the simple truths of lived experience."
—The Irish Times

"What I appreciate most is that the way Mirion explains feminism is that it’s like being a good friend and a kind member of society; that feminism is respect for women."—Youth Services Book Review

"Using a Socratic question-and-answer format, women dressed as superheroes speak, informally, with wit and brevity, to a young audience about consent, different forms of privilege and misogyny. It arms readers with tools to analyze culture..."—The Globe & Mail

"In The League of Super Feminists, Mirioin Malle discusses representation in media in regards to what woman are seeing about themselves, breaking down the potential harm of seeing the same stories over and over."
—Newmarket Today

"A clear, smart, and direct effort to talk about what feminism is in a way that even small folks can understand."
—The Comics Journal

"Change is coming. And a lot of people in our society may feel that it’s flipping their world upside down but this change is necessary and Mirion Malle has captured just the right balance in her fun and highly informative new book."—Popzara

"Malle gets the conversation started and guides readers through some of the central tenets of feminism in a clear, engaging way that gives readers the tools needed to do their own critical thinking."—Books 4 Your Kids

"The League of Super Feminists serves as a veritable primer on feminism itself... [It] does well as an introduction for anyone onto the many topics discussed or even a textbook in a course on understanding."
—BlogCritics

"The League of Super Feminists is the sort of book one wishes could be put in every reader’s hands. After all, we could all use refreshers on a lot of this stuff, and Malle argues in such a straightforward, commonsensical manner that when you read about the importance of using inclusive language or representation in media, for example, it makes one wonder how anyone can fight against such feminist ideas in the first place, given that they seem less “feminist” than simply 'right'…"—School Library Journal

"Malle does an exemplary job encouraging readers to question norms and consider what society would look like if everyone, regardless of gender, race, and ability, were treated equally... Readers of The League of Super Feminists will be well-armed with the questions and tools necessary to challenge and change the world for the better!"—Canadian Review of Materials

From the Publisher

2020-07-27
Movies and TV shows are more than just entertainment: They also set a cultural tone that influences external and internalized perceptions of marginalized populations.

This illustrated feminist analysis explains how and why media representations of women perpetuate dangerous and dehumanizing stereotypes. The book is tailored for teen readers who are still coming to terms with multiple aspects of their identities and includes sections on sexuality, gender identity, and intersectionality. It also explains some of the most relevant issues in feminism today, including female emotional labor in heterosexual relationships, street harassment, and the ways in which structural racism elevates Whiteness as a beauty standard. The book’s cartoonlike, full-color illustrations of ethnically diverse groups are whimsical, its language straightforward, and its content up to date. However, relatively little is mentioned about body positivity or the fat acceptance movement, and the author classifies all nonbinary and agender identities as trans identities even though not all nonbinary and agender people identify as trans. Issues such as these stem from the text’s primary weakness: Issues like gender identity, race, and sexuality are treated as separate topics late in the book rather than as vital threads woven throughout the analysis.

An illustrated feminist analysis of media representation that could benefit from a more inclusive perspective. (Nonfiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews